Cédric, your engines are getting stronger at the beginning of the season. Can you confirm this?
Getting stronger, it’s not for me to say, but increasingly numerous for sure. For the Winter Cup, I powered several drivers of the CPB Sport team: Jean Nomblot, Hubert Petit, Nikita Artamonov and Slavik Putyatin who unfortunately got injured. At the WSK Super Master Series, I have four more French drivers: Tom Leuillet (Praga/TM) Praga Racing Team, Noam Abramczyk (Formula K/TM) Formula K Racing Team, Thomas Landais (Sodi/TM) Team Speedland and Matteo Fel Astorg (Tony Kart/TM) Kart Management.
Do the results follow despite the formidable competition?
It’s true that many engine tuners, especially Italian ones, are present in this kind of race. But I can’t complain! Jean Nomblot finished 5th in the Winter Cup, Hubert Petit entered the top 10, both being very fast. So we can say that it’s going well!
You are also involved in OK-Junior with Sodi?
Yes, it’s a very interesting new challenge. Last year, Sodikart decided to get more present in OK-Junior category in collaboration with Jean-Philippe Guignet. We have worked hard and learned a lot in 2019 with promising results. This year we have two drivers, William MacIntyre having joined Evan Giltaire, which allows us to progress more efficiently. Their first results of the season are very encouraging, but it remains a team effort between the factory, the team, the drivers and the tuner.
Tell us more about the OK-Junior engine!
I like it because I love new challenges. I don’t get preferential treatment from the TM Racing factory, but we’ve been exchanging a lot more information since the end of 2019. The OK-Junior engine is very reliable and requires little maintenance for a racing engine. It’s a nice engine. You can work in the cylinder of a Junior like in a KZ, but the presence of the rev limiter makes things not happen in the same way. It’s not necessarily more complicated, it’s more subtle, more sophisticated, you can quickly go in the wrong direction. But I’m pleasantly surprised that I can already compete with much more experienced tuners. I know that motorisation is important in Sodi’s overall OK-Junior project and I’m very committed to being up to the challenge!
Info Kartcom / Photo © KSP