Daytona's very own Abi Sanders won the Women's SODI World Series Finals in Slovakia on 8th July, as the only British competitor. Daytona sponsored her on her journey and were covering her progress throughout the tournament
Daytona Tamworth regular Abi Sanders has been racing at Daytona since she was eleven years old and has come through our ranks, starting in a cadet kart and progressing through the ranks to racing DMAX-GTs in our Championships six years later.
Arriving at the Slovak Karting Centre Abi completed 2 test sessions to get to know the track and then on practice day achieved the 8th fastest lap against the world’s 30 fastest women’s SODI drivers.
Qualifying and heats day was a long day consisting of a warmup, qualifying and 5 heats. With a random grid for qualifying, and getting caught up in slow pack, Abi frustratingly qualified 18th.
She had very little time to get over the significant disappointment but Abi dug deep and concentrated on the challenge ahead. In Heat 1 Abi continued to improve her lap times and reached P11.
In Heat 2, starting from P11, she finished 9th and was getting faster, noticeably so in the middle sector.
Heat 3 was where she perfected her overtaking on the second sector hairpin and as a result of an excellent start and some impressive overtaking, she finished 3rd. She maintained 3rd after Heat 4, only 1 second behind the leader, and was eager to get out for the final heat.
In the final Heat, starting in P3 under the flood lights, Abi got into 2nd after the first corner and stuck with the Belgian driver in the lead, who had won all the previous heats.
On lap 1 Abi made her move on her favoured hairpin and cleanly took the lead from the Belgian. She opened up a gap with the previously unbeaten Belgian driver dropping back through the field and she took the heat win!
Her points from the heats placed her P5 for the super heat. It was a challenging race with a lot of fighting to gain the last points towards the final grid. Abi secured P6 and her points total meant 5th on the grid for the final. After her disappointment with qualifying she was pleased to have worked her way through the field to start top 5 for the all-important final.
The final began and Abi found herself in 3rd position at the first corner. With the Belgian and Dutch drivers in front of her the three of them quickly opened up a gap from the drivers in 4th and 5th. Abi was sat perfectly as the fight for the podium places ensued. With only a second between them all on the last lap the Dutch driver in 2nd made her move into 1st but sadly the Belgian driver took the place back on the second to last corner with a move that took out the Dutch driver completely Abi managed to avoid being collected in the collision and finished only 0.3s off the leader. After the Belgian driver was awarded a 10 second ABC penalty Abi took the title - SODI World Series International Women’s Champion 2023.
ENTERING THE SODI WORLD SERIES
Daytona customers who race SODI karts at Sandown Park & Milton Keynes, or DMAX-GT karts at Tamworth can register for the SODI World Series and accrue points to attempt to qualify for next year's finals.
Monitor your progress effortlessly on the Sodi World Series website or app, which provides personalised race statistics and achievements. This platform allows you to compare your performance with your peers and talented drivers from around the globe.
By consistently participating in races, you accumulate more points, elevating your position in the global rankings.
Accumulate a sufficient number of points, and you'll have the opportunity to qualify for the prestigious Sodi World Series International Final!
How to register
1. Go to the SODI WORLD SERIES website registration page or APP to register yourself for the competition.
2. Fill out your details and list your local Daytona venue as your 'affiliated track' Use the email address associated with your Daytona profile.
After You've Registered
1. Book a race as normal via our website or over the phone
2. Once you're booked in, you ALSO need to pre-register yourself for the race you've booked on the SODI WORLD SERIES website or app
3. Points are automatically distributed by Daytona and SWS after the race is complete
