Maciej Gładysz is an 15 year driver of competitive karting who comes from a family with rich rally and racing traditions. His grandfather, Janusz, competed on special stages, while dad Adam is a multiple Polish racing champion. Maciej was raised on race tracks throughout whole Europe and inherited the family talent. In years 2017-19 he was nominated to the Orlen Team Academy, a member of the National Team since 2018.

He was a real revelation of the 2017 Cup season. Maciej won five out of seven rounds, finishing other two on 2nd and 3rd place. The Pole was racing in his own league and grabbed the title of karting champion in Poland already in his second year of career. An extraordinary talent backed by hard work gave victories in 2017 Polish championship, Polish cup and junior championship. The young Pole also made an excellent appearance in the World Final – Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal.

In the 2018 season, the Parolin Poland by WTR driver competed not only in his home country, but also in Italy in the category for more experienced drivers, still being successful. It is worth to mention Gładysz pace in most prestigious Italian competiton, which is WSK (World Karting Series). The Pole has been among the fastest rookies there, qualifying for the final races with 100% efficiency. Excellent performance and steady pace resulted in appointment to the National Team and reappointment to the Orlen Team Academy. Maciej finished on the 2nd place in the most popular and biggest class – Rok Cup Poland and gained title of vice Polish Champion. He was also competing in the Italian Trofeo D’Autunno Autumn Cup and the World Cup Final in Italian Lonato.

The year 2019 is the time of the greatest achievements in the career of talented Maciej Gładysz. The young Pole won everything that was possible to win in Polish national championship, grabbing the Rok Cup Poland championship title in the Mini Rok category, as well as Polish Youth Championship. In the 2019 season Maciej again participated in number of rounds in the most difficult and most competitive events in the capital of European karting – Italy. Thanks to fast and steady pace the Pole won the runner-up title in Rok Cup Italia, finishing 2nd in WSK Super Master Series in Naples and 1st in the Rok Cup Italy Nord in famous Adria. The Rok Cup Superfinal, where all the fastest drivers from the season compete together, was interrupted by a colission with one of his rivals. Despite the start from pole position, the Polish driver finished 6th. In the middle of the race Gładysz held his position in the lead, but during the fight for podium one of his rivals pushed him out of the track, resulting in „only” 6th position in the Rok Cup Superfinal in Lonato.

The 2020 season started very successfully for Maciej. In December 2019, he was invited to cooperate with the Parolin Racing factory team, with whom he signed a contract for starts in 2020. Excellent performances for the inauguration of the season at the WSK Champions Cup, the won qualifications and victories in races confirmed Maciek’s great potential. Fourth place in the prestigious 25th edition of the Winter Cup on the track in Lonato, Italy. One of Maciek’s greatest successes is winning the title of the second vicechampion of WSK Super Master Series. That’s one of the most prestigious and worldclass competitions in which nearly 100 best competitors from several dozen countries compete in Maciej’s category.
We can mention the excellent races in the Italian Championship and the finals finished on the podium. In October, Maciej took part in the Rok Cup Superfinal at the Italian track in Franciacorta, where among 84 competitors in the Mini Rok category, he took third place in the final, thus winning the title of second vice-champion. Another very important international competition is the 31st edition of the Andrea Margutti Trophy. So far, only one Pole stood on the podium of this event, and it was Robert Kubica himself in 1998. Twenty-two years after him in the Italian Castelletto, Maciej Gładysz after an extremely tight final, took 3rd place in the competition and had the fastest lap time of the race.

Undoubtedly, the culmination of the long and busy 2020 season was the victory in the strongest karting league in the world, the WSK Open Cup series. Maciej Gładysz won the first round in a beautiful style, while in the second round he was in the lead, which gave him the title of WSK Open Cup 2020 Champion. The polish anthem “Mazurek Dąbrowskiego” was played. Shortly after the end of the season, at the end of November, Maciej and several other Polish karting drivers promoted by PKN Orlen took part in tests organized by Sauber Motorsport. This Swiss concern selected two Polish karting drivers, who were invited to join the Sauber Karting Team. Maciej Gładysz was rated the highest in the tests and accepted Sauber’s offer for 2021 season.

In the 2021 season, we will see Maciej Gładysz in the team that won the European championship in 2020. He did his last races with Parolin in January, starting at the invitation of the American Parolin team in Florida in the Florida Winter Tour event.
The 2021 season was undoubtedly very long and demanding. Maciej Gładysz made his debut in the new OK Junior class. For the first time in history, a Polish driver won the prestigious FIA Karting Academy Trophy series. The representative of Poland, Orlen Team and PZM excellently presented himself in all rounds of this prestigious cycle in Italy, Germany and Sweden and became the best driver among 51 competitors from 50 countries around the world. Maciej received the cup for winning the championship at the prestigious Sports Gala in December, “FIA Prize Giving Award 2021” in Paris.

Maciej for 2022 season signed a contract with the English team Ricky Flynn Motorsport, considered to be the best team in the world. Maciej’s qualifying to this team is a huge ennoblement and a testimony of his level.
The beginning of the year started very positively, already in the third race of the season, the Orlen Team driver won the Champion of the Future Winter Series. Maciej also won the second round of the most prestigious WSK Euro Series, and confirmed his sports talent and professionalism during the FIA World Championship at the Italian Sarno circuit, taking 4th place among 109 competitors from 49 countries of the world.

As an interesting is fact, that the Ricky Flynn Motorsport team’s alumnis are four current Formula 1 drivers: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – McLaren Racing Team, Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo F1 Team and Logan Seargant – Willims Racing. Maciej’s starts in this team, where he is considered the number 1 driver, are a unique opportunity for a Pole on his way to the queen of motorsport, which is Formula 1.

Maciej Gładysz has “speed in his blood”, his grandfather Janusz competed in car rallies in the 1970s, and in 2005-2006 and 2013-2015 he created the Volkswagen Golf Cup racing series, unprecedented for the conditions in this part of Europe. His father Adam is a multiple racing Champion of Poland, who successfully competed in the Scirocco R-Cup and the Porsche GT3 CCCE series, while Maciek’s sister, Natalia also successfully raced in karting. His uncle Marcin is a competitor who was also successful on racing tracks, and we have recently watched him on the routes of the Polish Mountain Motor Championship.