{"id":1397,"date":"2017-06-30T23:05:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T23:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rhinopeel.com\/sbmrl\/?p=1397"},"modified":"2017-06-30T23:05:31","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T23:05:31","slug":"2016-17-season-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rhinopeel.com\/sbmrl\/2017\/06\/30\/2016-17-season-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"2016-17 Season In Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The second season of the SBMRL promised a whole new series of challenges and thrills. \u00a0New tracks and a field expanded to 5 teams meant a dip into the unknown and uncharted. \u00a0There were ups, downs, spectacular crashes, runaway victors, and otherwise all sorts of mayhem.<\/p>\n

The season opened in Belgium on the famed circuit of Spa-Francorchamps<\/a>. \u00a0Team liveries were all new for the season, and all eyes were on the green cars of newcomers Osito Racing Company (last year’s Green Team had been rebranded as Red Bull). \u00a0Osito appeared overmatched as their cars either crashed or finished last among those who completed the race, leaving the team in last place. \u00a0Ice and Jaap carried over strong trends from last year with a 1st and 2nd place finish, respectively. \u00a0Mater crashing while in the lead at the start of the second lap was perhaps the most notable moment of the race.<\/p>\n

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Starting Grid at Spa<\/p><\/div>\n

A trip to Austin<\/a> gave Mater the redemption he sought. \u00a0He started on pole and led most of the race, never falling lower than 3rd. \u00a0The other big story was the performance of Osito. \u00a0The team learned their lessons in Belgium and come home with both podium spots behind Mater. \u00a0Jamonito took 2nd and Jaronimus 3rd. \u00a0Jaap’s 5th place finish was his lowest ever, but a sign of things to come for last year’s champion.<\/p>\n

The Malaysian circuit of Sepang<\/a> was next up on the calendar and the second of five new tracks for the SBMRL. \u00a0Sepang produced the most dominating performance the SBMRL has seen throughout the first two seasons, with Jaronimus jumping from 5th on the grid to leading the field by the end of the first sector. \u00a0He would not be challenged again, and the real battle was for 2nd place. \u00a0Jaap was all set to take that position, but spun out in the final corner. \u00a0By the time he crossed the finish line, four cars had passed him, with The Stig leading the way.<\/p>\n

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Jaronimus finishes well ahead of the field<\/p><\/div>\n

December was a return to the fame and glory of Monaco<\/a>. \u00a0Jaap wrestled his car into contention on the first lap, then battled Jamonito down to the wire to take the win. \u00a0Jamonito was followed by Danger Wheel to round out the podium. \u00a0Aside from Jaap’s victory after starting 9th on the grid, the most notable incident from the race was a double DNF for Scandinavian Blitz, whose drivers both saw their race end in the 3rd sector of the second lap, just moments apart.<\/p>\n

The next race was held at the high speed circuit of Interlagos<\/a>\u00a0in Brazil. \u00a0The race was highly anticipated due to the extremely long straights that would allow the cars to fully air out their engines. \u00a0There were a lot of different strategies employed, and the end result was a highly dramatic race. \u00a0An unprecedented seven different cars held the lead at some point during the contest, with Launch Bornado moving from 8th place all the way to first after a lap. \u00a0However, it was a couple of cars who lapped in 7th and 9th place that took the top two podium spots. \u00a0Jaronimus and Jamonito came all the way back from those lowly positions to give Osito their first 1-2 finish. \u00a0The top four finishers all came from the bottom half of the grid, aided by the fact that the top three grid positions failed to complete the race. \u00a0That meant second consecutive DNF’s for Nero and both Scandinavian Blitz drivers.<\/p>\n

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Speeding down the Reta Oposta straight<\/p><\/div>\n

At this point in the year, with 5 of 9 races completed, the team standings were starting to take shape. \u00a0Osito’s strong performance in Brazil allowed them to take the lead from Regency Motors, with Red Bull a ways behind and Cobalt and Scandinavian Blitz looking mediocre at best.<\/p>\n

On the driver front, Jaronimus’ victory gave him the edge over Jaap, whose strong showing at Spa and Monaco were enough to keep him in second. \u00a0Behind them their teammates battled for 3rd place with both Red Bull drivers in the hunt.<\/p>\n

Round 6 of the 2016-17 season saw the league return to Germany, but instead of racing Hockenheim, as we had a year ago, this year the Nurburgring<\/a> played host. \u00a0In desperate need of points, the Stig, Captain Slow, and Nero dominated the affair. \u00a0The trio finished in the order mentioned after all started in the top 3; no one really challenged them. \u00a0In fact, Ice was was the only other driver to even run in the top 3, although he fell to 9th at the flag. \u00a0Aside from Jaronimus, who climbed from 10th to 4th, the rest of the field finished close to where they started.<\/p>\n

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Fighting for position early in Germany<\/p><\/div>\n

The SBMRL field headed east from Germany to Sochi<\/a>, Russia, for our March race. \u00a0There is clearly something about the circuit in Sochi that just seems to click for Jaap, as he won there last season and won again this year. \u00a0This time he started in 9th place and was at the front of the pack by the end of the first lap. \u00a0The only point at which he even lost track position was briefly near the start of the race. \u00a0The Cobalt team, who had struggled most of the year after a superb inaugural season, finished in 2nd and 3rd place, with Ice edging out Nero. \u00a0Danger Wheel had the other large gain, finishing 4th after starting in 7th. \u00a0Captain Slow and the Stig struggled despite starting on the second row. \u00a0Jaronimus’ struggles allowed Jaap to erase an 18 point driver’s championship deficit.<\/p>\n

Like Interlagos, the French Grand Prix<\/a> at Magny-Cours promised high speeds down some exceedingly long straights. \u00a0With just two races to go and a large gap between Jaap and Jaronimus and the rest of the field, the driver’s championship looked like it would come down to those two. \u00a0France had other ideas. \u00a0Launch Bornado, who was the only driver from the inaugural season yet to win a race, eked out a narrow victory over Jamonito and Mater. \u00a0Jaap suffered the first DNF of his career to wind up in last place, while Jaronimus could only muster 8th. \u00a0Jaap had been as high as 2nd and Mater’s charge came all the way from 10th after a lap.<\/p>\n

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Objects in mirror are closer than they appear with the high speeds of Magny-Cours<\/p><\/div>\n

That left the final race as a decider between the four cars of Regency Motors and Osito Racing Company. \u00a0Only 9 points separated 1st to 4th, with Launch and Jaronimus just 2 back of Jaap. \u00a0As with a year ago, the season ending race would be held in Valencia<\/a>, Spain, where we had seen an incredibly close race the previous time out. \u00a0This time, however, things would be different. \u00a0After some extremely tight racing early on, Nero found himself out of the race. \u00a0Jaronimus would follow a short while later. \u00a0The field began to spread out and the beneficiary of all of this proved to be Launch, who would become the first driver to win back-to-back races. Danger Wheel turned in a superb run to finish in 2nd place, his best result of the year. \u00a0Jamonito also performed well, rising from 7th at the start to 3rd at the checkered flag. \u00a0Jaronimus wasn’t the only contender to watch the end of the race from the pits, as Jaap crashed out on the second lap.<\/p>\n

Final Standings<\/h3>\n

The driver’s championship looked like a two horse race heading into the final two races, but Launch and Jamonito not only had other ideas they completely flipped the script. \u00a0Launch was one of just two drivers to complete every race, finishing lower than 6th just once and having a dream end to the season with consecutive wins, becoming the 2016-17 drivers champion.<\/p>\n

Jamonito was overshadowed in the discussion of Osito Racing Company for most of the season, but consecutive podium finishes and four 2nd place finishes overall fittingly gave him 2nd place in the championship. \u00a0He lead the league with 5 podiums on the year. \u00a0Third place came down to the end of season mishaps favoring Jaap over Jaronimus, with both drivers winning twice on the year.<\/p>\n

Danger Wheel’s run at 3rd place in the standings was derailed with a poor showing in France, but he finished comfortably in 5th place. \u00a0Mater followed in 6th. \u00a0At the tail end of the standings, Nero’s early exit in Valencia doomed him to finish last. \u00a0Ice and the Stig actually tied for 7th, leaving Captain Slow alone in 9th place.<\/p>\n

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From a team stand point, there was a tight battle for 1st and a tight battle for 4th, leaving Red Bull to meander along in 3rd place for most of the year. \u00a0Osito Racing Company certainly acquitted themselves well after a difficult first race, but it was Regency Motors who took home the title in the end. \u00a0Scandinavian Blitz was able to get past Cobalt, who struggled from ownership problems for most of the year after a superb season a year ago.<\/p>\n

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Fun Facts<\/h3>\n