TRAINING MARATHON · Course Race⏱ 1h01

Twenty-two karts took to the 964-metre Karting Paul Ricard circuit on July 11, 2026 for a 61-minute endurance race. At the chequered flag, it was GASPARD (kart #12) who stood on the top step of the podium, completing 55 laps and holding off CLEMENTINE by just 2.703 seconds — a remarkably tight finish after an hour of racing.

CLEMENTINE (#24) crossed the line in second, matching GASPARD's 55-lap total, and set the fastest lap of the entire race with a 59.895. ANDREA (#19) secured third place, also on 55 laps, 14.322 seconds behind the winner. MORGANE (#3) and HUGO (#10) rounded out the top five, both on 55 laps, separated by just 3.664 seconds. MATTEO (#2) and STEPHANE (#17) completed a tightly packed top seven, all finishing on the same lap as the winner. Each of the top seven karts made 3 pit stops.

From the eighth position onward, NATHAN COUCHY, OLIVIER, FABIEN, CRI718, MATTHIAS, AUDREY and DAVID all finished on 54 laps. FLORENT (#25) was classified 15th despite being on 55 laps — a penalised result placing him two laps down on the final standings. LUDOMANIA (#18) was notable for making 4 pit stops versus the standard 3, and ANGE (#16) required 5 passages through the pits, finishing 21st on 44 laps. KOFI (#15) ended the race last on 40 laps.

Pace analysis: The fastest pure race pace belonged to CLEMENTINE, with a median lap time of 1:00.388 (1st in pure pace), edging out GASPARD (1:00.429, 2nd in pure pace). GASPARD's victory was therefore built on strategy and consistency rather than raw speed alone — the team managed four stable stints, including a strong 20-lap final relais at a median of 1:00.459. CLEMENTINE, by contrast, posted a slower opening stint (1:01.114 median) before finding their rhythm across the final three stints, all below 1:00.432.

ANDREA delivered the most consistent performance in the top three, with a regularity standard deviation of just 0.54 seconds across all four stints — every relais registering a stable tendency. HUGO (5th) punched above its weight on race pace (7th in pure pace), demonstrating effective strategy to gain two positions over the pure speed order. The standout anomaly in the data was FLORENT: ranked 4th in pure pace (median 1:00.864) and the most consistent driver of the entire field (regularity of 0.43 s), yet classified only 15th — a result shaped by circumstances on track rather than a lack of speed or reliability.

Key takeaways for teams: At Karting Paul Ricard, converting pure pace into victory requires execution across all four stints. GASPARD's triumph illustrates that a stable, managed race strategy — four consistent stints with no degradation — can overcome a fractionally quicker rival. CLEMENTINE's slow opening stint cost precious seconds that proved impossible to recover entirely. Teams targeting the podium should pay close attention to their opening relais pace and pit-stop timing, as the margins between positions 1 through 7 were decided by seconds after 61 minutes of racing.