Silver Bullet Memorial Racing League

Barcelona Recap

Posted on May 31, 2018 | Leave a comment

Sunny skies and a moderate temperatures welcomed the SBMRL to Barcelona for the final race of the 2017-18 season. The Stig came into the race with two challengers to fight off for the driver championship, Whiplash and Launch Bornado, but a large enough lead that finishing close to both would result in him taking the title. From the team stand point, all four teams entered the race within 12 points of each other, so the championship was truly up for grabs.

With so much at stake, the starting grid lined up as follows:

P1 – Captain Slow (Jason)
P2 – Stevie Wondertyres (Jason)
P3 – Sheila Dinkum (Frank)
P4 – Bubba McQueen (Barb)
P5 – Jaap Snellrijder (Frank)
P6 – Launch Bornado (Barb)
P7 – Whiplash (Frank)
P8 – The Stig (Jason)

As the lights went out, the field pulled away down the long approach to turn 1. Captain Slow made good on his pole position by establishing himself as the race’s early leader. Throughout the first sector, the rest of the field jockeyed back and forth, but the only significant movement was Stevie falling progressively further and further behind. Notably, the Stig was not able to do much passing and stayed at the back of the pack.

The second sector saw the first aggressive forays toward the front. The Force Ravenswood team of Launch and Bubba were joined by Jaap in their challenge of Captain Slow. These four cars made up the lead pack, while Sprite Racing’s drivers and the Stig began to pull away from Sheila a bit.

Three cars wide in Campsa

Former teammates Jaap and Launch battled through Europcar and into the final corner of the track, New Holland. Behind them, Captain Slow and Bubba were caught up by the Stig and Whiplash as the tightness of sector three condensed the field. Sheila, meanwhile, did her best to not fall too far behind.

Jaap and Launch complete the final turn of lap 1

The early leader of the second lap was decided quickly. While Jaap charged down the start-finish straight, Launch dove for the pits. A quick change of tires meant that Launch was able to come out just ahead of the Stig, who had copied Jaap’s approach, but both were well back of the Regency Motors driver in the first sector. They were joined in the trailing group by Whiplash, who was the only other driver to stay out on track.

Pack separation due to pitting

It doesn’t happen every race, but now and then the pits catch someone out. Here in Barcelona, it was Bubba. Bubba’s pit experience wasn’t the worst example the SBMRL has seen, and he actually held up the three cars behind him. However, he did get passed by two cars who didn’t pit. After running no lower than 4th in the first lap, he didn’t run that high again for the rest of the race.

Back at the front, Jaap drove cautiously enough through the first few corners to give those behind him reason to hope of catching him. Launch had the best shot in sector two, but the Stig was also mounting a charge. This part of the circuit is where Whiplash began to fade a bit and Captain Slow and Sheila started to real him in. Stevie held an edge over Bubba in the battle for last place.

A bird’s eye view of lap 2’s second sector

With a moderate lead and just the third sector remaining in the season, Jaap did not disappoint. He took each corner of the third sector with ease, and cruised home with the win. In contrast, the battle for 2nd place was far from over. While Launch and the Stig fought for supremacy, Captain Slow caught them both around the outside of Banc Sabadell.

Captain Slow passes Launch and the Stig

From as far back as he had come, this was a rather surprising turn of events. Bubba and the Sprite Racing team had lost contact with Sheila in the battle for 5th place, but little was as close as the fight for second. Around the final corner, Captain Slow, Launch, and the Stig came side-by-side.

The fight for 2nd place

From here, it was a drag race to the finish. Captain Slow’s hard charge to catch up left him with a little less at the end, and it was Launch who managed to eke out a photo finish 2nd place over the Stig. Bubba’s efforts to fight past Stevie and Whiplash were also for naught. Whiplash proved superior in the final sector, while Stevie had just enough speed down the straight to relegate Bubba to last place.

Stevie and Bubba at the finish

Barcelona was one of the most evenly fought races in SBMRL history. Jaap was the only driver not to race in 7th or 8th place at some point. Every driver spent time in 2nd place, and 5 different cars held the lead. In fact, 1st place was the only track position not held by 7 of the 8 cars at some point.

Final Results

Driver	Start	Lap	Finish
Jaap Snellrijder (RM)	5	1	1
Launch Bornado (FR)	6	2	2
The Stig (SB)	8	3	3
Captain Slow (SB)	1	7	4
Sheila Dinkum (RM)	3	6	5
Whiplash (SR)	7	4	6
Stevie Wondertyres (SR)	2	8	7
Bubba McQueen (FR)	4	5	8

Jaap records his 3rd victory of the season, bouncing back from a last place finish in Shanghai. It’s his SBMRL leading 7th victory overall. Launch’s 2nd place finish is his 4th podium in the last 5 races and 5th overall for the season. That ties the Stig for most on the year after the Stig rounded out the rostrum in 3rd place.

Championship Results

The Stig’s 3rd place finish was more than enough to maintain his lead in the driver standings, taking home his first ever championship. We’ve now had 3 different drivers win the title, with Jaap and Launch winning the previous two.

Jaap’s victory was just enough to edge past Launch for 2nd place by a paltry 2 points. At the other end of the standings, Captain Slow came into the race needing to outscore Stevie by 8 points to get out of the cellar. Instead, his 4th place finish was only worth 6 more than Stevie’s 7th place, leaving him in last.

Much was made over the team standings coming into the race, as only 12 points separated all 4 teams. Force Ravenswood, sitting 7 points up on Scandinavian Blitz was in the best position, but that margin was so small that anything was possible. With the top three teams all represented on the podium, the team championship was ultimately decided by how the cars finished lower down. Ultimately, Sheila finishing in 5th and Bubba finishing last resulted in a 4 point championship edge for Regency Motors over Force Ravenswood. Scandinavian Blitz saw their cars finish in 3rd and 4th place. That scored them a sizeable haul of points, but not quite enough to finish any higher than 3rd. Still, at only 2 points behind Force Ravenswood and 6 back of the title, they have nothing to hang their heads about.

Driver Champion: The Stig
Team Champion: Regency Motors

Race Gallery

: Three cars wide in Campsa

: Jaap and Launch complete the final turn of lap 1

: Pack separation at the pits

: A bird’s eye view of lap 2’s second sector

: Captain Slow passes Launch and the Stig

: The fight for 2nd place

: Stevie and Bubba at the finish

Barcelona Preview

Posted on May 26, 2018 | Leave a comment

After a long season, the 2017-18 SBMRL season will wrap up the calendar with a trip to Spain for Barcelona’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Built in 1991 and hosting Grand Prix’s as early as that year, the track has become the offseason winter testing track for Formula 1.

Barcelona

Barcelona is a track that features a little bit of everything, and the pit straight is extremely long. The start-finish line is set well back from the first corner, meaning that cars will have plenty of time to get up to speed before they hit it. The first corner, Elf, is a right-left combination that wouldn’t pose too much trouble if the field came at it slower and gave each other some space. That’s unlikely to occur, and coming out of it with speed will be key to getting out front early.

The Renault bend can be taken at full throttle into Repsol, which will only cause trouble for those completely out of whack. The combination of Seat, Wurth, and Campsa are spaced apart in such a way as to catch drivers between gears, unable to develop a strong rhythm.

That will lead into the third sector, which is the tightest of the three. La Caixa is preceded by a moderately long straight. Getting it right is key to the flow through here. The third sector can be run pretty easily in clear conditions, but if the field gets bunch here, someone may get blocked off the racing line and suffer as a result. Drivers will be particularly keen to have a clean first lap and a strong push onto the long pit straight so they can be prepared for lap 2.

Starting Grid

Captain Slow will lead the grid for the 5th time this season, with Stevie alongside. The rest of the field gets shuffled a bit until you reach the Stig at the back.

Captain Slow (SB)
Stevie Wondertyres (SR)
Sheila Dinkum (RM)
Bubba McQueen (FR)
Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
Launch Bornado (FR)
Whiplash (SR)
The Stig (SB)

Pit selection also gets mixed up after Shanghai’s results:

Force Ravenswood
Scandinavian Blitz
Regency Motors
Sprite Racing

The Stig and Jaap will each get the advantage of Barcelona as their home race.

Championship outlook

The Stig’s podium in Shanghai has left him 12 points ahead of Whiplash in the driver standings. He can guarantee himself the title with another podium finish in Spain. At this point, only Whiplash or Launch Bornado have the points to overtake him, and Launch will need to win the race and hope the Stig finishes near the bottom. Captain Slow sits 7 points behind Stevie. The two will be fighting to avoid the ignominy of finishing last.

The team standings have never been tighter and it’s entirely possible that whoever wins the race will win the title for their team as well. Force Ravenswood is 7 points up on Scandinavian Blitz, so they have the lead at the moment. However, Regency Motors and Sprite Racing are just 2 and 3 points further adrift. With just 12 points separating all four teams, both cars will be key to bringing home the championship.

Shanghai Recap

Posted on May 26, 2018 | Leave a comment

A beautiful day in Shanghai welcomed the SBMRL for race 8 of 2017-18 season. With just two races to go, the event in China presented the possibility for one of the front runners to give themselves a leg up on the rest of the field. The drivers lined up as follows:

P1 – Captain Slow (Jason)
P2 – Stevie Wondertyres (Jason)
P3 – Whiplash (Frank)
P4 – Bubba McQueen (Barb)
P5 – Sheila Dinkum (Frank)
P6 – Jaap Snellrijder (Frank)
P7 – Launch Bornado (Barb)
P8 – The Stig (Jason)

A clean start saw the field jockeying for position into the long, winding turn 1. The top four on the grid lead the way into turn 2, with Whiplash keeping ahead of Captain Slow and Bubba. Stevie fell in line with Jaap and Launch, while the Stig and Sheila took their place at the rear.

Whiplash out front early on

Throughout the second sector, Whiplash and Captain Slow battled for supremacy at the front. Bubba hung back in a lonely third place, while the rest of the field struggled to keep up. Stevie was able to hold onto the fourth position until the long, winding turn 5, where the Stig was able to get past him.

Whiplash was the first through the hairpin coming off the long back straight. He proceeded cleanly through the final corner and into the pits. Captain Slow also had no trouble with this section, but behind them, much of the rest of the field was not so lucky. Bubba couldn’t handle the hairpin at all, carrying too much speed and spinning out as a result. Having seen that in front of him, the Stig had the opposite problem, failing to keep up enough speed.

The tricky final two corners

The one car that navigated the mess smoothly was Jaap’s. He watched Captain Slow and the Stig dive for the pits and decided that would be his opportunity to jump them. Unfortunately for him, the Scandinavian Blitz pit crew was up to the task, and they had both red cars back on the track right alongside him.

The leaders take to lap 2

By the end of the first sector, Jaap had once again fallen behind both Scandinavian Blitz cars, but neither of them were yet able to catch up with Whiplash. Bubba’s misfortunes at the end of the first lap had dropped him all the way to battle with his teammate Launch Bornado, who was having a race to forget. Only Sheila was doing worse.

While Whiplash continued to drive with confidence, the Stig was doing his best to reel him in. He nearly did so on the approach to Turn 5. Whiplash was able to carry his line perfectly into the corner. He then navigated the extreme curvature of the corner expertly, flying on the straight with momentum to pull away easily. The rest of the field all found themselves piling in tightly behind.

Turn 5 packs the field in

Captain Slow and the Stig were back in front of the also rans, with Stevie starting to feel some heat from the mess unfolding behind him. Notably, Jaap’s second sector was abysmal, so despite the promising start to lap 2, he was in amongst the back of the field. As the top 3 went through the final two corners, the others barreled down the straight to the hairpin.

Late stratification

Despite how close the front three were, Whiplash took the checkered flag for his first victory. He actually held the lead since the middle of the first lap, but the Stig and Captain Slow both kept pressure on him all race. In the end, Captain Slow was right behind him at the finish, with the Stig taking home 3rd place, giving Scandinavian Blitz their first double podium of the year.

The remaining five cars took to the hairpin with eyes set on taking advantage of a difficult section of track. Bubba and Stevie had the line right on entry. Launch, Jaap, and Sheila not so much.

The field in the hairpin

Bubba took the final corner with ease, salvaging 4th place after a difficult second lap. Stevie had no trouble holding off the others for 5th. On the other hand, Sheila’s deep dive down the inside ended in disaster. After having spent most of the race far in arrears, this was perhaps Sheila’s best chance to gain some positions. In the end, she spun out, losing any advantage she was trying to gain. She was saved ever so slightly by the sheer incompetence of Jaap, who couldn’t cleanly find his way past his compromised teammate.