The Sodi brand is riding a successful start to the 2024 season in the USA (Photo: Sodi Racing USA)

The significant impact made by the entrance of Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports into the USA karting scene in 2023 has carried over into the new season. The extremely-busy opening two months of the year featured a six-week long journey for the race team, its staff and the racers themselves, and the entire collective did not lift off the throttle. Along the way, the Sodi brand gathered numerous victories, podium finishes, and their first championships of the 2024 season – including successes on both the east and west coast.

The Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports team at the SKUSA Winter Series finale (Photo: Sodi Racing USA)

“It has been a very good start for Sodi Racing here in the United States, with last year’s performances in our first season and a great beginning in the first two months of 2024,” stated Thierry Germanovitch of Sodi Racing USA. “We’ve been strong at each age level and with all the different engine platforms including IAME, ROK and Rotax.”

The start of the 2024 season began with the opening rounds of the Superkarts! USA Winter Series, held in January at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex presented by MG Tires. The weekend was highlighted by two victories in Micro Swift with Zayne Burgess. Pro Shifter driver Alan Isambard was the quickest in both qualifying sessions, placing third in the Saturday main event. Burgess returned the following month for the final two rounds, picking up the Sunday victory in the rain to clinch the series championship. Harley Keeble added a runner-up result on Saturday in X30 Senior.

British driver Harley Keeble continues leading the Senior roster Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports (Photo: Sodi Racing USA)

Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports welcomed drivers from all over North America to the back-to-back weekends for the Rotax Winter Trophy at the Orlando Kart Center at the end of January and the start of February. Three Sodi drivers finished the series within the top-five in the Micro MAX points. Zayne Burgess led the way, ending up second in the point standings thanks to a sweep of the final round, which included fast time in qualifying, winning the Prefinal, and taking the main event victory. Josh Bergman used two third-place results to end up fourth in the championship, while Bernardo Gubert set fast time in qualifying and posted a runner-up result in Round Two to finish fifth in the final standings.

Keeble carried the Sodi flag in DD2 and Senior MAX at the Rotax Winter Trophy. Two top qualifier honors in DD2, along with a third-place result in three rounds, put him fifth in the standings. Harley’s best performance in Senior was Round Two, where he claimed the pole position and finished third in the Final. Michael McLean swept the action in all three rounds for the team in DD2 Masters, with Bruno Bouchard placing runner-up for a Sodi 1-2.

The opening two rounds for the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour wrapped up the Florida events through January and February. The opener in January saw two victories for Sodi thanks to Chris Wakefield in the Briggs Senior class, along with Keeble taking an impressive five-second victory in the ROK GP Pro category. The second stop at the AMR Motorplex in February featured a total of four wins by Sodi drivers. Wakefield was able to back up his Briggs Senior victory for a second straight triumph. Californian Stephen Eisert added his first pole position and victory with Sodi in the VLR Senior division. Valentino Santillan duplicated that feat in the Mini ROK category, while Zayne Burgess added another victory with his win in Micro ROK. Keeble kept himself in the ROK GP Pro championship hunt with a runner-up result in Round Two. The Florida Winter Tour winds up at Orlando Kart Center on the March 15-17 weekend.

Zayne Burgess has won in Micro category at SKUSA, Rotax and ROK competition (Photo: Sodi Racing USA)

On the west coast, Sodi welcomed the first career victory for Chris Martin at the Challenge of the Americas opening weekend, held at the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson. Martin – racing under The Karting Collective tent – was able to secure a last lap, last corner pass victory in the 100cc Senior category. The program continues March 1-3 with a return to the Arizona facility.

“All these successes are based on the hard work of the drivers and their families, and the great staff we have put together with Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports,” added Germanovitch. “Our very unique and very exclusive team of coaches including Juan Valderrama and Federico Montoya for the Cadet drivers, along with former Formula A World Champion Ruben Carrapatoso mentoring the Junior and Senior drivers, and continued support from Piquet Sports co-owners Carlos Iaconelli and Nelson Piquet Jr., takes the program to the next level. I think it’s safe to say that Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports is now one of the major teams in the USA market.”

The Sodi Racing USA by Piquet Sports is now set to tackle the major portion of the schedule with the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour and the United States Pro Kart Series programs primed to begin in March and April. The team has Arrive and Drive opportunities for both series in all classes.

Anyone interested in the Sodi chassis line and products, or looking to become part of the Sodi Racing dealer and team network, are advised to visit www.sodi-racing-usa.com or to please contact Sodi Racing USA directly via email contact@sodi-racing-usa.com. For more information about Piquet Sports, email carlos@piquetsports.com

Sodi Racing USA (The Karting Distribution) is the national importer and distributor of Sodi chassis, products and accessories, including Tekneex, MekaOne and Box’s accessories. Follow the Sodi racing teams and product updates via our social media @sodiracingusa.

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