Category Archives: Race Recaps

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.

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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.

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Buddh Recap

Posted on March 12, 2025 | Leave a comment

The SBMRL raced at Buddh International Circuit in February, in what was the league’s 3rd visit to the track in India. The February race would make it two thirds of the season complete. While Pieter entered the race still comfortably in first place, the rest of the standings were still very close.

Here’s how the drivers lined up:

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

As the lights went out and the cars raced to through the first bend, Parker, Mail, and Felix established an early leading pack. Stoot found early congestion to be to his benefit, as he was able to move up a few places from the back of the grid, insering himself in amongst those who started well ahead of him.

The long back straight between Turns 2 and 3 would be where things started to shake up a bit. Felix was the first one to find a line for Turn 3, and with the rest of the field jockeying for position behind him. Too many cars for too little space on the track made for a field that was literally racing wheel to wheel and bumper to bumper. Only Felix and Orza avoided the fray, although Orzo certainly would’ve liked to have been in there, too.

The technical curves that make up much of the second sector began to spread the field out a bit. Felix maintained his lead, but it was here that Fir Splays and Regency Motors began to form a challenger group. Mai was at the head of it, and Pieter and fought his way all the way up to run as high as 3rd. The trailing group consisted of the rest of the field, with Orzo having been able to join up with them.

The transition between Turn 6 and Turn 7 are where things started to shift at the front. Mai found a rhythm that Felix was unable to defend against. Pieter pulled just ahead of Liu and Stoot, and would find himself battling with Felix for 2nd position by the end of the lap.

Mai had run a clean first lap, sparing his tires enough that he made the decision to skip the pits and fly down the pit straight. The decision worked out tremendously for him as he established a significant lead to start the second lap.

Pieter’s Regency Motors pit crew changed his tires in record time, sending him on his way fast enough that he came out of the pits ahead of Felix, who did not pit. The two would start the second lap as the only ones with any real shot at closing the gap to Mai. The rest of the field all opted to pit, opening up a gap between them and the front runners.

As Mai finished out the first sector of his second lap, those at the back were just coming out of their pit stops. At this point, Pieter was up in second place having gained a small edge on Felix. Stoot was well back, but running in fourth, followed by Magnus and Liu. Parker, Ramen, Max, and Orzo made up the backmarkers.

The top three cars, Mai, Pieter, and Felix, ran comfortably spaced out in that order through the second sector, but there was a fair amount of jockeying for position behind them. Magnus, Liu, and Stoot made up the midfield and found themselves closely aligned through Turn 3.

A few moments later, Ramen, Parker, Max, and Orzo were all in a similar state of mutual contention.

The back of the field was also hotly contested

Mai cruised through the second sector, calmly hitting his lines and making no mistakes. Behind him, Pieter was unsuccessfully trying to keep Mai in his sights. As they drove on through the third sector, the gap between the race leader and second place was getting larger.

In third place, Felix was being pursued by Stoot, Liu, and Magnus. The trio fought neck and neck through the second sector. At they charged into Turn 6, Stoot and Liu finally caught up with Felix, passing him on the inside.

It was at this point, with Pieter in Turn 7 and still having two more turns to go, that Mai won.

Mai crosses the finish well ahead of everyone

With victory out of reach, things were getting interesting further back. Pieter, as already mentioned, was having some struggles that kept him from keeping pace with Mai. Liu, Stoot, and Felix were in a battle for 3rd place, and Orzo, Magnus, and Max were in a 3-way battle of their own. Only Parker was lagging significantly behind.

The trio behind Pieter were having a very different third sector than the driver standings leader. They were hitting the corners in rhythm and Pieter’s inability to do so caught up with him in the final bend.

While Pieter made it to Turn 9 before the others, his inability to cut the inside line at speed left him unable to carry speed down the straight. All three of Felix, Liu, and Stoot passed him on the way to the checkered flag, finishing in that order.

Magnus, Orzo, Max, Ramen, and Parker ended up getting a bit of space between them in the third sector. Running comfortably in 6th place and trying to keep Orzo at bay, Magnus’s engine blew out just as he had the finish line in his sights. It was his second DNF of the season, and particularly difficult after struggling last time out.

Orzo would be the one to capitalize with a finish one higher than he was expecting just moments earlier.

Running behind him was Max, who was having a similar challenge that Pieter did in terms of a struggle to find speed through the final corner. Ramen, on the other hand, was now playing the role that Felix, Liu, and Stoot had done just a few moments earlier.

That burst of speed allowed Ramen to take 7th place just ahead of Max. Parker rounded out the running field, finishing 9th in what was a miserable day for Scandinavian Blitz.

Final Results

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

* Did not finish

Mai’s win was a huge redemption for him after struggling for most of the season. Aside from a 2nd place finish in Portugal, he hadn’t finished any higher than 7th place. The dominating performance, particularly his ability to run away with things on the second lap, meant that there really wasn’t anyone close to him in terms of form on the day. The large points haul from the victory lifts him all the way from last to 5th in the driver standings.

Felix’s second place means that he’s now finished in a different position in every race he’s been in. It’s his best showing of the year and while he was passed by Mai in the standings, he’s only 1 point back. Liu’s 3rd place showing means that all three of our podium finishers recorded their second podium of the year. Liu has now moved all the way up into a tie for 3rd place with Orzo. At 63 points, there’s only 4 points between him and Felix.

The double podium for Fir Splays matches Regency Motors early season form for the largest single race points haul of the season. Only a 1-2 finish could score a team more points, and Fir Splays has now leapt into 2nd place in the team standings. They were the only team to gain ground on Regency Motors whose points total was matched by Switch Motorsports. Despite that Mac ‘N Speed remained ahead of Switch in 3rd place. Scandinavian Blitz has now dropped to the bottom.