Monaco Recap

The famed Circuit de Monaco played host to the fourth round of the 2016-17 SBMRL calendar.  Would the Stig be able to come away with a repeat victory or would Nero follow in his footsteps with a second pole to victory performance?  With three races in the books, here is how the cars lined up on the grid:

P1 – Nero (Ryan)
P2 – Jamonito del Verde (Jason)
P3 – The Stig (Jason)
P4 – Danger Wheel (Kim)
P5 – Captain Slow (Jason)
P6 – Ice (Frank)
P7 –  Mater (Ryan)
P8 – Launch Bornado (Barbara)
P9 – Jaap Snellrijder (Frank)
P10 – Jaronimus Maximus (Frank)

The start of the race featured a stall by the Stig with the immediate effect of impeding his teammate who started in the grid slot directly behind him.  While Nero and Jamonito found their way through Sainte Devote relatively quickly, the rest of the field piled into the corner behind them, running three wide and up to three deep, it was a miracle that no one collided.

Cramming into Sainte Devote

Such tight racing would be a hallmark of the early portion of the race.  The chaos of the pack made it possible for every car except Mater to find themselves in the top four at some point in the first few corners.  Launch and Danger Wheel joined Nero at the front from the Loews hairpin through the tunnel, and Jamonito was also in the mix.  The only position that really solidified itself over the second sector was Ice’s ignominous hold on last place.

Jaronimus and Jaap had both come from the back row to 3rd and 4th, respectively, but both were also back in 9th place as the cars moved through the third sector.  Despite all the shifting positions, or perhaps because of them, all the cars were still tightly packed heading into the final two corners of the lap.  It was here that Jamonito found an edge.  He was able to find the perfect line through the Anthony Noghes corner, and then proceeded to dive for the pits and some fresh tyres.

Tightly packed at the end of lap 1

The rest of the pack followed, with 5 cars tightly packed into the corner and Mater not far behind.  It was here that, for the first time this season, some cars chose to hurtle onward down the pit straight, skipping a chance for fresh tires.  While Launch, Captain Slow, and Mater all pitted, Jaap and Danger Wheel floored it in an effort to catch up with Jamonito.  Both cars passed the Osito driver in Sainte Devote.  Behind them, Ice split from Jaronimus and the Stig in a similar effort.  Unfortunately for Ice, while Nero, Jaronimus, the Stig, and Mater all found themselves held up by traffic in the pits, he was unable to find the pace to gain any advantage on them.

Jamonito and Jaap take control through the Casino

Jaap and Jamonito flew into the Casino section and took a small but significant lead on Danger Wheel.  It was an advantage that neither would cede, but between them, there were numerous lead changes over the remainder of the race.  Launch and Captain Slow, meanwhile, would spent the second sector hunting Danger Wheel down.  The first shift for that trio came in the Loews hairpin.  Captain Slow found himself forced to the slower, inside line.   Launch was able to take the tunnel straight while the Captain found himself living up to his moniker.

Jaap leads the charge through the tunnel

Launch’s speed was enough to draw even with Danger Wheel at the chicane.  The two charged forward waiting for a mistake by Jaap and Jamonito that wouldn’t come.  With Captain Slow in a solid 5th place, Jaronimus, Nero, the Stig, Ice, and Mater all fought in the trailing pack.  As Launch had with Danger Wheel, Jaronimus and the Stig caught up with Captain Slow at the chicane, but the Stig couldn’t quite keep up at Tabac.  He was soon caught up by Mater and the Cobalt cars.

As Jaap and Jamonito rounded Anthony Noghes with the finish line in sight, the biggest story of the race was beginning to unfold behind them.  The Stig, none too happy with getting passed by Nero and Mater charged a bit too forcefully thought ‘S’ de la Piscine.  He misjudged Mater’s speed and soon found himself crashed into the barrier and out of the race.

The Stig crashes into the back of Mater

Shortly thereafter, Captain Slow went over some debris in Rascasse and lost his suspension, ending his race as well.  Jaap had the edge heading into the pit straight out of Anthony Noghes, but his engine simply wouldn’t respond.  Perhaps it was the strength of effort required to establish their lead, but Jamonito’s engine was equally powerless to gain any advantage, and when all was said and done, Jaap crossed first with Jamonito just milliseconds behind.

Captain Slow suffers a broken suspension

Danger Wheel and Launch Bornado were neck and neck heading for the finish line as well, but it was Danger Wheel’s engine that found the right note to take the final podium spot.  With both Scandinavian Blitz drivers now out of the race, Jaronimus took an uneventful 5th.  Ice had the edge on Mater and Nero for 6th coming through the final turn, but Mater’s engine was as equally strong as his teammate’s had been and he took it over the two Cobalt cars.  That left Ice and Nero in a drag race for 7th and 8th.  Unfortunately, Nero bumped Ice on the way and never fully made it.  In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a major blow to the team given that both positions were locked up, but treating the team’s hardware that recklessly will not go down well.

FINAL RESULTS

Jaap’s victory is his first of the season and his 3rd overall.  His starting position of 9th on the grid marks the lowest any victor has started from.  Jamonito’s 2nd place finish matches his finish in Austin as his best result and, despite the fact that Jaronimus is ahead of him in the standings, means he’s beaten his teammate in 3 of their 4 races.

Danger Wheel’s 3rd place finish is her best of the year, and ties Jamonito for 4th in the driver standings.  It’s also Danger Wheel’s first 3rd place finish.

Nero’s failure to complete the race means that he now has the negative distinction of finishing the fewest races, with 2 DNF’s this year and 2 last year.  Captain Slow and the Stig gave Scandinavian Blitz a double DNF for the second time.  The teammates suffered the same fate in the SBMRL’s inaugural race in Austin last season.  Interestingly, both races represent the only time either driver has failed to finish.

At the team level, Regency Motors tied Red Bull’s Austin result for the highest points total of the season.  However, Osito Racing Company’s strong showing means that Regency Motors haven’t pulled away significantly from their closest challenger.  At the other end of the Spectrum, Cobalt pulled up to a tie with Scandinavian Blitz for 4th place, but both teams are falling rather far behind.

RACE GALLERY