![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.rhinopeel.com\/sbmrl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/34-Shanghai.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe layout of the track was inspired by the Chinese character shang, which means above or ascend. \u00a0The start-finish sits just past the midpoint of the lengthy pit straight, meaning that cars will have plenty of time to gather speed before the first corner. \u00a0However, the first corner is a long, double apex bend that first goes right and then left. \u00a0The entire field will be bunched up pretty tightly through here on the first lap. \u00a0Transition from the first to second sectors occurs on the dogleg straight leading into Turn 2.<\/p>\n
Turn 2 is another slow corner, sharply routing the field back towards the paddock and it’s likely to be a trouble spot for a number of drivers. \u00a0The rest of the second sector is the most forgiving part of the course. \u00a0A flowing left leads into Turn 3, which is followed by Turn 4. \u00a0There will be enough time to gather speed for the tricky third sector.<\/p>\n
The third sector is the most stark. \u00a0It opens with Turn 5, which is a mirror image of Turn 1. \u00a0The trick here will be carrying enough speed out of the corner to make the best use of the long back straight that follows it. \u00a0At nearly double the length of the pit straight it’s one of the highlights of the track. \u00a0At the far end is a tight hairpin that will see drivers slamming on the brakes. \u00a0The circuit then closes out with one last quick left that leads back on to the pit straight. \u00a0Just enough to possibly throw someone off their rhythm as they look to gear up for the next lap.<\/p>\n
Expect Shanghai to be incredibly difficult on the first go round, with lots of chances to make a mess of it. \u00a0That said, the circuit is undoubtedly charming and a joy to drive.<\/p>\n
Starting Grid<\/h3>\n
The front and back row remain the same from Australia, but the middle two rows got shuffled around a bit.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Captain Slow (SB)<\/li>\n
- Stevie Wondertyres (SR)<\/li>\n
- Whiplash (SR)<\/li>\n
- Bubba McQueen (FR)<\/li>\n
- Sheila Dinkum (RM)<\/li>\n
- Jaap Snellrijder (RM)<\/li>\n
- Launch Bornado (FR)<\/li>\n
- The Stig (SB)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
As always, pit selection is in order of team standings, which simply results in this:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Regency Motors<\/li>\n
- Force Ravenswood<\/li>\n
- Scandinavian Blitz<\/li>\n
- Sprite Racing<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
No driver has Shanghai as their home race.<\/p>\n
Championship outlook<\/h3>\n
With only 10 points separating first and second in the driver standings, there is still a lot of room for change at the top. \u00a0Whiplash, who’s back in 6th place, is only 21 points out of first place. \u00a0Should he win in China, he can move up as high as 2nd place if everyone else falls in line. \u00a0Heck, from a pure mathematical standpoint, only Captain Slow has been eliminated from the championship.<\/p>\n
The Stig, who currently sits at the top, has both the least and most amount of work to do. \u00a0The two previous SBMRL champions have him squarely in their sights, and a trio of rookies are wishin striking distance as well. \u00a0The Stig needs the fewest points to lock up the title, but he’ll have to do it from the farthest back.<\/p>\n
From a team standpoint, it’s clearly going to go down to the wire. \u00a0Regency Motors and Force Ravenswood are only a point apart, and Scandinavian Blitz is close enough to catch them both. \u00a0They’ll need less Melbourne and more Monaco to pull that off, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the 8th round of the 2017-18 SBMRL season, the league’s first visit to China is in the cards. \u00a0Engineers first broke ground on Shanghai International Circuit in 2003 and the track was already hosting Formula 1 the following year. … Continue reading