Silver Bullet Memorial Racing League

Magny-Cours Recap

Posted on June 6, 2025 | Leave a comment

The penutimate race of the SBMRL’s 2024-25 season took place in France, at the Magny-Cours Circuit. The track boasts some of the longest straights on the calendar, which left anticipation high for an exciting race. Would that pan out to be the case?

Here’s how the drivers lined up to start the race:

P1 – Parker Lacroix (SB)
P2 – Magnus Rasksen (SB)
P3 – Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
P4 – Max (SM)
P5 – Felix (SM)
P6 – Liu S. Amil X (FP)
P7 – Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
P8 – Orzo Albies (MnS)
P9 – Stoot van Vaart (RM)
P10 – Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)

Pieter started all the way back in Lycee

The field got off to a clean start and immediately began upshifting through Grand Courbe and into Estoril. The top 3 were first to shift into the highest gears down the straight, while the rest of the field remained tightly bunched up as they jockeyed for position.

As they took to the straight, it was very much a matter of who would get more from their power unit and if anyone could take an advantage of a slipstream. Magnus and Mai were first into the Adelaide hairpin at the end of the straight, but Pieter was able to slide in not far behind them. Max, Orzo, and Parker were hot on his heels.

Mai was able to slide smoothly through the Nurburgring chicane, while Magnus proved less capable. This hiccup gave Orzo the chance to catch up and pass him through 180°. Orzo would go on to pass Mai and be the first driver into Imola.

Behind the 3 leaders, Parker, Max, and Pieter formed the challenger pack. This left Stoot, Liu, Ramen, and Felix in the position of chasers.

The long straight between 180° and Imola is always a good spot for a pass or to catch up, and that’s what Stoot and Liu were able to do here. The left Felix and Ramen behind and joined up with the challenging pack while Orzo led through sector 3.

Mai was able to catch up and pass Orzo at the exit of Lycee, while Liu and Parker got the edge on the challenging group. Pieter, Stoot, and Max weren’t able to find as much speed into Lycee, leaving them behind in the circuit’s final curve before the pit straight.

The final chicane and Lycee prove to be a challenge

As with many races, the pits played a role in shuffling the field. With tires that were in excellent shape, Mai plowed on through as Orzo needed to stop. Magnus also dropped in for a new set, while Liu and Parker followed Mai’s approach of staying out. Max got past the Regency Motors pair in similar fashion, as both orange cars had worn their tires thin.

Liu and Parker pass Orzo and Magnus at the pits

Mai’s decision to skip the pits left him well ahead of his challengers. His car and driving were in imperious form throughout the first half of the second lap. This left him approximately a full sector ahead of whoever happened to be running in 2nd place as that battle continued. There would be no unexpected twist. No big mistake that others could latch on to. Nothing to give anyone even the remotest of hope that hey might challenge for the win. Essentially, the race victory was never in doubt from this point on. The rest of the field however…

The first sector of the second lap left Liu and Parker ahead of Orzo, who was working hard to recover from the delay that his pit stop inherently provided. Magnus was hot on his heels. Stoot, Max, and Pieter fought to catch up and keep ahead of Ramen and Felix. The latter two would, unfortunately, show little inclination early in the lap that they were going to make a game of it.

As broad a spread as we’ve seen this year

Once again, the long straight into Adelaide and the second sector would start to shake things up. Liu and Parker were first through here, with Orzo, Magnus, and Stoot looking to join them in the bid for a podium. Parker would falter first. Liu continued smoothly through 180° but Parker was caught up by the other three drivers at that bend. Meanwhile, Felix and Max had somehow swapped their relative positions, with Felix having a good run down the long straight.

Mai about to win as 2nd place Liu navigates Imola

In an effort to catch up with Liu, Orzo opted for speed through the Imola chicane. Stoot, Magnus, and Parker were slightly more conservative, hoping to use more power through Chateau D’Eau. In the end, it worked out perfectly for Orzo and Magnus. Both were able to fly into the final chicane and Lycee with speed and a chance to take Liu at Lycee.

Flying around Lycee with a podium at stake, Magnus pushed his way past on the inside of Liu. Liu, who had taken the outside lane to preserve his tires could do nothing about it. Orzo attempted the same tactic as Magnus, but it was not meant to be in the worst possible way. Instead of getting on the podium, Orzo came through too hot, losing his tires and control of his car. With the finish line in sight, he was out of the race completely.

Magnus would take 2nd with Liu in 3rd place. Behind them, Stoot, Pieter, Felix, and Parker all had a shot to be next. Ramen even caught up with the group in the chicane, although Max’s spent tires left him spinning out back at Chateau D’Eau.

Felix, Stoot, Ramen, Pieter, and Parker came out of Lycee in that order and in varying paces. Felix didn’t have the speed needed, leaving Stoot to take 4th and Ramen to take an improbable 5th. He really made up a ton of ground in the second half of lap 2.

Pieter would cross the line next, followed by Felix and then Parker. Max’s spin out left him with some alone time on course to finish things out.

Final Results

Driver	Start	Lap	Finish
Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FS)	3	1	1
Magnus Rasksen (SB)	2	6	2
Liu S. Amil X (FS)	6	2	3
Stoot van Vaart (RM)	9	7	4
Ramen Acuna Jr. (MnS)	7	9	5
Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)	10	8	6
Felix (SM)	5	10	7
Parker Lacroix (SB)	1	3	8
Max (SM)	4	5	9
Orzo Albies (MnS)	8	4	10*

* Did not finish

Mai’s victory is his second of the season and comes just two races after his win at Buddh. A last place finish in between isn’t great, but it’s a strong enough run in the latter part of the year to have pushed him up to 3rd place in the driver standings. May did all this in dominating fashion, at least once a lap was complete. Aside from Magny-Cours, the only other time that a driver led for all of the second lap was during his victory in Buddh. Mai has finished every other race this year in 7th or lower except at Estoril, where he was second.

Magnus’ second place finish was a much needed return to the podium and his 3rd runner-up finish this year. He struggled in each of the last 3 races, and the strong points haul has him back among the middle of the pack. Liu’s 3rd place marks his 3rd podium of the year, having previously finished 2nd in Argentina and 3rd in India. He’s now tied with Ramen for 4th in the driver standings.

Fir Splays brought home 40 points to match the season’s best after their double podium. No team has yet to claim the top two spots in a single race this year. Fir Splays also moves back up in the 2nd place in the team standings. They are, unfortunately, too far back to catch Regency Motors at this point. With just one race to go the orange and black team have cemented the team title. Scandinavian Blitz had a strong enough showing that, while they’re still in last place, they’re just 1 point behind Switch Motorsports and within hailing distance of 2nd if things break well for them.

Race Gallery

Magny-Cours Preview

Posted on May 1, 2025 | Leave a comment

The 2024-25 SBMRL season is down to the final two races as we head into April and on to May. Scheduling conflicts meant that the April race wouldn’t be run until early May, but that doesn’t diminish the stakes or the resolve from the drivers to perform well.

Built in 1960 and used as the base for a racing school, the Magny-Cours Circuit looked quite a bit different in its early years than it does now. At that time, most of what is now the first sector didn’t exist. Formula 1 raced there from 1991 to 2008, with the major redisign occuring in the middle of that period, in 2003.

This will be the 3rd time the SBMRL visits. Regency Motors won the first time out, but 5 different teams have stood on the podium over the course of those two races.

The circuit is notable for having a particularly short pit straight, with the last grid place actually sitting in the circuit’s final corner. The first corner, the Grande Courbe will pose little to no problem for most of the drivers. Those near the back of the grid may need to slow down slightly to ensure they don’t slide out, but it shouldn’t slow down anyone at the front half the grid too much. It’s follow quickly by the Estoril bend, which is almost a full throttle corner. Drivers at the front of the starting grid should be able to progressively shift up throughout their entire gear box en route to enjoying one of the longest straights on the season’s calendar. The Golf corner is a complete non-entity for modern cars.

The second sector begins at the end of that long straight at the Adelaide corner. Adelaide marks the sharpest corner on the track and a huge slowdown for the field. Expect a lot of grinding of the gearboxes as cars try to reduce speed enough to handle it. A moderate straight feeds into the Nurburgring chicane, which has the possibility of being taken at fairly high speeds if drivers hit it correctly. The aptly named 180° corner follows and is a good passing spot if drivers can manage taking the inside line here. Hitting this corner for the straight that follows is essential for a good lap time.

The track’s final sector begins with the Imola chicane followed closely by Chateaux d’Eau. These two corners are a near mirror image of the final two corners in the 2nd sector, with the difference being that they’re much closer together. Whether that makes them easier or harder to navigate remains to be seen on race day. The final straight is of moderate length, with the circuits final corners being the Complexe du Lycee. It’s another part of the track, like Adelaide, that will require the use of some lower gears, but cars won’t be coming in quite as hot.

The last thing to say about the circuit is that due to the short nature of the pit straight, the pit entrance is immediately after the final corner’s exit. Taking too much speed out of there could prevent a car from getting fresh tires if needed.

Starting Grid

The standings dictate the starting grid, with drivers lining up in reverse order of how they’re currently performing:

Parker Lacroix (SB)⁺
Magnus Rasksen (SB)
Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)*
Max (SM)*
Felix (SM)
Liu S. Amil X (FP)
Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
Orzo Albies (MnS)
Stoot van Vaart (RM)
Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

Regency Motors
Mac ‘N Speed
Fir Splays
Switch Motorsports
Scandinavian Blitz

* Mai starts ahead of Max due to the tie breaker of reverse of last race finish.
⁺ Parker gets the home race advantage at Magny-Cours this time out.

Race Outlook

The top of the driver standings have tightened up to the point where it’s anyone’s guess between Pieter and Stoot. There is an outside chance of someone else taking the title if the both the Regency Motors drivers struggle mightily in the final two races. It would almost certainly also require that whoever is attempting that jump win both races.

That said, there is a ton to play for in the midfield. Only 13 points separate Orzo in 3rd place from Magnus in 9th. Parker has a bit more ground to make up, but with the home race advantage this time out and pole position to boot, he couldn’t be better positioned to go for it.

At a team level, the story is somewhat similar. Regency Motors has a commanding lead, but behind them, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll come out where when all is said and done.

Given how close everything is in both the driver and team standings, it seems likely that France will play a big part in the set up for our final race. In all likelihood, though, we won’t really know anything for certain until all is said and done at the end of the season.

Austria Recap

Posted on April 15, 2025 | Leave a comment

The SBMRL’s March race took place at Zeltweg, Austria, aka the Österreichring, A1 Ring, or Red Bull Ring. The first race of the final third of the season was therefore in the Austrian hills.

The starting grid looked as follows:

P1 – Parker Lacroix (SB)
P2 – Max (SM)
P3 – Magnus Rasksen (SB)
P4 – Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
P5 – Felix (SM)
P6 – Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
P7 – Orzo Albies (MnS)
P8 – Liu S. Amil X (FP)
P9 – Stoot van Vaart (RM)
P10 – Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)

The cars lined up and the lights went out and the field began racing for the first corner. Liu had a bit of difficulty getting up to speed, but everyone sort of filed right into the Castrol Kurve. The lengthy straight that follows then saw a lot of cars changing positions as drivers were able to find ways around each other.

Felix, who had starting 5th place, found a way to the front, but wasn’t able to keep momentum up through the Remus Kurve. Additionally making a big move from the back by virtue of having been able to keep his speed up through both of the first two corners was driver standings leader Pieter. The long back straight saw Mai take the race lead, and virtually no one was racing in their staring position any longer.

The Scandinavian Blitz pair of Parker and Magnus had gone from 1st and 3rd at the start to 9th and 10th, but the reality was that everyone was so close together it looked as though anyone could swap positions with anyone else. Normally, the field begins to separate into a few different packs of racers, and that began to take shape with the more technical part of the second sector.

Ramen, Pieter, Mia, and Felix hit the Gosser Kurve first at the end of the straight and started to work on through the closer together corners as a group. Orzo, Max, and Stoot were in the trailing pack. That left Liu and the two red liveried cars at the back.

This section of the circuit proved to be more of a challenge than some may have expected. Unfortunately for those hoping to catch him in the standings, Pieter handled it just fine and began to establish a lead over those who were right there with him just moments earlier.

Aside from Pieter’s advantage, the other packs weren’t exactly static. Cars began to swap between them as they either hit their marks or missed them. The Mac ‘N Speed duo of Ramen and Orzo joined the Switch Motorsports pair of Max and Felix as the challengers hoping to catch up with Pieter. Parker, Mai, and Stoot grouped up behind them.

As the field rounded the final bends of the first lap, Pieter’s clean lap meant that his tires were in good shape and he could barrel on down the pit straight without stopping for fresh rubber. Already in the lead, this gave him a strong advantage to the start of the second lap.

Orzo made the same call, skipping the pits while the other challengers got new tires. Ramen’s pit stop was quick enough that he was up with his teammate in short order. The car that really made a move by staying out on track was Stoot. He went from the latter half of the field to running up with the Mac ‘N Speed pair by tearing down the pit straight.

Stoot’s move soon had the Regency Motors drivers running one, two, with Ramen and Orzo not quite able to keep up. That gave the opportunity for Max to being to make a move to join them. Parker and Felix were also on the move in an effort to charge forward. Magnus was the one getting caught out at the back, but Liu was right there with him.

Max surprised everyone by throwing himself right in the mix with Pieter and Stoot around the Gosser Kurve at the end of the long back straight. As was the case on the first lap, the long straight proved a significant venue for position changes, with Magnus also making up for a poor first sector. Max’s strong run through the first half of the lap failed him a bit at the Nikki Lauda Kurve.

Max can’t keep up with Stoot, but Orzo and Ramen are moving forward

Stoot finally hauled in Pieter at the start of the third sector, and what once looked like another win for Pieter now looked quite in doubt. Max, Ramen, and Orzo continued to fight just behind them, ready to make a move if either of the orange cars faltered. Preferably both. Mai, Parker, and Magnus formed the trailing pack, while Felix and Liu began to lag farther behind.

The last moments of clarity before a tight finish

With everything looking fairly static annd only three corners to go, the field looked stratified into tiers. Those tiers were about to get completely shaken up. First, Pieter wasn’t able to get any sort of traction out of the Gerhard Berger Kurve. This gave Stoot a momentary advantage. Furthermore, Max, Ramen, and Orzo found themselves breathing down Pieter’s neck.

Into the penultimate Jochen Rindt corner they went, but here it was Stoot who faltered for speed. That allowed Ramena and Max to nearly catch up with him. The battle for victory was suddenly a 3-way, wheel to wheel drag race. Orzo was in the process of passing Pieter, who had fallen all the way from first to fifth in the span of 3 corners.

While all this had been going on, Parker, Magnus, and Mai had been in a tense 3-way fight of their own. Mai’s tires, however, were shot. He spun out in turn 7 and that left Scandinavian Blitz to run in their own little bubble. Felix and Liu, still far back, suddenly were wondering if they had a shot to gain a few precious points off of the Mai’s mistake.

The drag race to the finish would see Stoot edge out Ramen with Max coming in 3rd in one of the closest finishes of the season.

Pieter found more speed around the final corner than Orzo to claim fourth place. While Magnus and Parker didn’t ultimately finish that far behind Orzo, they slotted in comfortably behind him. Magnus just barely eked past Parker by a nose.

The final three cars finished well behind the rest of the field, but they weren’t without some surprises, either. Felix did ultimately catch Mai before he even made it to Jochen Rindt Kurve. Liu used a strong series of corners to catch up with the both of them. Mai, already having suffered significant from tires that were past their sell by date then spun around again at the final corner.

Mai’s final corner spinout relegated him to last

Despite having to swerve around Mai’s vehicle, Felix was able to get ahead of Liu for 8th place. Mai would limp home to mark the 3rd time this season that all cars crossed the finish line.

Final Results

Driver	Start	Lap	Finish
Stoot van Vaart (RM)	9	4	1
Ramen Acuna Jr. (MnS)	4	3	2
Max (SM)	2	5	3
Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)	10	1	4
Orzo Albies (MnS)	7	2	5
Magnus Rasksen (SB)	3	8	6
Parker Lacroix (SB)	1	6	7
Felix (SM)	5	7	8
Liu S. Amil X (FS)	8	10	9
Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FS)	6	9	10

Stoot’s victory is his second of the season and his 4th time on the podium. However, it’s also his first podium in 4 races. He raced only in the bottom 5 positions in the first lap and only the top 4 positions in the second lap, having produced a stellar second lap after his big move on the pit straight.

In contrast, Ramen’s race was strong from start to finish. The Mac ‘N Speed driver spent most of the race in 3rd or 4th position on track, barely dipping down to 5th and never below it. He snatched up second right at the end in the final two corners. It’s his second podium and second 2nd place finish in the past 3 races. Max scored his second podium as well, matching the 3rd place finish in Road Atlanta when he also stood one step below Ramen.

With Pieter having been at the top of the driver standings all season, it’s a bit jarring to see that Stoot is now just one point behind him. Orzo is 30 points back of Pieter in 3rd place, and while that’s more than a race victory away, it’s not impossible. Most of the others are within 13 points of Orzo. That’s almost nothing between them and plenty to play for. Parker is currently at the back and while he looks quite distant, he’s one victory’s worth of points behind Orzo in 3rd. There’s plenty of room to move up the standings still.

Regency Motors’ 4th victory on the year make them almost impossible to catch in the final two races, even if it isn’t mathematically impossible. Mac ‘N Speed currently sit 62 points back in second place. This despite them having just scored their 3rd podium, which is the fewest of the teams other than Regency Motors. Fir Splays’ dismal performance means that they’ve almost been caught up by Switch Motorsports. The 3rd and 4th place teams are just 2 points apart. Scandinavian Blitz round out the field, but are well within reach of 2nd place if they perform well over the final two races.