Karel Hanika started his career racing minibikes at the age of seven and would eventually go on to become the 125cc national champion in Austria and his native Czech Republic. He joined the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2012 and was an instant success winning three races and finishing third in the standings. In 2013 he went on to win the junior series and also became European Moto3™ champion. He debuted in the World Championship in 2014 with the well-respected Red Bull KTM Ajo team and he got a chance to improve his results with the same team again in 2015. Both years were filled with crashes and for 2016 Hanika switch to the Outox Reset Drink Team on a Mahindra, as well as losing his distinct long hair.