Sodi chassis achieved a great overall result in the Final of the FIA Karting European Championships in Italy, on the Adria circuit. Senna Van Walstijn became European KZ2 vice-champion after a race that saw Hubert Petit move up to 2nd position and Arthur Carbonnel finish 4th. In KZ, Adrien Renaudin finished 5th in the Championship after a remarkable comeback from 9th to 4th place in the Final.
The partnership between the Sodikart factory and the CPB Sport team continues to produce results at a very high level. Nearly two months after Senna Van Walstijn's victory in Germany, the karts bearing the colours of the French brand once again dominated the top rankings throughout the meeting. Ranked 4th in Timed Practice, Van Walstijn went from strength to strength in Qualifying, winning his last two heats brilliantly. Unfortunately, the Dutch driver's start and the progress of the Final did not favour him. Senna fought until the end to secure the points for 5th place and the title of European KZ2 vice-champion.
Hubert Petit on the podium
Confirming the competitiveness of the Sodi-TM packages, Hubert Petit fought hard in the heats and the Final. "I am very happy to achieve my best result at this level of the competition with this 2nd position, which allows me to move up to 5th place in the final European Championship ranking," commented Hubert. "I benefited from exceptional equipment from Qualifying to the Final and I was able to take advantage of it during a crazy last lap! A big thank you to all those who made this performance possible."
As for Arthur Carbonnel, he is far from unworthy, with a clear round in the heats and a magnificent attacking race where he flirted with the podium for a long time. His 4th place in the Final gave him 9th place in the Championship. Less successful in the qualifications, Thomas Imbourg gained six places in the final to be ranked 18th, while Jean Nomblot jumped from 33rd to 21st place. The Russian Nikita Artamonov was aiming for a good result before retiring early on due to an incident.
In KZ, Adrien Renaudin has again held his place among the best drivers in the world, owing to his talent and to his equipment, which gave him the confidence to reach 4th place after a high intensity Final. In high grip conditions, the perfect management of the tyres required a lot of work, which clearly paid off. His position in the top five of the overall ranking of the most challenging FIA Karting European Championship gives hope for an excellent result in the World Championship in Sweden in September. The excellent performance of Swedish driver Douglas Lundberg demonstrates once again the effectiveness of the Sodi-TM Racing team CPB Sport.
"I think we can be proud of the work we have done and the fact that our drivers have been able to pull together at the front," analysed Paul Bizalion, the CPB Sport team manager. "We have incredible technical staff, the best engine builders in the field and a very effective chassis. We have already won this European KZ2 title in the past, we are now the runner-up in Europe and I believe we can go on to win other trophies with confidence."