Our visit to Monaco this year moves forward a month to December after last year’s race was held in January. Cars will run along the picturesque Monte Carlo harbor and through some of the tightest street corners on the calendar.
The starting grid takes up most of the pit straight and leads into an easy right hander before one of the longer straights of the course. This leads to the forgiving Massenet corner followed by the second Casino corner. Overall, the first sector is the easiest section of the track, but that also means that getting it wrong through here is simply unacceptable.
The second sector is highlighted by the Loews hairpin and the tunnel straight. There are many ways to manage the hairpin and most of them are wrong. The key to this part of the track is gathering enough speed for the tunnel, which represents the longest straight of the track. Managing the hairpin is key to that approach. The Tabac corner will slow the field down again but getting there involves properly navigating the chicane. This is one of the last good spots for passing due to the technical nature of sector three.
The last sector doesn’t feature any long straights and will see the field slow down tremendously. There will be a high potential for bumping here as the field gets compressed. The Anthony Noghes corner, last on the track, finishes so close to the pit entry that cars with too much speed may have no option to get into the pits. For cars that have had a good run through the first lap, that’s not an entirely bad option.
Last year’s race saw The Stig start from pole and lose that spot almost immediately. That left Ice and Captain Slow battling for the lead most of the race, only to see The Stig come from behind and win it in the second half of lap 2. Launch Bornado took 2nd and Ice was 3rd. Jaap and Mater both opted to forego the pits, with Jaap able to use that tactic to pass 4 cars and ultimately finishing in 4th place. Incidentally, Jaap’s drop from 3rd to 4th over the 2nd lap is, to date, the only time Jaap has lost position over the course of a lap. As Monaco is the closest race to Italy this season, this will be Jaronimus’ home race.
Starting Grid
The starting grid sees Nero on pole for the second straight race this year. Jamonito’s crash in Malaysia puts him second, while his teammate’s victory puts Jaronimus last on the grid. Scandinavian Blitz will be looking for big points having both the Stig and Captain Slow in the top 5. Regency Motors occupies two of the 3 bottom slots.
- Nero (CO)
- Jamonito del Verde (ORC)
- The Stig (SB)
- Danger Wheel (RB)
- Captain Slow (SB)
- Ice (CO)
- Mater (RB)
- Launch Bornado (RM)
- Jaap Snellrijder (RM)
- Jaronimus Maximus (ORC)
Pit selection is the reverse order of average starting position for each team’s cars. Usually, that simply comes down to reverse order of team standings, but with the current tie at the top, it makes for a handy tie breaker between Osito Racing Company and Regency Motors.
- Regency Motors
- Osito Racing Company
- Red Bull
- Scandinavian Blitz
- Cobalt
Cobalt is in dire need of a strong result to avoid falling farther behind the other teams. Regency Motors and Osito Racing Company will be vying to see who can take command of the team standings, with Jamonito poised near the front of the grid to aid in that quest.