Our second race of the 2017-18 season takes us to Austin, Texas to race Circuit of the Americas. It’s the third time in as many seasons that we’ll race COTA, and coincides with the 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix weekend.
Austin
Circuit of the Americas is a tricky, counter-clockwise circuit that isn’t easy to get right. The uphill slope of Turn 1 makes for a bit of a blind approach at speed followed by a moderate bend for Turn 2.
Turns 3 and 4 will compress the field and provide for passing opportunities. The exit of Turn 4 is key to a fast lap as it sets up Turn 5 and the track’s long back straight. Infamously, Turn 4 was the spot where the Stig was cut off by Ice in last year’s race, effectively ending any hopes he had of scoring decent points.
The long back straight will tempt the speed demons to floor it through Turn 6, but there isn’t much room for error with Turn 7 following closely. The saving grace here is that Turn 7 is much more forgiving than it first appears, so carrying a little speed into it isn’t terrible.
The remainder of the 3rd sector of the track is the part where drivers can become complacent. The trio of short corners that finish the track aren’t particularly intimidating, but they are spaced in such a way as to catch drivers between gear choices. Can you shift up to fly through the straights and slow down enough for the corners? Or is it better to try to get maximum effort out of a lower gear? Those choices can be complicated by any driver who has been hard on their tires through the rest of the lap. For evidence, one need only look at Nero’s race last year, where he came into the third sector in 2nd place and finished in 7th.
Starting Grid
With one race in the books, the starting grid for Austin will simply be the reverse order of finish last time out in Portland.
- Launch Bornado (FR)
- Stevie Wondertyres (SR)
- Captain Slow (SB)
- Whiplash (SR)
- The Stig (SB)
- Bubba McQueen (FR)
- Sheila Dinkum (RM)
- Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
As is league policy, pit selection will be in order of team standings, with ties broken by reverse order of average starting position. That leaves the following:
- Regency Motors
- Scandinavian Blitz
- Force Ravenswood
- Sprite Racing
Austin will be Bubba McQueen’s home race.
Track History
Among current drivers, only Jaap has finished higher than 6th at Austin. He won in 2015 and finished 5th last year. Mater holds the record for points at Austin after winning last year’s race and finished 2nd the year before. It has never been a good track for Scandinavian Blitz, with Captain Slow and The Stig having the fewest point totals of all SBMRL drivers.
Perhaps most notably from last year’s race, Osito Racing Company proved that they would not be a pushover in their rookie season. They scored a double podium finish that bodes well for Sprite Racing, who now have a race under their belts and will be looking to emulate ORC’s Austin success.