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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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