Nine-year-old Maltese karting driver Jake Jordan Micallef has recorded his best result since moving to Italy to compete, finishing ninth in the final of Round Five of the ACI Italian Championship at Franciacorta.
Micallef, who has been racing in Italy for nine months, described the weekend as one of the most intense of his career so far, calling it “a rollercoaster of emotions”.
He began qualifying with eighth in his group, which placed him 13th overall out of 41 drivers. In his first heat he fought through the field from 10th to third, celebrating his first ever top-three finish in a heat race.
In the second heat, a crash ahead of him left him caught in the chaos, dropping him back to 18th. After the merged heats he was ranked 15th overall, which earned him a place in Prefinal A.
From seventh on the grid, he made an exceptional start to move into fourth by the first corner and was challenging for third before a mistake saw him fall to 17th by the finish.
In the final he started 19th but drove a clean and determined race to secure ninth position, his first top 10 finish in the championship.
The performance highlights Micallef as one of the youngest talents competing in one of Europe’s most competitive karting series.
