CSE SAFRAN · Endurance Race⏱ 1h06

The 66-minute endurance race at Dunois Kart in Lutz-en-Dunois brought together 16 teams on the 1,200-metre circuit (measured at 1,100 m) on 11 September 2026. At the chequered flag, RAIKKONEN (kart 19) claimed victory with 51 laps completed, ahead of SAINZ and PROST, who matched the same lap count.

SAINZ (kart 24) crossed the line 6.765 seconds behind the winner, while PROST (kart 5) was a further 3.274 seconds adrift at 10.039 seconds from the lead. ROSBERG (kart 3) and OCON (kart 15) rounded out the top five, separated from PROST by only 0.564 and 2.337 seconds respectively, making for a tightly packed front group. VETTEL (kart 16) completed the lead-lap finishers in sixth place, but was over a minute behind the leaders. All six leading teams made 3 pit stops.

The fastest lap of the race was set by PROST in a time of 1:03.764. Yet the race result tells a more nuanced story once pure pace is weighed against consistency and strategy.

VETTEL posted the best median pace of the entire field (1:04.959, ranked 1st in pure rhythm), but a significantly higher standard deviation of 2.36 seconds — the worst among the front-runners — cost them dearly. Their second and fourth stints were notably slower (median 1:09.210 and 1:08.082 respectively), which explains the gap to the leaders despite their raw speed.

SAINZ delivered the most complete performance among the top finishers: ranked 2nd in pure rhythm (1:05.249) with the best consistency of any podium finisher (σ = 0.93 s). All four of their stints were stable, and their opening relais — the fastest of any top-three team at a median of 1:04.697 — set the tone for the race.

RAIKKONEN, the winner, ranked only 5th in pure rhythm (median 1:05.337), but managed four stable stints with a very controlled consistency (σ = 1.28 s). Their strongest segment came in the final relais (median 1:05.062), suggesting a well-managed effort across the full race distance.

ROSBERG was the most consistent team overall (σ = 0.88 s), with four regular stints and a progressive improvement through the race, finishing 4th. VERSTAPPEN (kart 2) stands out as the sharpest underperformer relative to pace: ranked 3rd in pure rhythm (median 1:05.277) yet classified 11th, having completed only 48 laps across three stints — pointing to a significantly reduced race distance compared to the leaders.

BOURDAY (kart 9, 7th) represents the opposite case: ranked only 13th in pure rhythm (median 1:07.538), they maximised their result to finish 7th with 50 laps — a strong strategic performance relative to their outright pace. FANGIO (kart 10) showed the heaviest pace degradation of the race, losing 0.31 s per lap in their final stint.

Key takeaways for teams: At Dunois Kart, the winning combination on 11 September 2026 was not peak speed but sustained consistency across all stints. VETTEL's example shows that raw pace (best median rhythm) is wasted without stint-to-stint regularity. SAINZ and RAIKKONEN, both highly consistent, finished 1st and 2nd. Managing tyre and physical degradation in the closing stints — as FANGIO's fourth relais illustrates — is equally decisive. Finally, VERSTAPPEN's case is a reminder that lap count ultimately governs final classification: pure pace means little if the total distance falls short.