Category Archives: Race Previews

Atlanta Preview

Posted on January 22, 2025 | Leave a comment

The SBMRL’s January race takes us back to the United States. This time, the teams head to Georgia to race Road Atlanta. The circuit was first opened in 1970, and is located a little under an hour northeast of Atlanta. It has hosted a variety of formats of racing, including Petit Le Mans endurance races. It first appeared in a video game in a Commodore 64 game in 1985’s Racing Destruction Set. After the SBMRL’s visit to Argentina, teams will be hoping Road Atlanta is a little more forgiving than the game’s reputation. This will be the league’s first visit to the Georgian circuit.

Road Atlanta

Road Atlanta figures to be a quicker race with only 6 corners of note that the drivers will have to deal with. The pit straight is quite short and the first corner is so close to the starting line that the run up is almost inconsequential for the front row. Those at the front will be able to treat the first corner as if it’s not even there.

A short straight leads into Turn 2’s chicane that will likely keep those front starting grid cars from running away with things too quickly. The slowdown there should give others a bit of a chance to catch up their less idea starting position.

Turn 3 will be key to a good lap. Hitting is just right will allow drivers to keep their speed into the following straight, whereas getting it wrong will mean watching others fly off in the distance.

The fourth corner is a wide hair pin. Cars will want to come in slow and out fast as the longest straight of the circuit is what follows. Coming out at top speed to head down the track will be an advantage, but it’s also long enough that a bad exit can be overcome at the other end.

Turn 5 is a lot like Turn 2, a chicane that will slow the field down. Only this time, it’s at the end of a very long straight. Coming in too hard will require heavy braking to handle the back end. There’s only a moderate distance to the circuit’s final corner. This is another spot where a good line and the right gear could make a big difference. Don’t be surprised to see a late pass here at the end of the race for a podium position.

Despite Road Atlanta’s relatively short length and limited corners, the circuit has some notably challenging aspects to it that should result in some interesting racing. Expect a race that’s a bit easier on engines than some of the season’s earlier races, but don’t be surprised to see gear boxes take up that burden.

Starting Grid

As always, the starting grid for Road Atlanta will be the reverse order of the driver standings. A number of ties in the standings were broken in Argentina, so no need for any tie breakers this time out:

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

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Mac ‘N Speed
  3. Fir Splays
  4. Scandinavian Blitz
  5. Switch Motorsports

* It should additionally be noted that American drivers Felix and Max have Road Atlanta as their home race. This means that each driver will have a slight bonus in terms of car setup that they can take advantage of.

Race Outlook

After dominating in Argentina for 3/4 of the race, all eyes will be on Parker and his efforts to recover from a heartbreaking DNF. He’s got a lot of ground to make up in the standings, but he’s proven he has what it takes if the car will carry him there. His teammate, Magnus, is currently best poised to break up the Regency Motors drivers at the top of the standings, but every team has a driver in the top 6.

At a team level, the standings are still very tight behind Regency Motors. With 9 points separating the other four teams, whoever does best will likely be at the top of the group. Mac ‘N Speed currently have the momentum on their side. Will it stay with them, or will Switch Motorsports take their home race advantage to the checkered flag?

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Argentina Preview

Posted on December 11, 2024 | Leave a comment

The Argentine Grand Prix, hosted at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez near Buenos Aires, was a part of the Formula 1 calendar from 1953 to 1998. The Buenos Aires Grand Prix actually dates back to 1930, even before Formula 1 existed, at other tracks prior to this one being built.

The SBMRL has raced there only once, back in January 2019, over 5 years ago, with Whiplash of Sprite Racing taking the victory.

Buenos Aires

The start-finish line of the circuit is right in the middle of a very long straight, which leads in the gentle right hand bend of Curva Numero Uno. This can be taken at speed and likely won’t slow too many cars down on the first lap. There is an advantage to being at the front of the grid here, but it likely won’t be a deciding factor in the race. The second corner, Curva de la Confiteria is similarly forgiving, and expect the cars to take it at speed. The key point of the first sector is undoubtedly the third corner. It’s short and depending on how the previous corner went, this one might catch some cars out.

That third corner is absolutely critical because if hit right, Curvon can be taken at the speed needed to really fly down the next straight. It’s much longer than it looks and only the pit straight is longer. Curva De Ascari shouldn’t require much braking. If anyone is slowing down here they’ll be struggling to catch up. The Entrada a los Mixtos hairpin takes the field back inside the general track layout and begins the slowest section of the track.

Coming out of Entrada a los Mixtos at speed is of no benefit, so it’s here that the field will really slow down. Vibratoria is a chicane that is perfectly manageable, but drivers will want to get themselves set up for Curva del Ombu and the following straight. It’s long enough to get some speed going again, although that speed will need to be scrubbed off for the Senna “S”. The Senna “S” is a classic slow in fast out corner and this is the place on the track most likely to tax a gear box as it shifts back down. There’s a decently long straight coming out of it before the final turn, Horquilla, and given the length of the pit straight, you do want to be as fast through there as possible. It’s also worth noting that the pit entry is fairly far along.

Buenos Aires has a tremendous mix of high speed bends, slow corners, and rhythm sections that will test the drivers’ ability to manage all of that. Engines will be pushed to their limits, cars will get bunched at times, but there will also be big opportunities to get ahead or fall far behind.

Starting Grid

The starting grid is reverse order of the current standings. With Felix and Mai currently tied at 25 points each, they will start in reverse order of finish at the previous race. Since Mai was 2nd and Felix was 3rd, Felix gets the higher grid position.

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

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Scandinavian Blitz
  3. Switch Motorsports
  4. Fir Splays
  5. Mac ‘N Speed

Race Outlook

There’s a lot at stake in Argentina. After 3 races, there are a lot of drivers within just a few points of each other. This is most notable right in the middle of the driver standings. Max is currently in 4th place with 26 points. Felix and Mai are just one point behind Max at 25, and Ramen has 24 points to be just 1 point behind them.

While Regency Motors currently sports a fairly commanding lead in the team standings, only 10 points separates the other 4 teams. That’s a deficit that can easily be made up in a single race. All the teams, however, will be looking to make a dent into the front runners. With 1/3 of the season in the books, there’s still plenty of time to catch up, and whoever comes out the best here will be the primary challenger. Particularly if Regency Motors struggles from the back of the grid.

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Estoril Preview

Posted on November 3, 2024 | Leave a comment

Just west of Lisbon, Estoril is a beach resort town of the Portuguese Riviera boasting lavish hotels and casinos. The Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, commonly called Estoril Circuit, actually sits a few kilometers outside of Estoril itself, on a rocky plateau that can sometimes result in unpredictable winds. Originally built in 1972, the circuit played host to Formula 1 races from 1984 to 1996. This is the first time that the SBMRL will be racing there.

Estoril

The SBMRL will be racing the circuit configuration as it was used in Formula 1 prior to 1994. The start line for the race is far enough back from turn 1 that drivers will be able to get a little bit of speed heading into it. The first sector is not overly complicated, so any drivers that get it wrong will be on the back foot early. The first corner is an easy right hander at what can be described as a fairly gentle 90 degrees. This is followed by a short straight into an even easier version of the same corner. Turns 3 and 4 follow in close succession and while both are essentially hairpins, neither are sharp enough to really slow the field down. Expect to see a lot of wheel to wheel action through here.

The second sector starts with the long interior straight leading into Turn 5, a third consecutive hairpin like corner known as the interior parabolica. A moderate straight into Turn 6, a gentle right hander, will give drivers little reason to slow down until they hit the sharpest corner on the track at Turn 7. This turn is sharp enough that it absolutely will cost drivers who don’t get it right.

The final sector features only one challenging set of corners, the esses at Turn 8. If Turn 7 didn’t slow them down, the esses certainly will. Slow in and fast out will be the name of the game here. The final large bend of the circuit, Parabolica Ayrton Senna, is one that the downforce of today’s cars can handle at full speed. What that means is that coming out of the esses, cars can get on full throttle all the way to the finish line.

Expect Estoril to be a fast race with a lot of opportunity to stay in high gears as the cars try to take advantage of a generally forgiving track layout. That means high stress on the engine, a chance for lots of overtaking, and not a huge chance to come back from getting behind.

Starting Grid

As is SBMRL policy, the starting grid for Estoril will be revers order of driver standings.

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

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Scandinavian Blitz
  3. Switch Motorsports
  4. Mac ‘N Speed
  5. Fir Splays

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