The SBMRL’s return to the track for the 2024-25 season saw a hugely successful race in Portland, Oregon to start the new season. The league headed south to Austin, Texas for the second race of the year. Would it be as hotly contested?
All eyes were on Pieter Pieperpoes after his come from behind victory in Portland, but he would be starting from the back of the grid in Austin. At the sharp end of the grid, Parker LaCroix would be looking to atone for a difficult first outing. Here’s how the entire grid stacked up:
P1 – Parker Lacroix (SB)
P2 – Orzo Albies (MnS)
P3 – Max (SM)
P4 – Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
P5 – Felix (SM)
P6 – Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
P7 – Liu S. Amil X (FP)
P8 – Stoot van Vaart (RM)
P9 – Magnus Rasksen (SB)
P10 – Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)
Last time out in Portland, Max got off to a fast start and immediately rammed into Orzo. This time it was Stoot who got off to the hot start and it was Ramen who suffered for it. Despite all of that, the grid proceeded up the hill into the first corner mostly in the same order they started in. With Parker out front, the field bunched up behind him and Stoot was the first to make a big move, weaving through the field in Turn 2. Liu was the one who began an early challenge with Parker for the lead, however.
With almost nothing separating the cars, there was plenty of opportunity for collisions. Both Mai and Liu suffered minor body damage that would leave debris on the track for others to deal with later. The bunching of the field also gave opportunities for wily drivers to find paths ahead of their opponents, something that Pieter took advantage of to move join the top half of runners.
Heading into the back straight, Parker was just ahead of Liu, with some surprising cars behind them. Not even halfway through the first lap, Magnus and Pieter, who had started 9th and 10th, were already running 3rd and 4th respectively. The cars from Switch Motorsports and Mac ‘N Speed were doing their best not to fall too far behind, as they were the bottom four.
Liu go the speed advantage on Parker down the back straight, flying through Turn 6 and then slamming on the brakes for the winding Turn 7. Pieter and Stoot, both of Regency Motors also found speed down the back straight. In his effort to keep up with the Regency Motors cars, however, Mai collided with Pieter and found himself out of the race.
With nine cars remaining on track, the field ploughed into the 3rd sector where the field appeared to bunch up again. The reality matched appearances, which meant there were again chances for some moves to be made. Pieter’s strong first lap continued as he joined Liu and Parker in the lead group of cars. The middle group featured Max in the 4th place position. This was a positive turn of events from the Switch Motorsports driver, who had fallen all the way to last place after starting 3rd on the grid. In the back, Ramen was struggling to keep up.
The top three drivers all dove for the pits, feeling they needed fresh rubber after pushing their vehicles on the first lap. Magnus followed suit, but Stoot opted to charge ahead on his worn tires. Skipping the pits had worked a treat for him in Portland, but this time around he didn’t gain much of an advantage. Max and Ramen would also skip the pits in an effort to keep up with the others.
Pieter’s pit stop was the most effective and he soon found himself alone at the front in the first sector on the second lap. Parker and Stoot weren’t that far back, but Liu was struggling mightily to get his tires up to temperature. He soon found himself gradually falling farther and farther behind as the rest of the field swallowed him up.
While Pieter led and Parker tried to catch him, the battle for 3rd place really started to heat up. First, Stoot bumped into Magnus leaving debris on the track at the exit of Turn 3. Then he did it again leaving debris on the racing line in Turn 4. Felix was ultimately the driver to get punished for all of this. Battling his teammate for 5th place just behind them, he was unable to avoid the debris, snapping a suspension and ending his race.
With Liu fading badly and Felix out of the picture, Ramen and Orzo were on the move to start tracking down Max and salvaging some points out of what had been a difficult race. Up front, Parker suddenly found himself surrounded by orange and red. He wasn’t able to hit turn 5 with speed, and now he wasn’t just chasing Pieter for the lead, but looking at Stoot and Magnus very large in his mirrors.
Stoot, who had hit turn 5 perfectly, flew down the straight with such speed that he caught up with Pieter at the front. The Scandinavian Blitz drivers suddenly looking at taillights. Magnus got the better pace and was able to keep them in his sights heading into the third sector.
While the four cars at the front battled through Turn 7, the rest of the field began to throw caution to the wind and charge forward. The field was divided into two 4-car packs and there really was very little between the four cars in each group. Everything was to play for up front, and the back four had an equal challenge of, if not catching the top 4, at least making the most of their position behind.
To start with the front four, it was Parker, whose back straight speed had left him wanting. He would need a perfect run through the third sector and a mistake from the top 3 to score a podium. Meanwhile, Stoot had been so gentle on his tires in lap 1 but the complete opposite on lap 2.
Stoot was out front for most of the third sector, but his tires left him having to fight his car through most of it. Pieter and Magnus, on the other hand, were driving slow and smooth and fast. Stoot rounded the final corner in the lead but with no momentum. Pieter and Magnus flew down the pit straight and across the finish line well ahead of him. Parker wasn’t quite close enough to catch up, but he made it quite close and a much better result than what he accomplished in Portland.
While all of this was happening, the trailing pack was having their own trials and tribulations with the final sector. Max and Orzo took a small advantage over Ramen and Liu. Orzo didn’t quite hit the final two turns right, allowing Max to take 5th place. Liu was even worse off. Last among the cars still running, he pushed it just a bit too far at Turn 9 and spun his car. Ramen flew by him and soon found himself in a drag race with his teammate. It was a race he would win as he edged Orzo by a nose at the finish line. Liu would limp home behind them.
Final Results
| Driver | Start | Lap | Finish | |
| Pieter Pieperpoes (RM) | 10 | 1 | 1 | |
| Magnus Rasksen (SB) | 9 | 6 | 2 | |
| Stoot van Vaart (RM) | 8 | 4 | 3 | |
| Parker Lacroix (SB) | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Max (SM) | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| Ramen Acuna Jr. (MnS) | 6 | 7 | 6 | |
| Orzo Albies (MnS) | 2 | 9 | 7 | |
| Liu S. Amil X (FS) | 7 | 3 | 8 | |
| Felix (SM) | 5 | 8 | 9* | |
| Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FS) | 4 | 10* | 10* | |
Pieter’s win makes him the first driver in SBMRL history to win the first two races of the season. In fact, he’s the only race one winner to even podium in the second race. Unlike Portland, Pieter made his move early in the race, took command in the middle, then fought off his challengers late to take the win.
Magnus had a bit of an unexpected 2nd place to match his first result. Previously, only Sheila Dinkum had finished 2nd in the first two races. He spent most of the race in the middle, but moved up to podium contention midway into the second lap. Stoot will regret missing out on the win after being ahead so late, but he should be quite happy with the final result.
Only 4 drivers held a lead at any point in the race. Three of them finished in the top four, and the other was Liu, who just had a miserable second lap to finish 8th. At least he finished, though. Felix and Mai were the first two casualties of the season, seeing their races end prematurely.
The top 3 in the drivers standings repeating their exact finishing order is unprecendented, and leaves the rest of the field with some catching up to do. Perhaps surprisingly, Ramen is in 4th place after the first two races. His 5th and 6th place finishes are enough to edge out Liu, who was 4th place in Portland. Orzo and Mai are in 9th and 10th place, neither having yet reached 10 total points on the season.
From a team standpoint, Regency Motors and Scandinavian Blitz both had races to be very happy with. Mac ‘N Speed edged out Switch Motorsports by a couple of points. Fir Splays will be looking for quite a bit more next time out. Their measly 5 points for the race puts them in last place in the team standings, albeit not far behind the two teams in front of them.
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