CHALLENGE THALES CDI - CSE · Course Race⏱ 55 min

On September 22, 2026, seventeen teams lined up at Karting Circuit Paul Ricard (964 m) for a 55-minute endurance race. When the chequered flag fell, it was TL (kart #20) who took the top step of the podium with 46 laps completed, ahead of DJ Racing (kart #18) at 3.976 seconds, and Les Chamallows (kart #25) at 12.883 seconds. All three podium finishers completed 46 laps and made 3 pit stops each.

Fourth place went to Taureau Rouge (kart #23), who remarkably completed 49 laps — three more than most front-runners — finishing 29.012 seconds behind TL. Hugo & Thomas (kart #13) and Les Ricards (kart #11) rounded out the top six, separated by less than a second at the finish (39.272 s and 40.225 s respectively). Les As (kart #7) completed the top seven, 58.223 seconds off the lead, also on 46 laps.

The fastest lap of the race was set by TL with a time of 1:00.195, the only team to dip below the 1:00.2 barrier. DJ Racing recorded 1:00.889, Les Chamallows 1:00.911, and notably Box Box (kart #24) posted 1:00.843 despite finishing 17th.

From a pure pace perspective, TL dominated on all fronts: best median pace (1:01.818), best finish, and best overall lap. Their four stints were well-controlled — a stable opener, a slight 0.15 s/lap fade in stint two, then a sharp third stint at 1:01.453 median before a positive final stint. DJ Racing stood out as the most consistent team across the race with a remarkable standard deviation of just 0.8 s — four stable stints, confirming their quality extended well beyond their 2nd-place finish on the road.

Les Chamallows matched their road position with 3rd-best pace (1:02.298 median), showing particular strength in stint three (1:01.099 median). Hugo & Thomas held 4th in pure pace (1:02.428 median), but their high variability (σ = 1.68 s) across the race — especially in stints two and four — ultimately cost them places. Taureau Rouge finished 4th on the road despite ranking only 5th in pure pace, reflecting effective overall race management.

One of the notable contrasts came from Les Pirates (kart #9, 16th), who ranked 7th in pure pace — a significant gap between potential and result. Their second stint suffered the steepest pace degradation in the field, losing 0.46 s per lap, which proved very costly over the race distance. At the other end, Deraper (kart #5) finished 9th despite ranking only 14th in pure pace, illustrating how consistency and strategic execution can compensate for outright speed.

Key takeaways for teams: TL's victory was built on the best raw pace and a well-structured pit strategy. DJ Racing's near-perfect consistency (σ = 0.8 s) shows that eliminating lap-time variation is a genuine competitive weapon on the Paul Ricard karting circuit. Teams like Les Pirates must focus on managing degradation within stints, as pace alone is not enough when individual relays deteriorate sharply. On a 964 m circuit with 3-stop strategies, every second of in-lap consistency compounds significantly over 55 minutes.