After a historic 2025 season, marked by Senna Van Walstijn's double world title in KZ, Maksim Orlov's KZ2 World Cup title, the European Championship titles and the FIA Karting team crowns, the Sodi Racing Team approached the 2026 season with the ambition of maintaining this level of excellence. On the selective La Conca track in Italy, for the kick-off of the WSK Super Master Series, the French manufacturer and its partner CPB Sport returned to competition. This first international event immediately confirmed the competitiveness of Sodi equipment, both in terms of confirming its achievements in KZ2 and in the promising development of the Mini categories.
KZ2 - A hat-trick to kick off the 2026 season
The gearbox kart category saw the undisputed domination of the Sodi chassis. The overall performance began in Qualifying with Dion Van Werven taking pole position, confirming the speed of the equipment right from the start. In the Final, Max Orlov, confident in his status, had a flawless race, leading all 18 laps to claim a resounding victory. Behind him, the cohesion of the CPB Sport team allowed them to lock up the entire podium with Jayden Thien in 2nd place and Dion Van Werven in 3rd. This overall result was complemented by a solid performance from Manuel Kastl, who finished in 5th place. Despite a smaller field than usual, the standard of competition remained extremely high, and this show of strength puts the French team in an ideal position for the rest of the championship.
"This collective result perfectly illustrates the quality of our start to the season," commented Paul Bizalion. "It's a victory for Sodikart official driver Max Orlov, followed by the CPB Sport drivers. I would also like to highlight the excellent performance of Manuel Kastl, who finished 5th. All our drivers performed well and the rookies are already at the expected level. I am really satisfied with this first competition of the year. Even with a limited number of KZ2s, La Conca remains a demanding circuit and this triple victory is a fitting reward. We know that in Sarno, the competition will be much tougher with the arrival of almost all of our direct competitors, but we are ready. We will try to have as good a season as last year."
Mini category: Promising development in real conditions
In the Mini U10 and Mini GR3 categories, the main focus was on developing the new equipment. With a team of four promising young drivers, Sodikart showed great potential despite the changeable and unpredictable weather. In Mini U10, Albert Pharoah put in a remarkable performance, crossing the finish line in 5th place in the Final. Unfortunately, a five-second penalty dropped him to 18th place in the official standings. In Mini GR3, Arthur Pharoah also distinguished himself by clinching an encouraging 12th place finish, while Alfie Garrett finished in 17th place. These results validate the technical decisions made during the winter and provide a solid foundation for the 16 races scheduled for this year. Amine Pantoli, on the other hand, saw his momentum thwarted by a collision on the first lap of Qualifying. This incident made it too difficult for him to catch up in the heats and reach the Final, despite his obvious fighting spirit.
"We worked hard this winter and recruited four good drivers," said Adrien Leidinger, head of the Racing Team for the Mini categories. "This was our first international race in Mini with the Sodi Racing Team. We are starting to develop the equipment, and there is still a lot to do, but the 2026 programme is going to be busy, and we will be able to work properly. This weekend, the difficult weather conditions meant that we were unable to work in optimal conditions, which slowed us down a little. But we are making progress little by little. As for Albert, he finished 5th on the track but received a five-second penalty. The main thing is to develop our equipment and improve with each outing."
On the way to Sarno
This first weekend of competition ended on a very positive note for Sodikart. While the victory in KZ2 confirms the French chassis status as the benchmark, the brand's development also depends on the progress made in the Mini categories, which are just as essential for its future. The whole team is already looking ahead to the next stage in Sarno, determined to remain humble in the face of increasingly fierce competition. The 2026 adventure has only just begun.