Senior Gold Sprint · Senior Gold R3 Race⏱ 14 min

The Senior Gold R3 endurance race at Karting Eupen (Eupen, Belgium) took place on 22 September 2026 on the 1,100-metre Circuit 1 layout. Six karts lined up for this 13-minute sprint, and the battle proved tight from start to finish across all three pit-stop strategies.

ADRI43 (kart #25) took the chequered flag in first position, completing 10 laps and finishing a full lap clear of the rest of the field — the gap to second place is recorded as Lap 12. The team also set the fastest lap of the race with a 57.639 s effort, sealing a dominant double of outright victory and lap record.

Behind the winner, the fight for the podium was decided by fractions of a second. MAXIGOUN (kart #28) crossed the line second, just 0.600 s adrift, posting a best lap of 57.704 s across their 3 pit stops. JOFFREY (kart #21) completed the podium in third, 1.577 s from the lead, with a best lap of 57.829 s and likewise 3 passages through the pits. JULIEN (kart #15) finished fourth at 2.464 s, their best lap of 57.728 s — actually quicker than JOFFREY's — demonstrating that pace alone did not decide the final order. JULIEN also made 3 pit stops.

The bottom two positions were separated by a mere 0.356 s. JEREMR (kart #4) crossed the line fifth at 11.402 s, having made only 2 pit stops, while MAXS (kart #16) rounded out the classification in sixth at 11.758 s with just 1 pit stop — the most minimal strategy of the race.

Pace analysis — what the data reveals: ADRI43 led not only on results but on pure median race pace: a median lap time of 58.053 s places them first in the speed rankings. Their sole analysed stint (7 laps) showed a noteworthy improving tendency of 0.23 s/lap, with a consistency figure of 0.60 s — a sign of a driver growing into the kart rather than fading. JOFFREY holds the second-best pure pace (median 58.067 s over 6 laps), with excellent regularity (σ = 0.38 s, the tightest of the race) and a 0.19 s/lap acceleration — yet they finished only third. This gap between pace potential and final position makes JOFFREY the most notable case of an underperformer relative to raw speed. JULIEN ranks third in median pace (58.145 s over 9 laps), running a very stable stint (σ = 0.51 s) — composure without any perceptible drift. JEREMR sits fourth in pace (median 58.880 s), also improving through their stint at 0.17 s/lap with the best consistency figure in the analysis (σ = 0.55 s).

Key takeaways for teams: At Karting Eupen on this 13-minute Senior Gold format, raw pace and race result aligned closely for the winner — ADRI43 led on every meaningful metric. The most instructive lesson comes from JOFFREY: a median pace of 58.067 s and the tightest consistency in the race were not enough to overhaul a third-place finish, underlining how pit-stop timing and traffic management remain decisive even in short endurance formats. Teams with strong natural rhythm should ensure their strategy converts that advantage fully into track position.