Category Archives: Race Previews

Russia Preview

Posted on March 10, 2017 | Leave a comment

Just like last year, our 7th race of the season will be held in Sochi, Russia.  Located on the northeast edge of the Black Sea, the Formula 1 circuit runs through the 2014 Winter Olympic host city.

The track places the starting grid far back on the longest straight, which means that cars near the back of the grid will have plenty of time to gather up speed into turn 1.  It’s therefore unlikely that those at the front will have any significant advantage from a speed standpoint.  However, as we’ve seen at some of our other races this year, the presence of two additional cars in the field mean that the corner has a good chance of being blocked off, forcing those at the back to slow down just to avoid contact.

Turn 2 is a sweeping left hander that was the site of Ice knocking Nero out of the race a year ago.  It can be taken at speed and may be a good spot for overtaking.  What follows will then be a series of sharp, 90 degree corners in quick succession.  This section is a key rhythm section of the track, and opens up on a back straight which is the only place other than the front straight to engage the higher gears.

The third sector is highlighted by the complicated turn 8, where cars will be forced to slow significantly after the back straight.  Two more 90 degree right handers then spit the cars onto the tail end of the starting grid for the long pit straight.  It’s worth noting that the entrance to pit lane immediately follows the final corner, meaning anyone carrying too much speed through there may not be able to enter the pits at all.

Last year’s race in Sochi was marked by the aforementioned elimination of Nero in turn 2, which was particularly significant given that it was his teammate Ice who caused the collision.  Captian Slow also made his mark, slipstreaming past Danger Wheel at the final moment to snatch 4th place.  The victor, was Jaap, who started 8th and last on the grid, making it the lowest grid position anyone came from to win last year.  That has since been eclipsed twice, once by himself, and once by Jaronimus, both of whom won races after starting 9th this year.

Starting Grid

The results of Germany have caused a minor shuffling of the starting grid order for Russia, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that Nero will start on pole position.  Despite his 3rd place finish, he hasn’t moved up out of the bottom of the standings, and will start his 5th consecutive race at the front.  With Ice’s poor showing Cobalt locks out the front row.

  1. Nero (CO)
  2. Ice (CO)
  3. Captain Slow (SB)
  4. The Stig (SB)
  5. Mater (RB)
  6. Jamonito del Verde (ORC)
  7. Danger Wheel (RB)
  8. Launch Bornado (RM)
  9. Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
  10. Jaronimus Maximus (ORC)

Pit selection is reverse order of average starting grid position, which means that despite Osito Racing Company leading the team standings, they won’t get first choice of pits.  Jamonito’s higher grid slot means that Regency Motors has a slightly worse average start position, so they’ll have the first choice.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Osito Racing Company
  3. Red Bull
  4. Scandinavian Blitz
  5. Cobalt

No driver has Sochi as their home race this year, so all will be on equal footing.  The long approach to turn 1 means that starting position will be less important than it typically is.  However, pit selection may be more important than normal given that the entrance to pit lane is right after turn 10.

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Nurburgring Preview

Posted on February 16, 2017 | Leave a comment

Last season, the SBMRL race in Germany at Hockenheim, but this year the event moves from there to the Nurburgring.

Originally built in the 1920’s the Nurburgring is best known for the Nordschleife, which orginally was over 28 km long.  It has since been shortened significantly, but still proved too dangerous for the fastest cars in motorsport.  Formula 1 grand prix racing ended on that course in the 1970’s after Nikki Lauda nearly lost his life there.  Instead, the GP-Strecke was built and designed with modern F1 in mind, and that is the course that we will race.

The run up from the pit straight isn’t particularly long before heading into the slow right-left combination of the Castrol S.  Cars toward the back of the grid will be at a severe disadvantage heading into this corner as the temptation to catch up with the front runners early on will likely lead to some hard braking on approach.  Those at the front will hope to gain an early lead and avoid the mess behind them.

A short straight leads into the second corner, a short left hander, which is then followed very quickly by another sharp right, the Ford Kurve.  There is then a moderate straight followed by the Dunlop hairpin.  This second sector will have some of the better opportunities for overtaking so getting the right line through this area will be key.  The kink on the way to the RTL Kurve can almost be ignored, but only if in the right gear and without traffic in the way.

Sector three starts just after the Bit Kurve and opens with the longest straight on the course followed by the tricky Veedol S and Coca-Cola Kurve.  High speeds into this last series of corners will certainly make coming out of them at pace even more challenging.

Overall, the Nurburgring will be quite a different experience than Interlagos was.  There aren’t any particularly long straights which will allow drivers to open it up.  Instead, the course will require technical agility in managing the ebb and flow of corner and straight combinations.  Whether or not this means the field will stay tightly compressed or spread out remains to be seen.  While it appears that passing opportunities will be hard to come by, there are some key spots where a mistake will likely mean losing several positions.

Starting Grid

The top 6 positions on the grid remain unchanged from Brazil in large part due to the bottom three drivers in the standings all failing to complete the race.  The bottom four see the Osito Racing Company and Regency Motors drivers swap slots.  In practice, this probably won’t mean much since they’ll still be in the same row.  Launch Bornado and Jamonito del Verde are the only two current drivers never to have won a race, and will start alongside each other.

  1. Nero (CO)
  2. The Stig (SB)
  3. Captain Slow (SB)
  4. Ice (CO)
  5. Mater (RB)
  6. Danger Wheel (RB)
  7. Launch Bornado (RM)
  8. Jamonito del Verde (ORC)
  9. Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
  10. Jaronimus Maximus (ORC)

As there is no race in Finland, The Stig opted for Germany as his home race this year, so he’ll have a slight advantage in addition to starting on the front row.

Osito Racing Company taking over the top slot of the team standings means they get first choice of pits.  Scandinavian Blitz and Cobalt are no longer tied in the standings, which breaks the tie for average start position between the two teams.

  1. Osito Racing Company
  2. Regency Motors
  3. Red Bull
  4. Cobalt
  5. Scandinavian Blitz

Nurburgring should favor those at the front of the grid, so this will be a good opportunity for Scandinavian Blitz and Cobalt to try to crawl back into the hunt.  Red Bull have been consistently the 3rd best team, but Regency Motors and Osito will be charging hard from the back of the grid.

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Brazil Preview

Posted on January 7, 2017 | Leave a comment

The Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, commonly known as Interlagos, will be our host for the 5th SBMRL race this season.  The track was built in Sao Paolo and inaugurated in May of 1940, with the first Formula 1 Championshiop Grand Prix being held in 1973 and won by local Emerson Fittipaldi.  Sao Paolo is also the birthplace of Ayrton Senna and current driver Felipe Massa.

10-interlagos

The purpose built Brazillian circuit will be a sharp departure from our most recent outing in Monaco.  In contrast to the cramped city streets and sharp turns, Interlagos features long, wide straights and big, sweeping curves.

The starting grid is set back from the first corner, the Senna ‘S’, which means that there will be plenty of time for cars to get up to speed before they have to slam on the brakes for the left handed entry into the ‘S’.  Getting the correct entry to this corner is significant as coming out of it is an extremely long sweeping curve and straight.  Cars will be tempted into 6th gear here.  The risk of coming up short on the Descida do Lago corner at the end of it will come into play, but it’s also easy to overshoot.

The run up to Ferradura, the third corner, is about half the distance of the previous straight but still not short.  In comparison, it’s nearly as long as Monaco’s tunnel straight.  A mistake here, though, isn’t quite as costly as at the previous bend.  The remainder of the second sector is the more technical infield section of the track, with tight corners and extremely short straights between them.  It’s here that the field will look a lot more compressed than may actually be the case, particularly by the second lap.

The third sector is simply the final Juncao corner followed by the sweeping bends that lead back to the pit straight.  There’s no need for caution here and it’ll be full throttle the rest of the way.  Expect some particularly tight finishes for any cars that come drag racing at the end.

Overall, Interlagos is an extremely fast, yet unforgiving track.  There are few opportunities to catch up once falling behind other than hoping for a rival’s mistake.  Any driver who finds themselves shifting below 4th gear in the wrong spot will be at a disadvantage, and even that isn’t fast enough in many places.  Expect a lot of tyre wear and gear box abuse.  While unlikely, a clean first lap will put a car in superb position for lap 2, as those in the pits will be watching the others fly by.

Starting Grid

A disappointing first half of the season has Nero in last place and the bittersweet joy of starting on pole position for the 3rd consecutive race.  Interlagos, however, is a track with similar characteristics to Sebring, where he recorded his first victory last year, so perhaps this is his chance to turn things around.  He’ll be joined in the front row by the Stig, and then their respective teammates will make up row 2.  Despite being currently tied for 4th in the standings, Danger Wheel gets the qualifying nod ahead of Jamonito del Verde due to having finished behind him in Monaco.  The allows Red Bull to lock out row 3.

  1. Nero (CO)
  2. The Stig (SB)
  3. Captain Slow (SB)
  4. Ice (CO)
  5. Mater (RB)
  6. Danger Wheel (RB)
  7. Jamonito del Verde (ORC)
  8. Launch Bornado (RM)
  9. Jaronimus Maximus (ORC)
  10. Jaap Snellrijder (RM)

Pit selection is reverse order of average starting position, followed by reverse order of team standings.  Since Cobalt and Scandinavian Blitz are tied in both categories, the tie will be broken by roll of the black die on race day.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Osito Racing Company
  3. Red Bull
  4. Cobalt/Scandinavian Blitz
  5. Cobalt/Scandinavian Blitz

Cobalt and Scandinavian Blitz each need a strong showing at Interlagos in order to close the gap with the front running teams.  However, even if everyone finishes in starting grid order, they’ll still trail the others with the Nurburgring on the horizon.  First things first, though, they’ll need to do well in Brazil.

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