Gara 5 Race⏱ 11 min

The Circuito di Pomposa (San Giuseppe di Comacchio, Ferrara) hosted Gara 5 on 12 July 2026, a 10-minute endurance race on the 1,213-metre Pista Kart that brought together 14 karts on the starting grid. The format rewarded both outright pace and tactical pit-stop management in equal measure.

KART 3 took a dominant victory, completing 11 laps — two clear of second place — and posting the fastest lap of the entire race: 50.337 s, a benchmark no other competitor came close to. With a median race pace of 57.708 s and the best pure-pace ranking of the field, KART 3 combined raw speed with an aggressive pit strategy of 16 pit stops, the highest total among the top finishers. The result is unambiguous: KART 3 was the class of the field.

KART 1 crossed the line in second place on 9 laps, 2 laps down, after 15 pit stops. The pure-pace analysis tells a striking story: with a median pace of 1:17.408, KART 1 ranked only 11th on outright rhythm across the analysed field, yet finished second overall. This is the clearest strategic overperformance of the race — consistent execution of a high-frequency pit strategy elevated the team well beyond what their lap times would suggest.

Three teams — KART 5, KART 4 and KART 2 — all finished third, fourth and fifth respectively, each completing 8 laps and separated by no more than their best lap times (1:03.184, 57.514 and 1:12.097). KART 5 and KART 4 each made 18 pit stops, the most of anyone in the race, while KART 2 managed 15.

From 6th to 14th, the field split into two distinct groups. KART 11, KART 8, KART 10 and KART 14 all completed 5 laps with just 4 pit stops each. Among these, the pace analysis reveals a notable case: KART 10 held the 3rd best pure pace in the field with a median of 1:07.154 s and exceptional regularity (σ = 0.85 s), yet finished only 8th. Similarly, KART 11 posted the 2nd best rhythm (1:05.992 s, σ = 0.81 s) but finished 6th — both teams evidently lacked the pit-stop frequency that would have converted their pace into positions.

The remaining six karts (KART 9 through KART 12) all finished on 4 laps with 4 pit stops each, covering positions 10 to 14. Their median pace figures ranged from 1:11.329 (KART 9) to 1:12.797 (KART 12), with very consistent regularity figures (σ between 0.79 and 0.88 s) — a sign of controlled, composed driving despite modest results.

Key takeaways for teams: Gara 5 at Circuito di Pomposa demonstrated that in a 10-minute sprint-endurance format, pit-stop frequency is a decisive lever. KART 3 proved that combining the best outright pace with the highest number of stops is the winning formula. KART 1's second place shows that a disciplined strategic approach can compensate for a significant pace deficit. Conversely, KART 10 and KART 11 — the 3rd and 2nd fastest karts on pure rhythm respectively — left potential positions on the table by limiting their pit activity to just 4 stops. In this format, pace alone is not enough.