Josh Soumvalis entered this winter with the goal of continuing his consistent development and building on the strong foundations of a solid 2024 season. Now, he’s given some insight on what he learned during the winter and how he’s excited to implement his improvements this coming season.
Soumvalis competed in VLR Senior at the final two rounds of the Florida Winter Tour (FWT). With two previous FWT championships under his belt, Josh’s confidence was running high entering this winter season. Using his FWT campaign as a springboard into his Canadian season, the winter is a critical time for Josh to put his experience into practice while simultaneously growing in new areas.
“This year was different because I had the experience of two Winter Tours under my belt, which allowed me to use my experience on track. I feel more confident than ever that I am ready for the upcoming season.”
Nothing exemplified this more for Josh than his weekend at Speedsportz Racing Park in Texas. As the newest addition to the FWT calendar, Speedsportz was a track many Canadians hadn’t had the chance to visit until now, including Josh. This didn’t phase him, as getting up to speed with the track was relatively easy, but what came after presented a whole new set of challenges.
“The most challenging race was round 3 of the FWT, where I was up in fifth place and didn’t have enough race craft experience. Once the rest of the field caught up and passed me, I dropped back to 12th.”
Though speed was easy to come by, it’s only one part of succeeding in the VLR Senior class. Even with the pace to make his way to the top five, he needed a little bit extra to get past the hard-defending drivers in front. A prime situation when you’re not moving forward is when you’re likely moving backward.
Josh didn’t dwell on the negatives, however. Apart from the invaluable racecraft experience acquired from FWT, there have been numerous highlights and growth opportunities from the winter. Mentioning that a particular area of growth was his qualifying improvements.
“Qualifying has never been my strong suit, but there has been a huge improvement. Qualifying 18th in Round 2 to qualifying 9th in Round 3 is definitely moving in the right direction.”
Josh doesn’t credit only himself with his continued improvement; this winter, he’s been racing with Pfaff Kartsport on a new Gillard chassis. When asked how the team has impacted his performance, Josh stated, “The experience with Pfaff has been great. Both tours were major learning experiences, with lots of collaboration between the whole team to improve my driving and kart setup.”
With a constructive winter campaign under his belt, Josh is looking forward to the Canadian karting season as he’s looking to maximize his positive momentum from the winter. Some of the races he’s got highlighted on his calendar are the Canadian Nationals and Canadian Open, of course!
To sign off, Josh has a piece of advice for younger drivers looking to continue their development internationally.
“Keep a positive attitude and always look forward. You will race against karters who compete year-round. Don’t compare yourself to them. Take the lessons that you learn on track and bring them back to the Canadian races and dominate.”
We’re excited to catch up with Josh this season to find out what new lessons he’s learned from the rest of 2025.
