Already on the podium of the European KZ2 Championship in 2021, the Sodikart chassis has just followed up with another Vice-Championship title, this time at world level. Perfectly supported by the CPB Sport team, Senna Van Walstijn achieved a great performance, moving up from 11th to 2nd place in the FIA Karting International Super Cup at Kristianstad. The Dutchman took pole position and set the lap record in the Final, and came very close to victory in Sweden.
With 91 participants, 23 nations represented and 16 different makes of chassis at the start, the KZ2 International Super Cup is one of the most hotly contested international competitions of the sporting season. Once again, the Sodikart brand and the CPB Sport team were present at this major event, achieving an excellent overall result, as Paul Bizalion, the team manager, explains...
"My first satisfaction is to have had no less than seven drivers in the KZ2 Final, which is a clear indication of the effectiveness of the Sodikart chassis and the knowledge of our technical team. In the European Championship as well as here in Sweden, we faced different track conditions and temperatures, but our extreme competitiveness was a constant this season. In the Final we came close to placing four drivers in the top ten, and only penalties for incorrect front fairing position prevented us from doing so. Of course I want to congratulate Senna Van Walstijn for his performance and his runner-up finish. We can only regret the collision in the first race on Saturday, which probably prevented him from claiming victory. After his pole position, his two wins and his two 2nd places in the heats, then his fabulous comeback in the Final with the fastest lap in the race, he proved the performance of the Sodi-TM package. Congratulations also to our engine builders, to Thomas Imbourg for his 7th place after the heats and to Arthur Carbonnel, a brilliant 8th in the Final."
What a season for Senna Van Walstijn!
"When I reached 2nd position in the Final, with nine laps to go, I was more than four seconds behind the leader," explained Senna Van Walstijn. "At the chequered flag the gap was reduced to just two and a half seconds. Of course this gives me some regrets, because I had the equipment to win. After the victory at the European Championship in Wackersdorf followed by the runner-up title, our successes at the German Championship and the Margutti Trophy, I am still happy to have reached the second step of the podium in this true KZ2 'World Cup'."
Four times in the top six of the heats, Arthur Carbonnel finished in a good 8th place; Thomas Imbourg (13th) remains one of the revelations of the meeting; Joey Van Splunteren (16th) and Hubert Petit (26th) were close to the top ten before being penalised; Jean Nomblot (36th) was again unlucky to be the victim of a collision at the start; and Nikita Artamonov managed a remarkable comeback from 26th to 19th place in the Final.
In KZ, the Sodikart team had great ambitions in Sweden, especially after Adrien Renaudin's 6th fastest in Qualifying. Anthony Abbasse also made his comeback with a 6th place in the heats and a top 10 finish in the Final before being caught and finishing 13th behind Adrien in 11th and Douglas Lundberg in 12th, who was one of the fastest on track. The progress of the Final did not confirm the promise of the beginning of the week.
After these very encouraging performances in KZ, the entire Sodikart team is determined to redouble its efforts in order to play a leading role in the upcoming races.