Just west of Lisbon, Estoril is a beach resort town of the Portuguese Riviera boasting lavish hotels and casinos. The Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, commonly called Estoril Circuit, actually sits a few kilometers outside of Estoril itself, on a rocky plateau that can sometimes result in unpredictable winds. Originally built in 1972, the circuit played host to Formula 1 races from 1984 to 1996. This is the first time that the SBMRL will be racing there.
The SBMRL will be racing the circuit configuration as it was used in Formula 1 prior to 1994. The start line for the race is far enough back from turn 1 that drivers will be able to get a little bit of speed heading into it. The first sector is not overly complicated, so any drivers that get it wrong will be on the back foot early. The first corner is an easy right hander at what can be described as a fairly gentle 90 degrees. This is followed by a short straight into an even easier version of the same corner. Turns 3 and 4 follow in close succession and while both are essentially hairpins, neither are sharp enough to really slow the field down. Expect to see a lot of wheel to wheel action through here.
The second sector starts with the long interior straight leading into Turn 5, a third consecutive hairpin like corner known as the interior parabolica. A moderate straight into Turn 6, a gentle right hander, will give drivers little reason to slow down until they hit the sharpest corner on the track at Turn 7. This turn is sharp enough that it absolutely will cost drivers who don’t get it right.
The final sector features only one challenging set of corners, the esses at Turn 8. If Turn 7 didn’t slow them down, the esses certainly will. Slow in and fast out will be the name of the game here. The final large bend of the circuit, Parabolica Ayrton Senna, is one that the downforce of today’s cars can handle at full speed. What that means is that coming out of the esses, cars can get on full throttle all the way to the finish line.
Expect Estoril to be a fast race with a lot of opportunity to stay in high gears as the cars try to take advantage of a generally forgiving track layout. That means high stress on the engine, a chance for lots of overtaking, and not a huge chance to come back from getting behind.
Starting Grid
As is SBMRL policy, the starting grid for Estoril will be revers order of driver standings.
- Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
- Orzo Albies (MnS)
- Felix (SM)
- Parker Lacroix (SB)
- Max (SM)
- Liu S. Amil X (FP)
- Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
- Stoot van Vaart (RM)
- Magnus Rasksen (SB)
- Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)
Pit selection will be in order of team standings.
- Regency Motors
- Scandinavian Blitz
- Switch Motorsports
- Mac ‘N Speed
- Fir Splays