Successful American Campaign for Sodi!

At the Super Nationals XIII held in Las Vegas, the Sodi Racing Team was hosted in a structure created by G-Phactory, the US west coast Sodi Racing Team owned by fabulous Glenn Zeen. The incredible friendliness shown by the Americans will leave an everlasting memory in the French drivers. Anthony Abbasse and Pierre Ragues in Super Pro, Loïc Réguillon and Alex Baron in KF2, and Pierre Gasly in TaG Junior bravely defended Sodi’s colours at the great show organised by SKUSA.

Chromium-plated XXL trucks, king-size structures, a very warm welcome, an inimitable atmosphere (with DJ included): the US G-Phactory Sodi Team became immediately the attraction of the paddock. Its US team manager Preston Newberry decided to do things in great style to welcome his French-Swiss homologue Nicola De Cola and, as the French say, “the mayonnaise thickened up” (or maybe in this case it was ketchup that did the trick…) i.e. everything went just fine!

Sodi official karts reached Nevada with some delay and the European drivers were short of practice when they started timed qualifying. Undoubtedly, the Las Vegas track, hosted in the Hotel Rio parking space, was something of a surprise for drivers used to European tracks. The circuit was not fully marked out by TecPros, the width was sometimes surprising and on that surface it took a while to find the grip.

GASLY on the Podium!

In his discovery of the TaG Junior US category and Iame Leopard engines, Pierre Gasly gradually tamed his equipment. 11th in timed qualifying, he was third and then second in the qualifying heats. The chassis worked perfectly and the driver was great. In the final race, Pierre came very close to an extraordinary result… At the lead in mid-race, he dropped back some places when some drivers in the back lines collided in front of him. Pierre had to content himself with the third step of the podium. “My equipment was perfect to win the race, so I should have won…” these were the only remarks made by a deceived Gasly at the arrival, despite a best lap in race.

BARON Feels Already at Ease…

Despite the new team and the new category, Alex Baron quickly felt at ease in KF2, so much so that he showed some excellent performances, supported by experienced Loïc Réguillon. Facing a competition rarely found outside a European championship, the Sodi boys quickly reached the top 10 of the categories, despite a smaller technical staff than that in the Old Continent and shorter practice sessions. Very promising for the future…

ABBASSE, the Best of the Others…

Super Pro drivers were not blessed with good luck and despite excellent performances, they did not reach expected results. However, there were hints of bravery in Las Vegas, too. Anthony Abbasse was the only driver capable of questioning the supremacy of drivers equipped with Tec-Sav engines, impossible to beat this season. Delayed by a mechanical problem in the first heat, Anthony, with a perfectly set-up chassis, duelled against the best drivers during the final race, but had to give up in the last lap after a collision. As for Pierre Ragues, he showed an exciting performance fighting in particular against Sébastien Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr. and “The Master” Michaël Schumacher! Not bad indeed!