Grand Prix SODIVITRAGE · Endurance Race⏱ 52 min

Fourteen teams took to the Piste Internationale (1,500 m) at Sologne Karting in Salbris on 10 July 2026 for a 52-minute endurance race. At the chequered flag, FERRARI (kart #16) claimed victory with 62 laps completed, one full lap ahead of PORSCHE (kart #2), who finished second with 61 laps. HONDA (kart #6) rounded out the podium in third, three laps down on the winner. The best lap of the entire race was set by FERRARI: 1:20.180.

Behind the podium, BMW (kart #17) and ASTON MARTIN (kart #7) both completed 59 laps, separated by 18.234 seconds, taking fourth and fifth respectively. LOTUS (kart #9), MERCEDES (kart #3) and ALPINE (kart #12) all crossed the line on 58 laps, filling positions six through eight. BUGATTI (kart #14), AUDI (kart #13) and CITROËN (kart #19) shared the 57-lap mark, taking ninth to eleventh. RED BULL (kart #4) and TOYOTA (kart #8) both finished on 56 laps in twelfth and thirteenth. Almost all teams completed five pit stop cycles, with the exception of AUDI, who managed four passages au stand.

The pure-pace analysis reveals a striking contrast between on-track performance and final classification. MERCEDES posted the best median race pace of the field at 1:21.597, yet crossed the line in seventh place — a gap of six positions between outright speed and result. Similarly, CITROËN recorded the 4th-best median pace (1:23.279) but finished 11th, illustrating how costly time losses elsewhere can be over a 52-minute race.

On the opposite end of the strategy spectrum, HONDA stands out as the race's prime example of strategic efficiency: ranked only 11th in pure pace (median 1:27.391), the team converted that into a 3rd-place finish. Their secret weapon was the most consistent race pace in the field, with a standard deviation of just 1.11 seconds across all timed laps — every relais rated "stable", meaning virtually no lap-time degradation throughout. Clean, reliable driving proved worth more than raw speed.

FERRARI's victory is particularly notable given that their median pace ranked only 5th (1:23.289). They combined solid pit stop management (5 stops) with their fastest lap of the race (1:20.180) and delivered a regularity of 1.58 s — strong enough to stay in contention throughout and accumulate laps where others lost time.

PORSCHE (2nd, pace rank 2nd at 1:22.070) had the raw speed to challenge for the win but were undone by a severe degradation in their final relais, shedding 2.13 s per lap — the steepest drop recorded across the entire field. Their overall consistency rating (4.01 s standard deviation) reflected these damaging swings between stints.

AUDI also caught the eye: 6th in pure pace (1:24.637) but only 10th at the flag, largely due to a troubled second relais during which pace deteriorated sharply (–0.63 s/lap, median 1:33.369 vs 1:24.453 in stint 1). With only four pit stops versus five for most rivals, their strategy did not yield the expected advantage.

Key takeaways for teams: At Sologne Karting, pace consistency across all stints proved more decisive than outright lap time. Minimising degradation at the end of each relais — particularly in the final stint — was the critical differentiator between positions. HONDA's example shows that a stable 1:27 is more valuable than an erratic 1:22 over 52 minutes. For faster teams like MERCEDES and CITROËN, the priority should be converting their natural pace advantage into lap count by tightening execution around pit stops and maintaining rhythm throughout every relais.