CHALLENGE CHEVALIER · Course Race⏱ 2h31

Seventeen teams lined up for a 151-minute endurance race at Karting Circuit Paul Ricard (964 m) on 7 August 2026. After more than two and a half hours of racing, EQUIPE 4 crossed the line first with 130 laps completed, clinching both the overall victory and the honour of posting the strongest pure pace of the field.

EQUIPE 5 finished second, one lap down, having completed 129 laps, while EQUIPE 12 secured third place — also on 129 laps — just 8.619 seconds behind. The gap between second and third was therefore decided in the final phase of the race, highlighting how closely matched these two teams were in terms of lap count. Fourth place went to EQUIPE 9 (126 laps, 10 pit stops), followed by EQUIPE 15 in fifth (127 laps) just 1.114 seconds ahead of EQUIPE 17 in sixth. EQUIPE 14 completed the top seven, only 0.187 seconds behind EQUIPE 17 — a remarkably tight finish for seventh position.

The fastest lap of the race was set by EQUIPE 12 in a time of 1:00.940, the only team to dip below the 1:01 barrier on the day.

In terms of pure race pace, the analysis confirms EQUIPE 4's dominance: their median lap time stripped of pit-stop laps was 1:02.652, the best of the entire field. They also recorded the highest consistency with a standard deviation of just 1.03 seconds — meaning their pace varied less than any other competitor throughout the 151 minutes. Their ten stints were largely stable, with several showing positive acceleration trends, and no significant degradation was recorded at the end of any stint.

EQUIPE 12 held the 2nd-best pure pace (median 1:03.106) despite their overall consistency being more variable (σ = 1.75 s). Their race featured striking contrasts: stints 4 and 6 were run at a median of 1:01.502 and 1:01.629 respectively, while stints 3 and 7 were notably slower — illustrating an uneven but lightning-fast potential when conditions aligned.

EQUIPE 15 produced the 3rd-best pure pace (median 1:03.127) but finished only 5th, held back by a high overall consistency spread (σ = 2.27 s) and several slower stints. EQUIPE 16 was similarly affected: 5th-best pace (median 1:03.678) yet only 8th at the finish, with a standard deviation of 2.19 s indicating significant lap-time swings across their stints.

The strategy spotlight goes to EQUIPE 14, who finished 7th despite holding only the 11th-best pure pace (median 1:04.627). Their final stint of 28 laps — the longest of any team in the race — was run at a solid and consistent median of 1:03.847 (σ = 0.65 s), suggesting excellent tyre and pace management in the closing stages. Conversely, EQUIPE 1 (16th overall) recorded the 9th-best pure pace but could not convert raw speed into race position.

The most pronounced degradation observed belongs to EQUIPE 13, whose 5th stint slowed by 0.30 s per lap — the steepest performance drop recorded across the field on any single stint.

Key takeaways for teams: At Karting Paul Ricard, combining raw pace with consistency proved decisive. EQUIPE 4 demonstrated that a median pace of 1:02.652 paired with the lowest variability in the field (σ = 1.03 s) across 9 pit stops is a winning formula over 151 minutes. Teams like EQUIPE 15 and EQUIPE 16 — both faster in pure pace than their finishing positions suggest — show that managing consistency and minimising slow stints matters as much as outright speed. Long, well-managed final stints, as demonstrated by EQUIPE 14, can also recover positions in the classification.