Alexandra Hervé set for Superkart debut

18-year-old French racer Alexandra Hervé is set to make her superkart debut at Circuit du Val de Vienne after a successful 2023 Formula Renault campaign, with hopes of preparing for a full 2025 championship season.

Photo courtesy: Alexandra Hervé

Young French racer Alexandra Hervé is set to kick off a new chapter in her motor racing career, as the 18-year-old will make her debut in superkarts this upcoming weekend at Circuit du Val de Vienne, France.

Hervé will take on the new challenge after competing in the TTE Formula Renault Cup in 2023, where she finished third in the drivers standings following a highly positive campaign that included three podiums and six top-five finishes in Formula Renault 2.0 machinery. She also entered select rounds of the Ultimate Cup single seater challenge, claiming two fourth-place finishes in Navarra, and a pair of P6 in Hockenheim in a Tatuus Formula Regional car.

The move to superkarts provides her with a cost-effective pathway in a highly competitive racing environment. With its big grids, powerful 250cc karts equipped with aerodynamic bodykits and on a calendar including some of the best racetracks in the country, Hervé will aim to quickly adapt to this discipline.

"After finishing third in the Formula Renault Cup French championship in 2023, I didn’t have any more financial resources to continue racing", Hervé explained. "Until this day, I have been working hard on finding sponsors, at the gym, and on the simulator. All of this while studying in Italy."

"I had to make the right decision – put my energy, dedication, sponsors’ support, money, in the right direction", she continued. "This is how I came up with superkart 250."

The Hervé name is also not new to the world of superkart, as her father became French champion in 2022. Alexandra started her racing career in 2015 in karting, competing in the French Female Championship as well as the Championnat de France Junior and the IAME Ladies Cup before making the step up to single seaters in 2022.

Despite some funding-caused hiatus, Hervé – also a a student at ESCP Business School – always remained race-ready with karting preparation and she will now have the chance to make a name for herself on the superkart scene, as she joins the grid at the French Championship at Le Vigeant, on Circuit du Val de Vienne, with the support of her sponsors Shop-Racing, MMA, Cofif, LMX2 Renov, and David Transport Racing.

"Of course with 95hp for 215kg it is impressive, and this is what I am going for", she told us, highlighting the incredibly fast machinery that can sometimes set faster lap times than bigger race cars at certain circuits. "I want to bring more attention to superkart with my future experience – to prove than women can race in diverse demanding categories."

The aim will be familiarizing with the format, aiming for a full 2025 campaign: "my goal would be to prepare myself during winter, and then to compete with the goal to win the French Championship in the monocylindre category", she added.

A 15 minute qualifying session is scheduled on Saturday October 5th, followed by the first 20 minute race. Two more races will then take place on Sunday 6th October.