Report Kartcup 2025
Note; the post below has been translated with Google Translate.
On Saturday, September 20th, it was that time again: the annual Volante Kart Cup was about to begin. This time at the sister track of the Kartbaan in Lelystad, this time at Kartbaan Zwolle.
Around 11:30, the first participants started trickling in, and after registering, a buffet with delicious sandwiches awaited.
Once we were all together, the briefing began, where all the do’s and don’ts were explained once again. The sheet about driving in the rain was skipped, as it was supposed to stay dry today. A few participants had other ideas, however, as the rain radar and other weather websites were giving a somewhat different picture. So, the sheet about driving on slicks in the rain was also consulted.
Qualifying began just before one o’clock. The results of this qualifying provided the starting grid for the race. The subsequent race would last two hours, with the teams swapping drivers every 15-20 minutes. A mandatory fuel stop was also included to give everyone an equal chance.
The top 5 after qualifying consisted of team Tenaci (40.422), Grant Tourism (40.531), IDK Racing (40.543), Tenaci2 (40.711), and Viro Engineering (41.024). The lap times were close and were set on a dry track.
Shortly after qualifying, the race could begin. The goal of the 2-hour race is to complete as many laps as possible and therefore drive very consistently without taking major risks. Overtaking is fun, but if it takes you off track, you immediately fall significantly behind.
It didn’t take long for the first drops of rain to fall. Initially, the precipitation wasn’t too bad, but you could already see more and more oversteer and understeer on the track. Now it was definitely a matter of staying on track and driving as many clean laps as possible.
Around 2:30 p.m., with over an hour to go, the light rain stopped and began to pick up. Lap times dropped from just over 40 seconds on the dry track to just under a minute. Extreme caution was required to keep the kart on the track, but it’s a testament to the skill of the drivers that no major incidents occurred. The occasional 360° spin or severe understeer or oversteer were the only incidents. The rain didn’t bother them; everyone caught their breath with broad smiles during the regular changeover. The video shows what a challenge it was to keep the kart on the track.
A few minutes before the race was to have completed its two-hour time, the flag was blown. By then, a few strong lightning bolts and thunderstorms had passed, and it became too dangerous to continue. Team Rolo finished with the most laps (132), followed by Team Tenaci with one lap, and Team De Remvetters with two. Team Gran Tourismo did have the fastest lap with 40.102 seconds but finished in 10th place.
The awards ceremony took place shortly after the race, after which there was time for drinks and snacks to socialize.
Our sincere thanks go to everyone involved in the organization and, of course, to the participants for their enthusiasm and sportsmanship. We look forward to seeing you, and hopefully other Volante members, again at the KartCup 2026.
The lap times for each team can be downloaded here.
A video and some photos of the day can be viewed below.