Austin Preview

Posted on October 11, 2017 | Leave a comment

Our second race of the 2017-18 season takes us to Austin, Texas to race Circuit of the Americas.  It’s the third time in as many seasons that we’ll race COTA, and coincides with the 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix weekend.

Austin

Circuit of the Americas is a tricky, counter-clockwise circuit that isn’t easy to get right.  The uphill slope of Turn 1 makes for a bit of a blind approach at speed followed by a moderate bend for Turn 2.

Turns 3 and 4 will compress the field and provide for passing opportunities.  The exit of Turn 4 is key to a fast lap as it sets up Turn 5 and the track’s long back straight.  Infamously, Turn 4 was the spot where the Stig was cut off by Ice in last year’s race, effectively ending any hopes he had of scoring decent points.

The long back straight will tempt the speed demons to floor it through Turn 6, but there isn’t much room for error with Turn 7 following closely.  The saving grace here is that Turn 7 is much more forgiving than it first appears, so carrying a little speed into it isn’t terrible.

The remainder of the 3rd sector of the track is the part where drivers can become complacent.  The trio of short corners that finish the track aren’t particularly intimidating, but they are spaced in such a way as to catch drivers between gear choices.  Can you shift up to fly through the straights and slow down enough for the corners?  Or is it better to try to get maximum effort out of a lower gear?  Those choices can be complicated by any driver who has been hard on their tires through the rest of the lap.  For evidence, one need only look at Nero’s race last year, where he came into the third sector in 2nd place and finished in 7th.

Starting Grid

With one race in the books, the starting grid for Austin will simply be the reverse order of finish last time out in Portland.

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

As is league policy, pit selection will be in order of team standings, with ties broken by reverse order of average starting position.  That leaves the following:

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Scandinavian Blitz
  3. Force Ravenswood
  4. Sprite Racing

Austin will be Bubba McQueen’s home race.

Track History

Among current drivers, only Jaap has finished higher than 6th at Austin.  He won in 2015 and finished 5th last year.  Mater holds the record for points at Austin after winning last year’s race and finished 2nd the year before.  It has never been a good track for Scandinavian Blitz, with Captain Slow and The Stig having the fewest point totals of all SBMRL drivers.

Perhaps most notably from last year’s race, Osito Racing Company proved that they would not be a pushover in their rookie season.  They scored a double podium finish that bodes well for Sprite Racing, who now have a race under their belts and will be looking to emulate ORC’s Austin success.

SBMRL @ Circuit of the Americas

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Portland Recap

Posted on September 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

A beautiful day in Portland saw the SBMRL take to the track for the first race of the 2017-18 season.  As reported, Launch Bornado has joined a new team this year, Force Ravenswood. Launch is joined by rookie teammate Bubba McQueen.  Sheila Dinkum, another rookie, joins Jaap Snellrijder at Regency Motors to take Launch’s place.  Force Ravenswood will drive in white Force India livery.  Sprite Racing also joins the league for their first race.

With the slate wiped clean, every car has an equal chance for the championship this year. As a result, qualifying was done by roll of the dice, leaving the cars to lineup in the following order.

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

There was drama from the get-go, with last year’s champion Launch stalling when the lights went out.  That dropped Launch down the field quite a ways, but the truth of the matter was that everyone became tightly bunched in Turn 1 anyway.  This was illustrated by the fact that three different cars suffered minor body damage as the cars struggled through the tight chicane.

Congestion in Turn 1

Turn 2 saw more of the same, with the Stig and Launch each being involved in minor collisions.  For the Stig, however, the gambit was worth it, as he pulled even with Jaap at the front of the field.  The big news, however, was the retirement of Launch in Turn 5.  With the pace being pushed by the frontrunners, Launch’s engine wasn’t up to the task and he was out of the race before even completing the first lap.

Launch is passed by the field

The third sector saw Jaap and the Stig jockey back and forth for the lead with the remaining cars going what they could to keep up.  Whiplash, Bubba, and Sheila formed the middle pack with Stevie Wondertyres and Captain Slow pulling up the rear.  As the cars rounded the final corner, Jaap flew past the pits in an effort to shed himself of the Stig.  The Stig went for fresh tires and a new front wing, giving Jaap that leg up that he was hoping for.

The rest of the field all pitted, with Sheila leading the way in and Stevie Wondertyres pulling up the rear.  While Jaap ran off in the distance, the Stig stumbled through the first few corners, giving Bubba and Sheila hope of catching him for 2nd place.  Stevie Wondertyres also began to make a move on the other drivers, but he couldn’t find the first line in Turn 4, ending that aspiration.

The Stig leads the field through Turn 3

With a hard charge down the back straight, Bubba and Sheila began to put some real pressure on the Stig.  The result was the Stig going into the final turn at much too high of a speed for a proper exit.  Having the freshest tires allowed Sheila to get the edge up on the others and provide Regency Motors with the team’s first ever 1-2 finish.

Shiela charges toward the finish line

The Stig’s inability to carry speed from the final corner onto the start-finish straight meant that Bubba was able to come home in 3rd place for a podium in his first race.  Whiplash followed closely, with Captain Slow and Stevie Wondertyres rounding out the field.

Final Results

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

Jaap records his SBMRL best 5th victory and starts the season off extremely well.  The rest of the podium is filled by newcomers Sheila and Bubba.  The Stig’s 4th place finish is his best season opening performance, and hopefully a promising sign for the rest of the year.  Captain Slow, on the other hand, can’t be too thrilled with a wasted pole position.

Regency Motors gets a huge leg up on the season with a 1-2 to start the year.  Surprisingly, 1-2 has been accomplished 4 times in SBMRL history and never by the same team twice.  Perhaps even more notable, it’s a more common combination than 1-anything else, with 1-8 being done 3 times.  Scandinavian Blitz would have liked more given their start positions, but can’t be too disappointed with 2nd place in the team standings.  Sprite Racing had a race to forget, but it’s worth remembering that Osito Racing Company had a similar first race experience last season and was extremely strong the rest of the year.

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Portland Preview

Posted on September 14, 2017 | Leave a comment

The 2017-18 SBMRL season is finally upon us!  The memories of Launch Bornado’s rise to win last year’s driver championship after consecutive victories are now just that, memories.  With a new season comes new opportunities for each driver to make a name for themself.  We’ll kick things off in the United States by racing Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon.

Portland

Portland International Raceway, or PIR, was built over the city streets of Vanport, OR, which was destroyed by a flood in the late 1940’s.  While racing occurred prior to it, the track wasn’t properly established until the 1970’s.  Its most recent renovation occurring in 2007, with an opening ceremony held in February 2008.

The SBMRL will race with the pit straight chicane in play as the first corner.  The chicane breaks up an otherwise extremely long straight, helping to keep speed in check.  Turn 2 is a slow right hander that is trickier than it looks.

The second sector of the track, featuring three consecutive quick corners is the key to a fast lap time.  Getting the rhythm right in this section is required in order to build up the momentum needed for the long back straight that opens the third sector.

The back straight is where cars will be able to fully air it out.  Expect a lot of brake dust and a grinding of gears towards the end of it, where the lap closes with a long, winding corner.  Drivers will want to maximize their speed out of it heading onto the pit straight, and those who need to make a stop will be at a bit of a disadvantage to those who don’t.

This is the first SBMRL race at PIR, so it’s anybody’s guess as to who will be able to take advantage of the ciruit’s long straights.  However, it is Captain Slow’s home race, so he’ll be at a slight advantage to the rest of the field.

STARTING GRID

With no season standings to go off of, the starting grid will be determined prior to the start of the race.

Season Outlook

There are a number of notable changes in the paddock for 2017-18.  Perhaps most notably, the dominant pairing of Jaap Snellrijder and Launch Bornado at Regency Motors has broken up.  While Jaap will continue to race for Regency Motors, Launch’s success and apparent dissatisfaction at being regarded as the team’s Number 2 driver has led to a departure.  Instead, Launch will race for a new team this season and have an entirely new teammate.  The open position at Regency Motors will now be filled by Australian Sheila Dinkum.

Among other teams returning, Scandinavian Blitz returns for a third season with their pairing of The Stig and Captain Slow still intact.  Both drivers struggled last year and will be looking to bounce back.

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