Grand Prix REXEL · Finale Race⏱ 2h03

The Final of the endurance race at Sologne Karting (Piste Internationale, 1,500 m, Salbris) was held on 11 September 2026 over 122 minutes, with 19 teams on the grid. It was a tightly fought contest from start to finish, settled over 80 laps at the top of the standings.

FERRARI (kart #2) took the win, completing 80 laps and setting the best lap of the entire race — a 1:18.890 — the fastest time recorded by any team across the full event. Despite a median race pace of 1:21.102 (2nd in pure pace), the team managed their 11 pit stops efficiently and held off the chasing pack to claim victory. HONDA (kart #23) crossed the line 18.051 seconds behind, also on 80 laps, and was actually the fastest team on pure pace throughout the race with a median lap time of 1:20.535 — 0.567 s/lap quicker than FERRARI on a like-for-like basis. HONDA accelerated through most of their stints, including a superb relay 8 at 1:19.311 median, and their best lap of 1:19.043 was the second quickest of the race. The gap between pace and result tells a story of marginal differences in execution.

WILLIAMS (kart #30) completed the podium, also on 80 laps but 1:19.856 behind HONDA. Williams ranked only 6th in pure pace (median 1:22.433) yet managed to match the lap count of the two quickest teams — a notable strategic achievement over 122 minutes. MERCEDES (kart #4) finished 4th with 79 laps, one lap down, and was the most consistent team of the race with the lowest lap-time standard deviation at 1.43 s — a measure of exceptional regularity maintained across 10 stints.

Further back, SAUBER (kart #6) finished 7th with 77 laps but ranked 5th in pure pace (median 1:22.200). Their race was hampered by a pronounced dip in stints 5 and 6, where their median pace fell to 1:25.559 and 1:27.019 respectively before recovering sharply in the final relay to 1:19.635. The inconsistency across stints (standard deviation 3.54 s, highest among the analysed teams) ultimately cost them ground in the classification.

CHEVROLET (kart #25) stands out as the clearest example of a pace-result disconnect: 3rd in pure pace with a median of 1:21.965, they finished only 11th. A difficult opening stint — median 1:25.525 — set the tone, and despite consistently strong subsequent relays, the deficit proved impossible to overturn across 77 laps. Conversely, ALPINE (kart #32) finished 9th despite ranking only 14th in pure pace, illustrating how strategic timing of pit stops and lap count management can compensate for a raw pace deficit over a long race distance.

Key takeaways for teams: At Sologne Karting, pure pace is necessary but not sufficient — HONDA proved it is possible to hold the fastest median lap time and still finish second. MERCEDES demonstrated that regularity (σ = 1.43 s) can be just as valuable as outright speed. CHEVROLET's costly opening stint underlines the importance of clean early laps, while SAUBER's mid-race pace drop shows the danger of inconsistent stint management. With all 19 teams completing 11 pit stops, strategy was largely neutralised, placing the spotlight squarely on execution, consistency and the ability to maintain rhythm through every relay.