Tag Archives: USA

Austin Preview

With one race in the books, the SBMRL stays in the United States but heads south to Austin, Texas to run Circuit of the Americas.  This will be the fourth time in as many seasons that the league competes on this particular track.

Austin

Circuit of the Americas has a little bit of everything, with rhythm sections, a sharp hairpin followed by a long straight, and some technical driving through the final sector.  The starting straight isn’t particularly long and leads into a blind lefthander for turn 1.

Turns 3 and 4 keep everyone close and the field will likely stay together through the first sector.  The exit of Turn 4 is key to a fast lap as it sets up Turn 5 and the track’s long back straight.  In the past, this straight and the approach to Turn 6 have been key overtaking zones.

This is also, of cours, a prime opportunity for drivers to overcook things.  In fact, Jaap’s retirement from last year’s race was largely the result of an overaggressive attempt to catch up that ultimately cost him.

After a first sector that seems relatively straightforward, the second sector feels like the highlight of the lap.  The high risks involved leave the third sector as a bit of an afterthought.  Sure, it looks as simple as the first one, but the reality is that this section of the track has caused more problems than anyone seems to remember.  There’s nothing flashy about it.  Any overtaking that occurs here feels more like one driver’s failure rather than the other’s skill, but that doesn’t mean it won’t play a key role in the race.

Starting Grid

As this is the second race of the year, the starting grid for Austin is the reverse order of finish at Elkhart Lake.

  1. The Stig (SB)
  2. Whiplash (SR)
  3. Sheila Dinkum (RM)
  4. Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
  5. Delilah Whipplefilter (FR)
  6. Launch Bornado (FR)
  7. Bubba McQueen (SR)
  8. Rask Sjofar (SB)

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

Austin will be Bubba McQueen’s home race.

Track History

Jaap and Launch have both previously won in Austin, while Sheila and Whiplash finished on the podium last year.  Pole-sitter The Stig has fared poorly in his three attempts to handle COTA, finishing no higher than 6th place.  However, all three previous winners have started on the front row, with two of those being on pole.  Mater is the only driver to have multiple podiums.

The previous three races have seen 5 cars fail to finish.  Ironically, it was the 2016 race with 10 cars on the grid, the largest of the three, that saw all cars make it to the checkered flag.  Last year, Jaap and Bubba both retired early.

SBMRL @ Circuit of the Americas

Road America Recap

The fourth SBMRL season got underway in Elkhart Lake, WI with a visit to Road America.  There are always a number of changes from year to year, and this season was no exception.  The first thing of note, however, was something that didn’t change.  This will be the first SBMRL season in which all the teams from last year return to the grid.  What that doesn’t mean is that the drivers are all the same.  In fact, only Regency Motors sports the same driver lineup as a year ago.

Scandinavian Blitz naturally returned last year’s championship winner The Stig, but he will be joined by Norwegian rookie Rask Sjofar.  Force Ravenswood hired another rookie, Delilah Whipplefilter to replace Bubba McQueen.  The latter will pair with Whiplash for Sprite Racing.

The other news of note heading into the season opener was one rule change which may be significant.  Safety concerns have prompted the league to institute a yellow flag condition whenever a crash occurs.  In the event of car retiring due to collision, suspension damage, or tire failure, the rest of the field must temporarily slow to 3rd gear or lower while the stricken vehicle is removed.

THE SBMRL RETURNS TO ACTION

Track conditions were perfect for racing and the cars were eager to get going after several months away.  With a blank slate and checkered flags in their imaginations, the cars lined up as follows:

P1 – Whiplash (SR – Frank)
P2 – Rask Sjofar (SB – Jason)
P4 – Bubba McQueen (SR – Jason)
P4 – The Stig (SB – Jason)
P5 – Launch Bornado (FR – Barb)
P6 – Jaap Snellrijder (RM – Frank)
P7 – Delilah Whipplefilter (FR – Barb)
P8 – Sheila Dinkum (RM – Frank)

The 2018-19 Grid

Despite a full offseason of pent up racing agression, the entire field got off the line smoothly to start the race.  Rask got a better push than Whiplash did and was through the first corner before the rest of the field knew what was happening.  The rest of the field split into a leading group containing Delilah, Launch, Jaap, and Bubba and a trailing group containing Sheila, Whiplash, and the Stig.  The latter group being notable as it contained a pair of cars that started on the first two rows of the grid.

Rask… and everyone else

The second half of the first lap was notable for the diametrically opposed fates of the Scandinavian Blitz drivers.  In his first race, Rask was proving that he could put no foot wrong, as he gradually increased his lead heading into the second lap.  In contrast, the Stig was struggling so mightily that he was gradually falling farther and farther behind.  Perhaps it was a major hangover from last season’s victory.  Perhaps he just starts the season slow, he didn’t perform well to start the season last year, either.  Regardless, this was not the way to get off a title defense.

Lap 1 Groupings

The second lap saw Rask navigating the second corner just as the rest of the field was first getting to the pits.  Bubba got a slight edge by not pitting, but was soon caught up by his replacement at Force Ravenswood, Delilah.  The Stig was the only other drive not to pit, and it did help him catch back up to Sheila and Whiplash.

Through the second sector, Delilah and Bubba battled back and forth, alternating in their battle for second place.  There was really no hope of catching Rask aside from a failure on his part in the third sector.  Launch had, meanwhile, gotten a leg up on Jaap as those two former teammates sought to demonstrate superiority.  Sadly, they were both struggling enough that the case could be made that they were trying not to demonstrate inferiority.

Bubba ekes ahead of Delilah in the fight for 2nd

Those waiting for Rask to stumble found themselves disappointed, as he coolly navigated the final third of the track to take a dominating victory.  Bubba also thumbed his nose, in his case towards Force Ravenswood, but taking a comfortable second place.  He lost Delilah in the second sector as she found herself lacking pace.

The next battle, then, became not just the fight between Launch and Jaap for fourth place but whether or not either would catch Delilah.  The answer was yes, but unfortunately for Regency Motors, it didn’t involve Jaap.  Launch passed Delilah around the penultimate Bill Mitchell Bend, crusing to 3rd place with Jaap trailing Delilah.  The final three cars were all neck and neck through the third sector, but Sheila prevailed over Whiplash, leaving Stig to last place.

Launch comes around the final corner

Final Results

Driver Start Lap Finish
Rask Sjofar (SB) 2 1 1
Bubba McQueen (SR) 3 3 2
Launch Bornado (FR) 5 4 3
Delilah Whipplefilter (FR) 7 2 4
Jaap Snellrijder (RM) 6 5 5
Sheila Dinkum (RM) 8 6 6
Whiplash (SR) 1 8 7
The Stig (SB) 4 7 8

Rask becomes the first driver to win their first race outside of Jaap in the SBMRL’s inaugural race.  He now boasts a 100% winning percentage, which likely won’t last for long but is fun to say.  Not only did he win, but he did so in dominating fashion, taking control of the race from the opening straight and never looking back.  Rask becomes the 12th different driver to win an SBMRL race.

Bubba finishes 2nd for the first time in his career, ahead of both Force Ravenswood drivers for a bit of revenge.  Launch starts out the season with a strong showing, adding another podium to his SBMRL leading tally.  Coupled with Jaap’s 5th place finish, Launch has now moved ahead of Jaap on the all time points list, 367 to 366.

From a team standpoint, the Stig’s poor showing means that Scandinavian Blitz holds a small, 2 point lead in the team standings over Force Ravenswood.  Regency Motors finds themselves in the unfamiliar position of last place.

Race Gallery

Road America Preview

The 2018-19 SBMRL season opens with a first time visit to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and Road America.  The league will race in the United State three times this season, including the first two races.

Road America

Racing at Elkhart Lake began in 1950 on county highways around the village.  Not long after that, an accident at Watkins Glen resulted in a ban of racing on public roads.  In 1955, the course that is now known as Road America began construction as a private track, holding the first races of significance the following year.  The track still has its original configuration.

The pit straight is one of three long straights on the circuit, and cars will have plenty of time to get up to speed before the first turn, a sharp right hander.  A moderately short straight leads into turn 2, which is similar and just slightly sharper.  By this point, the field will have had two opportunities to really get in each other’s way, and the long straight down to the third corner will mean that those who get through cleanly will start to pull away.

The second sector features several corners in quick succession that will slow the field down a bit.  Some of these corners are among the trickier ones on the course, but they are unlikely to compress the field too much.  The final corner of this sector, Carousel, leads into the long back section featuring the Kink, which can be taken all out.

The Kink means that it isn’t a true straight, but for all intents and purposes, it will be raced like one.  The final three corners of the circuit are seemingly designed to slow down the field before spitting them back out onto the pit straight.  Unfortunately, that’s where drivers will want as much speed as they can get.  Whether they’re cutting to their pits or barreling on ahead, they’ll want all the speed their cars can give them.  A clean first lap will almost certainly give drivers an advantage.

As this is the SBMRL’s first visit to Road America, the way the teams approach the track is open to speculation.  However, it does have a number of similarities to Sebring, which Cobalt dominated a few years ago.  Interlagos is another similar track that could be referenced for possible outcomes.

It won’t be surprising to see a couple of drivers hit the corners just right and pull away from the rest of the field.  This isn’t a track that is likely to keep the field compressed for long.  That said, the long straights should give some opportunities for those who’ve fallen behind to catch up.

STARTING GRID

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