06/04/08 ANGERVILLE WSK - INTERNATIONAL SERIES

WSK is an international series with the same appeal as the European Championship and for this reason, this year it attracted all the best teams and pilots in the world of karting. It was in this very prestigious competition that Sodi chassis, driven by Anthony Abbasse, reached the first position in the final phase of KF1…

On 5 and 6 April, Sodi Team showed all it is capable of during the French round of WSK. On the circuit of Angerville, where Sodi chassis triumphed in World Cup Espoir (KF2) just less than two years ago, its two internationally known pilots obtained very good results in KF1. Anthony Abbasse and Alban Varutti always ranked at the top of the list of best times in free practice rounds and confirmed the competitiveness of their karts during the heats. After two 6th positions (once in dry weather and once in the rain) Varutti was the best placed in the pre-final grid, while Anthony Abbasse finished 20th after his engine broke.

Thanks to his undoubtedly efficient Sodi chassis, Abbasse overcame that little accident and gave a real demonstration. He scored a dominant win and crossed the finishing line with a remarkable advantage. "In WSK, pre-finals are important because you can score precious points, therefore this result is very gratifying and another proof of the excellent qualities of our Sodi SR5" Anthony stressed. "Before the race started, the weather was dry and we were ready with slick tyres and dry weather adjustments. A few raindrops fell down during warm-up and the racetrack was a bit slick during the first laps, but it dried very quickly and I could easily make a difference. During the race, my chassis allowed me to keep a very high pace and I could win with a remarkable margin".

In the final, pilots drove on a soaking wet circuit because of the rain, the hail and even the snow that came in succession. "It wasn't easy to find the right adjustment and the right pressure" said Anthony. "My objective was first of all to stay on the track, therefore finishing 4th in these conditions is a good result, because I am the second best KF1 performer of the week-end. What is also very positive is that my Sodi chassis was always very fast, regardless of track conditions". Alban Varutti often showed his great competitiveness during this rerun of the European Championship. Unfortunately, he suffered a collision at the start of the pre-final and lost all his winning chances. Anyway, he finished his week-end with an extraordinary recovery from 32nd to 14th position. "I think our pilots had the chance to appreciate the efficiency of this chassis, in both dry and wet weather conditions" commented Franck Le Beller, Sodi Team manager. "One month away from the debut of the French Championship on this same circuit of Angerville, I think this is all very encouraging. Anthony Abbasse had an excellent performance, comparable to the one that took him to fourth place in 2007 World Championship 2007. Two weeks after his victory in FFSA Karting Grand Prix, he has given another demonstration of Sodi SR5 competitiveness and we really appreciate it".