Debut as international contest (1962–1969) The European Nations' Cup was the first competition held by the upon its founding in 1962, won by
Great Britain against
Belgium,
France,
Italy, and
Germany.
Expansion to individual competition (1970–1981) The individual European Championship was first held in 1970, running a 100cc class won by Belgian driver
François Goldstein, who retained his title in 1971. In 1979,
Cathy Muller became the first woman to win a European title, doing so in the 100cc class. The senior category was contested under 100cc Intercontinental A (ICA) regulations until the introduction of the 135cc Formula K (FK) class in 1982, superseding ICA. The
gearbox category has since been added, first contested in 1974 in the
Formula C (FC) class and won by Dutch driver Aad van Daalen. Between 1979 and 1981, a secondary gearbox class (FC-2) was held but did not return until Intercontinental C (ICC) was displaced as the lead gearbox class by FC in 1996. Gianfranco Baroni won four FC European Championships from 1976 to 1981.
New Formula regulations (1982–1992) FK ran from 1982 to 1990, and again in 1992, as the primary senior class, until it was replaced by Formula A (FA) and its Super sub-class (FSA). In 1988 and 1989, the Formula Super 100 (S100) class was also contested as a main senior competition.
Michael Schumacher won the 1987
ICA European Championship, going on to become the first European Champion to also win the
Formula One World Drivers' Championship in . In 1989,
Jos Verstappen became the first driver to win two European Championships in the same season with his wins in FS100 and ICA, a feat only repeated in 2013 by his son
Max. ICC replaced FC as the primary gearbox class in 1983, having been the secondary class in 1982. Walter van Lent became the first non-Italian ICC European Champion in 1990, and the last in the primary gearbox class until Jonathan Thonon in 2008.
The Super era (1993–2006) From 1993 to 2000, FSA became the pre-eminent class in the senior category, being run alongside its secondary FA class, as well as ICA. The 2000 season was notable for marking the start of
the fierce rivalry between
CRG teammates
Lewis Hamilton and
Nico Rosberg, who finished first and second in that year's
FA European Championship, respectively. FA succeeded FSA as the lead class upon the latter's European demise at the end of the 2000 season. In the gearbox category, ICC was again replaced by FC as the main class in 1996, becoming the secondary class once more. FC would later be renamed to Super-ICC from 2002 onwards. The 250cc
Superkart category was contested for the first time in 2002, going on to be contested at 18 successive European Championships.
Modern KF/OK and KZ era (2007–present) In 2007, the primary senior class became
KF1 and the primary gearbox class became
KZ1, as the CIK-FIA attempted to re-brand global karting. The secondary divisions
KF2 and
KZ2 each replaced ICA and ICC; both classes had been contested since the early 1980s.
KF3 also succeeded Junior Intercontinental A (ICA-J) as the junior class, later renaming to KF-J in 2013. In 2009, the entire podium—
Nyck de Vries,
Carlos Sainz Jr. and
Daniil Kvyat—went on to graduate to
Formula One, the only time this has happened at the European Championship. Between 2005 and 2008, Marco Ardigò won four consecutive
senior titles with
Tony Kart, remaining the only driver to complete a
four-peat in the European Championship as of 2024. Ardigò is the only driver to have won five European Championships, adding a fifth title in
KZ in 2016. In 2013,
Max Verstappen won both the
KF and
KZ European Championships with CRG, becoming the first—and to this date, only—driver to have won senior and gearbox titles in the same season.
KF2 became the primary senior category in 2010, replacing KF1—known as Super KF in 2009—and ending 28 seasons of secondary senior classes being held at the European Championship. After nine seasons of KF regulations in the senior category, the CIK-FIA shifted towards
Original Kart (OK) regulations from 2016 onwards. In 2017,
Spanish-born Moroccan driver
Sami Taoufik became the first non-European champion in a primary class, winning the
OK European Championship with
FA Kart. The 2020 Superkart European Championship, originally scheduled to be hosted at
Le Mans–Bugatti, was cancelled amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, ending its 18-year tenure under the CIK-FIA banner. In 2020 and 2021, aged 14 and 15,
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won back-to-back
OK European Championships, becoming the youngest driver to win multiple primary senior European titles. The KZ2-Masters class debuted at the 2024 KZ European Championship as a senior gearbox division, limited to drivers aged 35 and above. Italian driver Riccardo Nalon won its inaugural edition, driving for Parolin. == Format ==