Race five of the SBMRL season means a return trip to Brazil to race Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. The track, commonly known as Interlagos, first hosted the SBMRL last year and resulted in a wild race with a surprise victor.
Interlagos
Interlagos features some of the fastest racing of the season and will really tax each car’s engine and brakes. A decent run up the the Senna ‘S’ means cars at the back of the grid will have some leeway to play catch up right out of the gate, but it could also mean some bumping and scraping along the way.
The long straight that marks the first sector leads into Descida do Lago, a sharp left-hander that is followed by another long stretch. There’s plenty of opportunity to get his wrong.
The infield section has a series of relatively unremarkable corners before the Juncao corner spits the cars onto the extremely long pit straight. Yes, there’s some curvature to this part of the track, but it can be taken full out so there will be little expectation of caution here.
Starting Grid
Officially, the SBMRL lines up the grid in reverse order of driver standings, but we currently have 4 drivers all tied for 3rd place on 49 points. Whiplash, Launch, Jaap, and the Stig all can make that claim. Historically, the league has used the order of finish in the previous race as the tiebreaker, with the car finishing the farthest back getting the highest grid slot. That leaves the following for Brazil:
- Stevie Wondertyres (SR)
- Captain Slow (SB)
- The Stig (SB)
- Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
- Launch Bornado (FR)
- Whiplash (SR)
- Bubba McQueen (FR)
- Sheila Dinkum (RM)
Pit selection is order of the team standings:
- Regency Motors
- Force Ravenswood
- Scandinavian Blitz
- Sprite Racing
Track History
With only one race in the books at Interlagos, there isn’t a ton of history to go on, but what a race it was. Osito Racing Company’s Jaronimus and Jamonito finished 1-2, respectively, after lapping in 7th and 9th place. Launch Bornado, who started 8th, was in 1st after a lap and rounded out the podium. Launch is also the only car in this year’s field to finish higher than 7th last year.
Three cars failed to finish (including both Scandinavian Blitz drivers) thanks to engine failure and debris scattered all over the track. Jaap had a blazing first lap but was the last of the finishers to cross the line.
Scandinavian Blitz will be hoping to carry their Monaco momentum over to Brazil to earn some redemption for last year, while the drivers who are all currently tied know that a solid finish here can give them a strong leg up in the standings.
