World Circuit La Conca (; ) is a international kart circuit in Muro Leccese, Apulia, Italy. Founded in 1998, La Conca has hosted five editions of the CIK-FIA World Championship, one edition of the CIK-FIA World Cup, and 11 editions of the CIK-FIA European Championship.

Located south-east of Lecce city centre, La Conca first held competitive events in 1999. It was expanded to its present length in 2001 and became an international venue. Only a year later, it held its first World Championship event, which it later welcomed again in 2004, 2008, and 2015. During this period, it also held nine European Championship rounds across four events. After a 12-year absence, it returned to the European Championship in 2026.

La Conca features a high-speed layout with a 3,500-capacity grandstand for international events. The venue is known for its difficulty and high grip levels, and is one of 12 Italian venues homologated by the Commission Internationale de Karting ().

History

La Conca, located within a tourist and sports centre in Muro Leccese, was opened to the public in April 1998 and held its first competitive kart racing events 15 months later. It was initially in length before it was expanded to in 2001. The circuit is owned and operated by the De Donno brothers, including Luca, the founder of WSK Promotion. It has become known as the "karting capital of the world".

Layout and facilities The main international circuit of La Conca utilises 14 corners across , with a variation of wide- and low-radius curves. There are four major braking zones. Ignoring the S-curve before the finish line, the main straight is long. The track has a width ranging from and lies approximately above sea level. It is a high-speed circuit, with average KZ speeds clocking in at over .

The venue features a 3,500-capacity grandstand for major events and is homologated by the Commission Internationale de Karting (), requiring private rooms for the stewards, the timekeepers, the officials, both the race director and the clerk of the course, the marshals, and the announcer; secretariats for both the race directors and the event officials; a medical centre; a briefing room; and a press room.

Climate La Conca is known for its "sweltering" summer temperatures, resulting in a high-grip environment.

Reception In Vroomkarts "Circuit of the Month" feature in August 2008, Maurizio Voltini proclaimed La Conca as "one of the best circuits in Europe", highlighting its difficulty and high average speeds. Writing for Red Bull GmbH in 2018, Piers Prior and Greg Stuart listed La Conca as one of the eight best circuits in Europe, noting its demanding temperatures in the summer and high grip levels, further stating that its "place in the theoretical karting Hall of Fame is undisputed".

Lap records The international race lap records at La Conca in open classes:

+ClassTimeDriverChassisEngineTyresChampionshipDateOK44.600 Arvid LindbladKRIAMEWSK Super Master SeriesKZ245.310 Stan PexCRGVortexWSK Super Master SeriesKZ45.325 Jordon Lennox-LambBirel ARTParillaWSK Super Master SeriesKF45.641 Tom JoynerZanardiTMCIK-FIA World ChampionshipOK-J45.753 Maximilian PopovTony KartVortexWSK Super Master SeriesKZ2-M45.935 Davide ForèBirel ARTTMWSK Open SeriesKF-J45.960 Noah WattFA KartVortexCIK-FIA World ChampionshipKF146.252 Alex AlbonIntrepidTMWSK Euro SeriesFSA46.545 Giedo van der GardeCRGMaxterCIK-FIA World ChampionshipICC46.771 Davide ForèTony KartVortexItalian Open MastersFA46.892 Davide GaggianesiTop-KartTMCIK-FIA European ChampionshipS-ICC46.927 Alessandro ManettiIntrepidTMCIK-FIA European ChampionshipICA47.356 Antonio PiccioniTony KartVortexItalian Open MastersICA-J48.577 Felice TieneCRGParillaWSK International SeriesSource: Last updated on 12 April 2026.

Events National

International

CIK-FIA Since its inception, La Conca has hosted five World Championships, one World Cup, and 11 European Championships sanctioned by the Commission Internationale de Karting (): CIK-FIA World Championship: 2002 (FSA), 2004 (FA), 2008 (KF1), 2015 (KF, ) CIK-FIA World Cup: 2008 (KF2) CIK-FIA European Championship: 2005 (FA, ICA), 2006 (FA, , ICC), 2009 (SKF, KZ2), 2014 (KF, ), 2026 (OK, )

CIK-FIA World Championship results +YearChassisEngineTyresRunner-upThird placeClassStroke2002 Giedo van der GardeCRGMaxter Davide Forè Ronnie QuintarelliFSA100cc Giedo van der GardeCRGMaxter Carlo van Dam Davide Forè2004 Davide ForèTony KartVortex Arnaud Kozlinski Bas LammersFA100cc2008 Marco ArdigòTony KartVortex Libor Toman Gary CattKF1125cc Oliver RowlandTony KartVortex Zdeněk Groman Loïc RéguillonKF2†125cc2015 Karol BaszKosmicVortex Jordon Lennox-Lamb Nicklas NielsenKF125cc Logan SargeantFA KartVortex Clément Novalak Caio ColletKF-J125ccSource: Class held as a CIK-FIA World Cup.

CIK-FIA European Championship results +YearChassisEngineTyresClassStroke2005 Oliver OakesGillardParillaFA100cc Oliver OakesGillardParilla James CaladoTony KartVortexICA100cc2006 Marco ArdigòTony KartVortexFA100cc Armand ConversPCRPCR Roberto ToninelliBRMTMS-ICC125cc Alessandro PicciniIntrepidTM Ernst BehrensEnergyTMICC125cc Alessandro GiuliettiTony KartTM2009 Simo PuhakkaPCRTMSKF125cc Jason ParrottBirelParilla Patrik HájekTony KartVortexKZ2125cc Patrik HájekTony KartVortex2014 Callum IlottZanardiParillaKF125cc Enaam AhmedFA KartVortexKF-J125cc2026 Noah BaglinKRIAMEOK125cc Will GreenKRIAMEOK-J125ccSource:

In popular culture La Conca features in the 2013 sim racing game RFactor 2 as an additional track to the KartSim software.

Notes

See also Automobile Club d'Italia Kart racing Kart circuit

References

External links Kartodromo La Conca