Thirteen-year-old Luigi D'Ascoli from San Giuseppe Vesuviano has finished second in the 2026 FIA Karting World Cup in the OK-N Junior category at the Leopard Circuit in Viterbo.
The result, confirmed by the official FIA Karting final classification, places D'Ascoli behind winner Niccolò Perico. The official timing records a gap of 5.949 seconds in the final, with a best lap of 53.743 seconds for D'Ascoli, driving a Parolin/TM Kart/MG.
A podium for Modena Kart Racing Team
D'Ascoli competed for Modena Kart Racing Team. The team-focused race report on his podium notes that the OK-N Junior category counted 110 competitors at Viterbo.
That figure gives a measure of the scale of the event: a large entry from which D'Ascoli emerged as the second-placed finisher in the final classification.
A win already at Viterbo
Viterbo was not new ground for the young driver from the Vesuvian area. Before the World Cup, D'Ascoli had won the final round of the Italian Championship held at the same Leopard Circuit.
That earlier victory at the same track provides context for the World Cup result, showing form at Viterbo ahead of the international final.
A family with racing history
D'Ascoli is the maternal grandson of Luigi Sambuco, a long-time circuit and hill-climb driver.
The family link connects the World Cup podium to an established motorsport background in the Campania area, with the grandfather's experience in circuit racing and hill climbs preceding the grandson's karting career.
What the available sources do not provide is a full heat-by-heat account of D'Ascoli's World Cup weekend, or details of his school, training base or season-long standings beyond the Viterbo result. The official FIA page confirms the final ranking, while his age and residence in San Giuseppe Vesuviano are reported by the Italian press.
