S.E. RODRIGUEZ Plâtrerie · Finale Race⏱ 1h34

The Finale of the endurance race at Sologne Karting (Piste Internationale, 1,500 m, Salbris) brought together 13 teams for 94 minutes of racing on 1 October 2026. BMW took a dominant victory, while the midfield delivered some fascinating strategic and technical contrasts.

BMW (kart #22) crossed the line first with 59 laps completed, ahead of Honda (58 laps, P3) and Mercedes (58 laps, P4). Aston Martin (kart #24) claimed second place with 57 laps, two laps down on the winner. Red Bull and Bugatti rounded out the top five and six respectively, each on 56 laps. Audi finished seventh (57 laps), Alpine eighth (56 laps), Porsche ninth (54 laps), Toyota tenth (55 laps), Ferrari eleventh (54 laps), Citroën twelfth (50 laps), and Lotus thirteenth (50 laps). The fastest lap of the race was set by BMW at 1:22.433.

The analysis confirms BMW's total domination: the team posted the best pure pace of the field with a median race rhythm of 1:25.238 (P1 in pace ranking). Crucially, BMW improved progressively throughout the race — every single stint showed a positive trend, with the crew consistently gaining time across each relais. Their fifth stint was their most consistent (standard deviation of just 0.79 s), while the fourth produced both their best lap and their quickest median. With 5 pit stops, their strategy was perfectly aligned with the rest of the front-runners.

Honda (P3 overall) was BMW's closest rival in pure pace, ranking 2nd in median rhythm at 1:26.994. Their final stint stood out: 15 laps with a stable trend and a median of 1:24.429, demonstrating strong end-of-race pace. Mercedes finished P4 overall with the 3rd best race rhythm (1:28.981), improving consistently in each of their six stints.

The standout strategic story belongs to Aston Martin: ranked only 8th in pure pace (median 1:30.075), the team converted that into 2nd place overall — a remarkable six-position gain over their pace ranking. Their regularity and pit stop management were the key levers. By contrast, Ferrari tells the opposite tale: 5th in pure pace (median 1:29.035), they ended the race in 11th position. Only three stints appear in the data, and the third showed a significant slowdown of 0.70 s/lap — a degradation that proved very costly in lap count.

Alpine (P8) stands out as the most consistent team in the field, posting the lowest standard deviation at 2.59 s across their stints. Notably, they also completed the race with only 4 pit stops, one fewer than all other finishers except Lotus. Red Bull (P5) combined the 4th best pure rhythm with some of their best laps coming in stints 4 and 6, though a slight slowdown in their fifth stint (0.33 s/lap) temporarily interrupted their progression.

Key takeaways for teams: At Sologne Karting, raw pace alone does not guarantee the result — Aston Martin's P2 finish on 8th-best rhythm is the clearest evidence. Maintaining lap-count through disciplined pit strategy and avoiding in-stint degradation (as Ferrari's late slowdown illustrated) can be as decisive as outright speed. BMW's ability to combine top pace, progressive improvement across all six stints, and five clean pit stops set the benchmark for a complete endurance performance on this 1,500 m circuit.