1 uurs race · Finale Race⏱ 1h05

Twenty teams lined up on the 735-metre Kartcentrum Lelystad circuit in Lelystad for the 64-minute endurance final held on 9 August 2026. After 83 laps of intense racing, LEROY VALKHOF (kart 34) claimed overall victory by the narrowest of margins, crossing the line just 15.436 seconds ahead of DE TURBO RAGGERS (kart 32), who matched them lap for lap throughout the race. LZR (kart 2) completed the podium, finishing third at 15.485 seconds from the runner-up — a gap of less than a tenth separating second and third. Both LEROY VALKHOF and DE TURBO RAGGERS made a single pit stop and completed 83 laps, while LZR also made one stop but recorded 59 laps, reflecting a different strategic window.

The best lap of the race — 41.898 s — was set by DE TURBO RAGGERS, the fastest single lap of the entire final. In terms of pure race pace, the analysis confirms DE TURBO RAGGERS as the strongest runners on track, posting a median race lap of 42.713 s — the best pure rhythm of all 20 teams. Yet despite that outright speed, they were unable to convert it into the win, finishing 15 seconds adrift of LEROY VALKHOF, who ran a remarkably controlled race with a median lap of 43.037 s (4th best pure rhythm) and a consistency figure of 0.63 s standard deviation across two stints.

LEROY VALKHOF's race management was a key differentiator. After a short opening stint of 12 laps (median 43.094 s), the team settled into a long 70-lap second stint (median 43.031 s) with no degradation detected — both stints rated as stable. That ability to sustain pace across a marathon stint, combined with a single pit stop, proved decisive against DE TURBO RAGGERS, who despite their superior raw speed could not make it count on the timing sheets.

LZR delivered an excellent performance from a pace perspective: their main kart (2) ran a median of 42.871 s — 3rd best pure rhythm — with outstanding consistency (0.46 s standard deviation). Their single long stint of 58 laps shows a clean, efficient strategy, even if laps lost to their pit stop window ultimately cost them a shot at victory.

Further back, VZQ-K 1 (kart 28) finished 4th but offers one of the most interesting tactical stories of the race. In terms of pure rhythm, kart 26 — also running under the VZQ-K 1 banner — posted the 2nd best median pace of the field at 42.799 s, yet the team finished only 7th in the pure-rhythm standings overall. By contrast, the classified 4th place was achieved despite a 15th-best pure rhythm (43.967 s) across kart 28's stint, meaning VZQ-K 1 outperformed their raw pace through strategic timing of their two pit stops. STRAFBLAD RACING stands out as the most consistent team in the analysis, achieving a standard deviation of just 0.45 s across their stints — the lowest regularity figure recorded — and finishing 5th overall.

Positions 6 through 9 — LUCAT, VZQ-K 2, FOX RACING and JOOPGERTSEN — all completed 82 laps with a single stop, separated by just 34 seconds, confirming a tightly matched mid-field battle. At the foot of the order, NATTE TOSTI'S (kart 19) ended the final 12 laps down in 20th, with NRT and WALNOOT — the team with the most pronounced pace degradation in the race (slowing at a rate of 0.20 s per lap during their fourth stint) — completing the bottom three.

Key takeaways for teams: At Kartcentrum Lelystad, raw speed alone does not guarantee the result — DE TURBO RAGGERS demonstrated that clearly. LEROY VALKHOF's victory was built on a single long second stint with stable, consistent lap times rather than outright pace. Managing tyre degradation across extended stints and timing the single pit stop correctly were the decisive factors in this 64-minute final. Teams capable of combining 3rd-to-4th-range pure rhythm with sub-0.65 s lap-time variation over 70-plus laps should consider this the benchmark to beat at this circuit.