Category Archives: Race Previews

Argentina Preview

The Argentine Grand Prix, hosted at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez near Buenos Aires, was a part of the Formula 1 calendar from 1953 to 1998. The Buenos Aires Grand Prix actually dates back to 1930, even before Formula 1 existed, at other tracks prior to this one being built.

The SBMRL has raced there only once, back in January 2019, over 5 years ago, with Whiplash of Sprite Racing taking the victory.

Buenos Aires

The start-finish line of the circuit is right in the middle of a very long straight, which leads in the gentle right hand bend of Curva Numero Uno. This can be taken at speed and likely won’t slow too many cars down on the first lap. There is an advantage to being at the front of the grid here, but it likely won’t be a deciding factor in the race. The second corner, Curva de la Confiteria is similarly forgiving, and expect the cars to take it at speed. The key point of the first sector is undoubtedly the third corner. It’s short and depending on how the previous corner went, this one might catch some cars out.

That third corner is absolutely critical because if hit right, Curvon can be taken at the speed needed to really fly down the next straight. It’s much longer than it looks and only the pit straight is longer. Curva De Ascari shouldn’t require much braking. If anyone is slowing down here they’ll be struggling to catch up. The Entrada a los Mixtos hairpin takes the field back inside the general track layout and begins the slowest section of the track.

Coming out of Entrada a los Mixtos at speed is of no benefit, so it’s here that the field will really slow down. Vibratoria is a chicane that is perfectly manageable, but drivers will want to get themselves set up for Curva del Ombu and the following straight. It’s long enough to get some speed going again, although that speed will need to be scrubbed off for the Senna “S”. The Senna “S” is a classic slow in fast out corner and this is the place on the track most likely to tax a gear box as it shifts back down. There’s a decently long straight coming out of it before the final turn, Horquilla, and given the length of the pit straight, you do want to be as fast through there as possible. It’s also worth noting that the pit entry is fairly far along.

Buenos Aires has a tremendous mix of high speed bends, slow corners, and rhythm sections that will test the drivers’ ability to manage all of that. Engines will be pushed to their limits, cars will get bunched at times, but there will also be big opportunities to get ahead or fall far behind.

Starting Grid

The starting grid is reverse order of the current standings. With Felix and Mai currently tied at 25 points each, they will start in reverse order of finish at the previous race. Since Mai was 2nd and Felix was 3rd, Felix gets the higher grid position.

  1. Parker Lacroix (SB)
  2. Orzo Albies (MnS)
  3. Liu S. Amil X (FP)
  4. Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
  5. Felix (SM)
  6. Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
  7. Max (SM)
  8. Magnus Rasksen (SB)
  9. Stoot van Vaart (RM)
  10. Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Scandinavian Blitz
  3. Switch Motorsports
  4. Fir Splays
  5. Mac ‘N Speed

Race Outlook

There’s a lot at stake in Argentina. After 3 races, there are a lot of drivers within just a few points of each other. This is most notable right in the middle of the driver standings. Max is currently in 4th place with 26 points. Felix and Mai are just one point behind Max at 25, and Ramen has 24 points to be just 1 point behind them.

While Regency Motors currently sports a fairly commanding lead in the team standings, only 10 points separates the other 4 teams. That’s a deficit that can easily be made up in a single race. All the teams, however, will be looking to make a dent into the front runners. With 1/3 of the season in the books, there’s still plenty of time to catch up, and whoever comes out the best here will be the primary challenger. Particularly if Regency Motors struggles from the back of the grid.

Estoril Preview

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.

Estoril

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.

  1. Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
  2. Orzo Albies (MnS)
  3. Felix (SM)
  4. Parker Lacroix (SB)
  5. Max (SM)
  6. Liu S. Amil X (FP)
  7. Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
  8. Stoot van Vaart (RM)
  9. Magnus Rasksen (SB)
  10. Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Scandinavian Blitz
  3. Switch Motorsports
  4. Mac ‘N Speed
  5. Fir Splays

Austin Preview

The SBMRL returns to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the October race of the 2024-25 season. It’s been 5 years since the last race there, pre-Covid, and it’ll be a celebratory atmosphere as it’s the one evergreen circuit on the schedule.

Austin

Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, was proposed as a purpose built track in 2010, with constuction following such that it was able to open just two years later in 2012. The first lap of the track was driven by Mario Andretti in a Lotus 79. This was the car he drove to win the World Drivers’ Championship in 1978.

The SBMRL first drove here in 2015. Jaap Snellrijder won the inaugural race, and after winning in 2019 became the only driver to win it twice. Mater, Launch Bornado, and The Stig all won here as well. Given that Launch was a member of Force Ravenswood at the time, it means that four different teams have had representatives stand on the top step of the podium.

COTA has a relatively short pit straight that leads up a steep incline into a sharp left hander. Turn 2 follows in quick succession back to the right, at which point the track gets into a rather fun for the drivers bit of squiggles. This section is trickier than it looks and the transition from the first to second sector occurs between turns 3 and 4.

The second sector leads off with the latter half of those squiggles, followed by a lengthier bit of straight. This straight is key as Turn 5 at the end of it leads into the long back straight. If cars hit turn 5 right they can really fly down the straight and gain a big advantage, but they’ll have to get the braking right into Turn 6. Unlike Turn 5, Turn 6 is quite forgiving of mistakes as Turn 7 represents a huge slow down that means this isn’t a bad area to take risks in.

The third sector is the one that looks the easiest at a glance but can make or break a lap. Turns 8, 9, and 10 aren’t ones where drivers can relax. If they’re hit in rhythm, the start/finish straight will be a welcoming chance to open up the throttle again. If not, that straight will have to be hit at speed to get things back on track.

Starting Grid

With one race in the books for the season, the starting grid for Austin will simply be the reverse of the finish in Portland.

  1. Parker Lacroix (SB)
  2. Orzo Albies (MnS)
  3. Max (SM)
  4. Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
  5. Felix (SM)
  6. Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
  7. Liu S. Amil X (FP)
  8. Stoot van Vaart (RM)
  9. Magnus Rasksen (SB)
  10. Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)

Pit selection will be in order of team standings.

  1. Regency Motors
  2. Scandinavian Blitz
  3. Fir Splays
  4. Switch Motorsports
  5. Mac ‘N Speed