RELAIS ESTIVAL · Course Race⏱ 42 min

Twenty-four teams lined up on 12 August 2026 for a 41-minute endurance race at Karting Circuit Paul Ricard (964 m), delivering a tightly contested battle across the entire field. Each team made exactly three pit stops, making strategy and consistency the twin pillars of the result.

LA BONNEAUDE (kart #13) took the victory with 36 laps completed, finishing one lap ahead of R VARGAS in third, who had to settle for 35 laps. The winning margin over second-placed LRFAMILLY (kart #16) was 5.189 seconds — a narrow gap that reflects how evenly matched the top two were throughout the race. IPER-K (4th, +36.007 s) and LÉO & GABRIEL (5th, +47.021 s) rounded out a top five all finishing on 36 laps.

The pace analysis reveals that the final standings closely matched the pure-speed hierarchy at the front. LA BONNEAUDE posted the best median race pace at 59.828 s and was also the most consistent team of the race, with a lap-time standard deviation of just 0.57 s. That combination of raw speed and regularity proved decisive. Across all four stints, the team maintained a stable rhythm, never allowing significant degradation to creep in — a textbook endurance performance.

LRFAMILLY held the second-best median pace (59.843 s, 2nd in pure rhythm) and actually set the fastest lap of the entire race: 59.216 s. Their stints 3 and 4 both showed an accelerating trend (~0.15–0.16 s/lap improvement), meaning they were building speed towards the end — a sign of strong driver management. The 5.189 s deficit at the flag was ultimately the price of a slightly slower second stint (median 1:00.054 s).

R VARGAS (3rd, 35 laps) sat 3rd in pure pace with a median of 1:00.371 s and displayed excellent consistency (σ = 0.58 s). However, a lap's deficit compared to the leaders left them 26.335 s behind on the road after time adjustments.

One of the most telling stories of the race was the performance of JM RACE (kart #24). Classified 6th on the road, they ranked only 10th in pure pace (median 1:01.401 s) with the highest lap-time variability in the analysed field (σ = 1.44 s). Their first and fourth stints were extremely fast (medians of 1:00.002 s and 59.743 s respectively), while stints 2 and 3 were significantly slower. That uneven pace distribution — likely reflecting contrasting driver levels within the team — ultimately yielded a result well above their raw speed, making them the strategic over-performers of the day.

In contrast, JEAN-PHILIPPE (kart #21, 18th classified) ranked 11th in pure pace despite finishing near the back — a gap between pace and position worth noting for the team's future outings.

Key takeaways for teams: At Karting Paul Ricard, pure pace alone is not enough — the top three teams in the results were also the top three in pure rhythm, confirming that on a 964 m circuit over 41 minutes, consistent lap times across all stints are the foundation of a solid result. Teams with high intra-stint variability (σ > 1.0 s) consistently lost ground over the race distance. Managing driver change pace transitions and avoiding slow stints mid-race proved to be the clearest differentiator between a top-5 and a midfield finish.