For the first time ever, the SBMRL took to Portugal and raced the Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, or Estoril Circuit. The high speed track and the fact that it was new to all the teams kept anticipation for the race at a high. Once again, attention was pointed in the direction of Pieter Pieperpoes, coming off consecutive victories to open the season, but he would start the race from the back of the grid.
Here’s how the racers lined up:
P1 – Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FP)
P2 – Orzo Albies (MnS)
P3 – Felix (SM)
P4 – Parker Lacroix (SB)
P5 – Max (SM)
P6 – Liu S. Amil X (FP)
P7 – Ramen Acuna Jr (MnS)
P8 – Stoot van Vaart (RM)
P9 – Magnus Rasksen (SB)
P10 – Pieter Pieperpoes (RM)
When the lights went out, the field started to pull away. All except Ramen, who was unable to come off the line with speed and was soon surrounded by the back three on the grid. His teammate Orzo, however, was able to get things moving and the top three battled fiercely right from the get go. Liu also had a strong opening to the race, joining the lead group in the early running.
Through the second sector of the first lap, Mai gradually worked towards a bit of an edge over the rest of the field. Orzo, Felix, and Liu formed a group of challengers that were doing their best not to fall too far behind. A third pack containing Stoot, Parker, Max, and Pieter were jockeying for position in an effort to take advantage of any mistakes from those in front. Finally, Magnus and Ramen, who was really struggling to recover from the poor start, were hoping to find some rhythm that would let them salvage a very rough beginning.
The final sector of the first lap is where things started to shift significantly. The first thing to make note of is that none of those shifts affected Mai, who was looking in imperious form, comfortably taking each corner in stride. However, Turn 7 and the transition into the esses of Turn 8 started to catch some drivers out.
None of Orzo, Felix, or Liu were able to navigate the corners cleanly. This meant that the trailing pack and challenger pack suddenly merged. Instead of two groups of 3 and 4, respectively, it was a jumble of 7 cars all trying to get through tight corners simultaneously. The first casualty of the race proved to be Parker, whose effort to catch up overcooked his engine, forcing him to retire from the race.
While Mai was comfortably heading round the parabolica and onto the pit straight, Stoot was a blur of orange through the Esses, coming out of them at high speed. Pieter, Max, Felix, and Orzo all came out strongly as well. While Mai bypassed the pits, Stoot dove for fresh rubber and was rewarded with an incredibly quick pit stop by his crew.
Pieter and Felix followed Mai’s strategy of staying on their existing set of tires, allowing them to stay fairly close with Stoot. Orzo and Ramen double stacked the Mac ‘N Speed pits and their pit crew was not up to the task. Liu, who had a rough go towards the end of the first lap, and Max both passed them, while Magnus reeled them in easily.
While Mai continued to run smoothly, Stoot and Pieter were charging from behind. Max and Felix continued to push as well, ready to join in should anything go awry for the front runners.
Instead of making a mistake, though, the first big move came not because Mai faltered but because Stoot was able to find another gear. He flew down the straight between the 4th and 5th corners, catching up to Mai at the latter.
Joy on the Regency Motors pit wall would be short lived, however. Mai’s more measured approach meant that he was able to find his way cleanly into Turn 6, while Stoot’s driving proved erratic and he was unable to keep up. The falter gave Pieter a chance to catch up with him again while Mai seemingly was going to be out of reach.
A quick side note on the rest of the field, while the front three were now in serious competition, trading blows, the back groups were moving along consistently. Max and Felix held their own and while they weren’t catching up, the trailing four weren’t catching them either. Similar notes can be said for those at the back. They continued to jockey back and forth, unable to get an edge up on each other, but also unable to shake anyone.
It was as the leaders headed into Turn 7 that things started to shake up dramatically. First, Mai couldn’t find speed into the corner, allowing Stoot and Pieter an opening. Stoot took things smoothly, but Pieter’s worn rubber lost its grip causing him to spin out.
At almost the same time, the trailing pack was charging through Turn 5 after the long straight. Magnus, pushing his engine hard down the straight and through the bend was soon bemoaning the same fate as his teammate. The engine would go no further and he was out.
Max and Felix found themselves suddenly trying to navigate around a very slow Pieter. By the time Pieter made his way into the Esses, he was also racing wheel to wheel with Orzo. The Mac ‘N Speed driver had gotten a leg up on Liu and Ramen in the third sector and now had visions for more.
At the front, Mai had to be far more cautious through the Esses than Stoot, seeing as he was still on his tires from the start of the race. Stoot was able to push his car for more, and was able to zoom past and across the finish line for his first career win.
Mai kept up enough pace to keep ahead of Max and Felix, but the Switch Motorsports duo would not be denied a strong 3-4 finish, including their first podium of the season.
Meanwhile, with Orzo and Pieter in their battle for 5th place, well it turned out pretty similar to Stoot and Mai. This time it was Orzo with the extra speed down the straight and across the line, while Pieter had to recover just to beat out Ramen and Liu.
Final Results
| Driver | Start | Lap | Finish | |
| Stoot van Vaart (RM) | 8 | 2 | 1 | |
| Mai “Cashew” Maghur (FS) | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Felix (SM) | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
| Max (SM) | 5 | 5 | 4 | |
| Orzo Albies (MnS) | 2 | 7 | 5 | |
| Pieter Pieperpoes (RM) | 10 | 3 | 6 | |
| Ramen Acuna Jr. (MnS) | 7 | 8 | 7 | |
| Liu S. Amil X (FS) | 6 | 6 | 8 | |
| Magnus Rasksen (SB) | 9 | 9 | 9* | |
| Parker Lacroix (SB) | 4 | 10* | 10* | |
* – DNF
Stoot’s victory gives him his first career win and 3rd podium of the short season. His ability to get a strong push down the pit straight on both laps gave him the ability to catch up to Mai and then pass him at the very end. The strong start to the season has him now up to second place in the driver standings, 3 points behind Pieter.
Mai’s second place is his first podium, and a much needed boost after failing to even finish in Austin. His dominance throughout the race makes the fact that he didn’t win slightly disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things it’s a very good result. Felix’s 3rd place has him finishing where he started, which is always a solid return when you start near the front. There weren’t too many missed opportunities, he just never found the little bit extra needed to get out front. Mai and Felix sharing the podium now also has them sharing a spot in the standings. They’re now tied for 5th place with 25 points each.
Stoot’s win continues Regency Motors’ dominance at the sharp end of the standings. Scandinavian Blitz’s double DNF put a real dent in their effort to keep pace. In turn, Switch Motorsports scored the second most points of the race and sit now just one point behind Scandinavian Blitz in 3rd place. Fir Splays also scored solid points, and now sit 4th. Mac ‘N Speed may be last in the standings, but there’s only 10 points between them and 2nd place. Additionally, they’re the only team that has improved their points haul in every race of the season so far.
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