CHALLENGE THALES GEMENOS · Course Race⏱ 1h01

Thirteen teams took to the 964-metre Karting Paul Ricard circuit on 11 September 2026 for a 61-minute endurance race that delivered a gripping battle at the front and a wealth of technical lessons across the field.

BLACK ARROW (kart #8) claimed victory with 54 laps completed, finishing with a lead of a full lap over the chasing pack. The win was well deserved on every metric: BLACK ARROW recorded the best median pace of the race (1:01.654) and the lowest consistency deviation (±0.73 s), combining speed and regularity in a way no other team could match. All four stints were remarkably composed, the team producing stable lap times throughout and setting their personal best of 1:00.927 during stint 3.

FALCON (kart #7) finished second, also on 54 laps but 2.975 seconds adrift at the flag. FALCON's strength lay in their raw speed — they set the fastest lap of the entire race, a 1:00.097, and posted the second-best median pace (1:01.706). Their final stint was their quickest (median 1:00.691), suggesting a team that finished the race stronger than it started. A gap of less than 0.1 s per lap in median pace between first and second made the fight for victory extremely close.

LES JOE BARS (kart #19) secured the final podium position with 53 laps, one lap behind the leaders. Their performance was consistent across all four stints (overall ±0.82 s), and they held third place in pure pace as well as in the final standings — a clean and controlled race.

ALPINE (kart #3) finished fourth with 52 laps, showing notable variation between stints — a first and third stint around 1:02.6–1:02.9 contrasted with a second and fourth stint closer to 1:04.7 and 1:04.4 respectively, reflecting a significant pace swing across drivers or conditions. CHOUFFE (kart #25) came fifth, separated from ALPINE by just 7.526 seconds despite a slightly slower median pace, benefiting from solid consistency (±0.92 s).

LES MONTAGNARDS (kart #21) were the strategic highlight of the race: classified sixth overall, they ranked only eighth in pure median pace, yet gained two net positions through a remarkably even four-stint execution (overall ±0.76 s, one of the best in the field). LES MINOTS (kart #12) and SENNA (kart #6) rounded out the group on 52 laps in seventh and eighth, though both showed the highest consistency deviations in that group (±1.43 s and ±1.63 s respectively), with accelerating tendencies in their final stints pointing to irregular driving or changing conditions.

POLACOS (kart #22) finished ninth with 50 laps. Their data reveals a significant rhythm gap between their odd stints (medians around 1:03.4–1:03.9) and even stints (medians around 1:08.0–1:08.2), a contrast that explains their position drop relative to pace potential. RAS (kart #16) showed a similar pattern, finishing tenth with 49 laps and an overall deviation of ±2.48 s. LES TETES BRULEES (kart #17) and GRANCHIO (kart #10) shared 48 laps in eleventh and twelfth. LES TETES BRULEES recorded the highest overall median (1:09.129) and the only stint in the race with a confirmed pace loss — stint 2 slowing by 0.16 s per lap. GRANCHIO improved progressively across their four stints, their fourth being their fastest.

BANSHEE'S (kart #24) crossed the line thirteenth with 41 laps, 12 laps off the lead. However, their best lap time of 1:03.021 placed them ninth in pure pace across the field — a strong individual performance that was not reflected in the final classification.

Key takeaways for teams: BLACK ARROW demonstrated that combining the best median pace with the best consistency is the most effective recipe for victory in endurance racing — no single exceptional lap is worth as much as 54 laps close to maximum pace. FALCON's faster absolute speed was not enough to overcome BLACK ARROW's superior regularity over the full distance. LES MONTAGNARDS proved that stable pace management can outperform raw speed, gaining two positions over teams with better lap times. Teams such as POLACOS and RAS, whose pace varied drastically between stints, highlighted how driver-to-driver performance gaps directly translate into lost laps and positions over 61 minutes.