Category Archives: Race Previews

Austin Preview

Posted on October 5, 2024 | Leave a comment

The SBMRL returns to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the October race of the 2024-25 season. It’s been 5 years since the last race there, pre-Covid, and it’ll be a celebratory atmosphere as it’s the one evergreen circuit on the schedule.

Austin

Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, was proposed as a purpose built track in 2010, with constuction following such that it was able to open just two years later in 2012. The first lap of the track was driven by Mario Andretti in a Lotus 79. This was the car he drove to win the World Drivers’ Championship in 1978.

The SBMRL first drove here in 2015. Jaap Snellrijder won the inaugural race, and after winning in 2019 became the only driver to win it twice. Mater, Launch Bornado, and The Stig all won here as well. Given that Launch was a member of Force Ravenswood at the time, it means that four different teams have had representatives stand on the top step of the podium.

COTA has a relatively short pit straight that leads up a steep incline into a sharp left hander. Turn 2 follows in quick succession back to the right, at which point the track gets into a rather fun for the drivers bit of squiggles. This section is trickier than it looks and the transition from the first to second sector occurs between turns 3 and 4.

The second sector leads off with the latter half of those squiggles, followed by a lengthier bit of straight. This straight is key as Turn 5 at the end of it leads into the long back straight. If cars hit turn 5 right they can really fly down the straight and gain a big advantage, but they’ll have to get the braking right into Turn 6. Unlike Turn 5, Turn 6 is quite forgiving of mistakes as Turn 7 represents a huge slow down that means this isn’t a bad area to take risks in.

The third sector is the one that looks the easiest at a glance but can make or break a lap. Turns 8, 9, and 10 aren’t ones where drivers can relax. If they’re hit in rhythm, the start/finish straight will be a welcoming chance to open up the throttle again. If not, that straight will have to be hit at speed to get things back on track.

Starting Grid

With one race in the books for the season, the starting grid for Austin will simply be the reverse of the finish in Portland.

  1. Parker Lacroix (SB)
  2. Orzo Albies (MnS)
  3. Max (SM)
  4. Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
  5. Felix (SM)
  6. Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
  7. Liu S. Amil X (FP)
  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. Fir Splays
  4. Switch Motorsports
  5. Mac ‘N Speed

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Monza Preview

Posted on February 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

For the SBMRL’s February race, the league heads to Italy to race at the famed Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

Monza

It’s the first time that the SBMRL will race at one of racing’s most famous circuits. Only England’s Brooklands and the United States’ Indianapolis Motor Speedway predate Monza as purpose built motor racing circuits, with Monza being constructed in 1922. In its various forms, the track has hosted more Formula 1 Grand Prix than any other racing circuit. The banked oval is no longer in use.

The pit straight is the longest straight on the track, and leads into the Variante Del Rettifilo Tribune, or Rettifilo for short. Rettifilo slows the field down before the long looping Curva Grande that can be taken at full throttle. It heads into the Variante Della Roggia, which is a quick chicane that can be taken at speed if you can get your line right.

Almost no time at all is between Roggia and the Prima Curva Di Lesmo, which is followed immediately by the Seconda Curva di Lesmo. It’s functionally a wide hairpin that then spits the field out at speed for a nice long run into the track’s third chicane, the Variante Ascari.

The third sector is that chicane followed by a straight, the famous Curva Parbolica, and then the pit straight. Monza is the shortest circuit on the calendar, so there won’t be as many opportunities for cars at the back of the field to catch up or pass.

Starting Grid

The starting grid for Monza will be as follows:

  1. The Stig (SB)
  2. Mario (SM)
  3. Luigi (SM)
  4. Rask Sjofar (SB)
  5. Launch Bornado (FR)
  6. Whiplash (RM)
  7. Delilah Whipplefilter (FR)
  8. Jaap Snellrijder (RM)

The Stig and Mario are tied at the bottom of the standings, but Mario finished ahead of the Stig at Laguna Seca so the Stig gets pole.

Launch and Rask are currently tied on 63 points for 4th in the driver standings. With Rask winning the last race, Launch would normally get the higher grid position. However, Launch also caused the Stig to crash out of the race in Laguna Seca, resulting in a 1 slot gird penalty. The end result is that Rask will start 4th, and Launch 5th.

Pit selection is far less complicated, as there are no ties in the team standings:

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Force Ravenswood
  3. Scandinavian Blitz
  4. Switch Motorsport

Home race bonuses at Monza will go to Mario and Luigi, who are both Italian.

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Laguna Seca Preview

Posted on January 15, 2020 | Leave a comment

The SBMRL has raced numerous times on American soil, but never in Monterey, California.

Laguna Seca

Built in 1957 around a dried out lake bed, Laguna Seca means dry lagoon in Spanish. The track plays host to a wide variety of racing classes, including various 4 wheeled and 2 wheeled ones. It has never hosted a Formula 1 race, having been deemed too remote for the desired crowds.

Running counter-clockwise, the circuit has a long run to the first corner, a sharp left-handed hairpin known as the Andretti Hairpin. A pair of short right handers take the track around a man-made pond, each separated by relatively short straights.

The second sector starts out similar tot he first but with the corners a bit more spread apart. An easy left hander followed by a sharper one lead into one of the longer straights. That straight is then followed by the corner that Monterey is most known for, the Corkscrew. The Corkscrew is a blind left-right chicane like bend that features a significant elevation drop. Drivers who get it right will feel their stomach in their throats as they dip down and hope they have their line right.

The final sector features a trio of corners, left-right-left, all separated by moderately short straights before spitting the field back onto the pit straight. Avoiding the pits can be advantageous due to the long straight, but whether or not the field can run a clean enough lap to not need fresh tires will remain to be seen.

Starting Grid

Mario’s difficult race in Monaco sees him “rewarded” with pole position. The Scandinavian Blitz pair follows, with Regency Motors making up the back of the grid.

  1. Mario (SM)
  2. Rask Sjofar (SB)
  3. The Stig (SB)
  4. Luigi (SM)
  5. Launch Bornado (FR)
  6. Delilah Whipplefilter (FR)
  7. Whiplash (RM)
  8. Jaap Snellrijder (RM)

Pit selection in order of team standings is as follows:

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Force Ravenswood
  3. Scandinavian Blitz
  4. Switch Motorsport

No driver has Laguna Seca as their home race.

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