ENDURANCE 1H30 DENIS MARIE · COURSE ENDURANCE Race

Sixteen teams took to the 1,220-metre Piste 1 of the Ouest Circuit International d'Essay, near Aunay-les-Bois, on 31 July 2026 for a hotly contested endurance race. At the chequered flag, Les Dezingueurs (kart #6) claimed a well-deserved victory, completing 50 laps and finishing just 1.371 seconds ahead of Les Poivrots (kart #18). Les Arpets (kart #37) rounded out the podium, crossing the line 6.360 seconds off the pace. Team Rocket (kart #24) and Les Poids Plumes (kart #14) completed the top five, 23.416 s and 1:08.271 behind the winner respectively. All three podium teams — as well as the entire top five — completed 50 laps and made 3 pit stops, the standard strategy across the entire field.

The fastest lap of the race was set by Les Dezingueurs in a time of 1:06.430, the quickest single lap of the entire event. Their overall race pace was equally dominant: a median lap time of 1:08.698 (excluding pit laps) gave them the best pure pace of any team on the day, ahead of Les Arpets (1:09.093) and Les Poivrots (1:09.366). The overall lap count ranged from 50 for the top five down to 41 laps for Les P'tits Chatons (kart #46), who finished 16th.

Digging into the stint-by-stint analysis reveals some telling contrasts. Les Dezingueurs were remarkably consistent across three of their four stints — standard deviations of 1.45, 0.81 and 0.95 seconds — but experienced their most difficult stint in relay 2, where pace dropped by 0.95 s/lap, the steepest single-stint degradation recorded among the leading teams. They recovered emphatically in relay 3, posting a median of 1:07.309 with excellent regularity (σ = 0.81 s).

Les Arpets showed their credentials as the second-quickest team in pure pace terms. Their relay 3 was particularly impressive, with the team actually improving by 0.17 s/lap through the stint and recording their best lap of 1:06.837. Les Poivrots, ranked 3rd in pure pace, delivered the most consistent race overall (σ = 1.39 s across all laps) and were rewarded with 2nd place on the road.

Further back, ACDM (kart #22) finished 7th despite a difficult opening stint — a median of 1:14.750 in relay 1 — before rallying strongly in relays 2 and 4 with medians around 1:08.5. Team Poette (kart #1), ranked only 12th in pure pace (median 1:12.514), managed to finish 8th, out-performing their raw speed through consistent pit strategy. Conversely, Les P'tits Chatons, despite ranking 8th in pure pace, fell to 16th in the final standings — the widest gap between pace potential and classified position in the field. They were also the most consistent team in terms of lap-time regularity (σ = 1.31 s overall).

Key takeaways for teams: At Essay on 31 July 2026, pace alone did not guarantee results — Les P'tits Chatons demonstrated this most starkly. The race was decided by the combination of raw speed, regularity and the ability to limit degradation within each stint. Les Dezingueurs mastered this balance better than anyone: best pace, best lap, and enough consistency to control the race from front to back despite a difficult second relay. Teams aiming for the podium at this circuit should target a median stint time below 1:09.5 and keep lap-time standard deviation under 2 seconds per relay.