Following their excellent results in the FIA Karting European Championship in the Shifter categories, Sodi chassis continued their haul of success on the Portimao circuit in southern Portugal. Anthony Abbasse, who dominated the KZ2 Masters, won the Champions of the Future Shifter 2024 title. Relegated to the back of the pack in the Qualifying Heats, Senna Van Walstijn made an impressive comeback to finish 2nd in the KZ Final on the winner's tail. In KZ2, Timo Jüngling set the absolute lap record for the event, Kasper Schormans set the fastest time in the Final and Matteo Spirgel reached the top five. Once again, the Sodikart brand and the CPB Sport and Renda Motorsport teams were on top form. This is obviously an excellent omen just a few days away from the World Championship.

KZ2 Masters: A clean sweep for Anthony Abbasse with Renda Motorsport
Pole position, victory in the three heats and in the Super Heat, leader from the first to the last lap of the Final with the fastest lap in the race: Anthony Abbasse's domination was total on the Algarve international circuit. The balance between the Sodi chassis, the French driver, his TM engine and his team proved flawless.

"We did a perfect job with the Renda Motorsport team," said Anthony as he stepped off the first step of the podium. "In each of the heats and in the Super Heat, I crossed the finish line with a big lead. In the Final, my rivals put me under a lot of pressure, but I managed to control the situation right to the end. I was just as fast in the rain, as pole position showed. This event has given us the chance to work in different conditions and that gives me confidence for the International Super Cup ahead."

KZ: Denner at the front, Van Walstijn on the podium
Despite a few race incidents which sometimes complicated the trajectory of the Sodikart drivers at Portimao, Emilien Denner and Senna Van Walstijn both came close to finishing 1st in the Final. Denner made an excellent start to the race, taking the lead, and was still in contention for victory in the closing laps when a collision forced him to retire. Back in 10th place on the starting grid for the Final after making up 16 places in Heat 3 and five places in the Super Heat, the Dutchman drove at a very fast pace, particularly at the end of the race, to pass the chequered flag in 2nd position after a masterful comeback 3 tenths from victory! The Final ended too quickly for Giuseppe Palomba, who could have hoped for an excellent result after starting 6th, and for Yohan Soguel.

KZ2: Four Sodi-TM teams in the top twelve
Dion Van Werven, Mattéo Spirgel and Nikolas Roos from the CPB Sport team made their presence felt from the very first days by winning the Qualifying Heats, during which Timo Jüngling set the lap record at 57"041. A time that would never be beaten! In the Final, recent European Champion Spirgel fought his way into the leading group, before losing a little time in a duel and finishing P5. P7, P8 and P12 respectively, Roos, Van Werven and Jüngling completed the magnificent grouping achieved by the Sodi chassis. Tim Locati, Arthur Poulain and Kasper Schormans also took part in the Final. Schormans was on the comeback trail, setting the fastest lap of the race before retiring after a collision.

Paul Bizalion's comments
"Anyone who followed the KZ Final could see the obvious competitiveness of Emilien Denner and Senna Van Walstijn. By starting closer to the grid, Senna had every chance of victory. In KZ2, we once again placed a number of drivers in the Final and in the top 10, most of them setting significant times, including the fastest lap of the race. The Sodi chassis is clearly proving its enormous potential, as Anthony Abbasse's success in KZ2 Masters with the Renda Motorsport team shows. It was a really positive event, which is obviously reassuring ahead of the World Championship, for which we are going to pursue development right to the end in order to achieve our objectives. Finally, I'd like to congratulate RGMMC on the quality of the organisation."

 Press Release © Sodikart