Joker Lap

The Eye · 2 Jun 2007, 00:16 (Ref:1926624)

What do you think about the "Joker Lap" in the ERC?

I think it’s great. I think it brings some uncertainty to the races. It is not enough to take the start and then block the others. You have to be quick and smart to set the best time.

Do you use the “joker lap” in any of the BRC races??

mivec · 2 Jun 2007, 06:25 (Ref:1926687)

No Joker lap in the UK.
In Maasmechelen (Belgium) there is a joker lap and it's great!

Not all the tracks need a joker lap, In Lydden Hill there are plenty of overtaking places, no no need of a joker lap.

**Adam43** · 2 Jun 2007, 10:26 (Ref:1926764)

What is a Joker lap?

StockHatch782 · 2 Jun 2007, 10:57 (Ref:1926787)

A joker lap is an alternative route on part of the circuit, which leaves and rejoins (and takes longer than) the normal route, and which each driver must take at least once in every race. So out of four laps, for example, the joker lap must be taken once, although it can be on any lap.

Some drivers take the joker lap immediately, some try to pull out a lead first and then take it, but it always mixes things up.

I'm not sure exactly where joker laps could go on any UK circuits, especially as they're mostly only used for rallycross once or twice a year. It would certainly be an interesting experiment, although there's a lot of potential for someone coming out of the joker lap to collect someone on the normal line, or vice versa.

ebby · 2 Jun 2007, 15:29 (Ref:1926915)

A permanent joker lap on the tarmac around Chessons would have been decent last Monday!

**Adam43** · 2 Jun 2007, 16:30 (Ref:1926945)

Thanks Stockhatch782. Interesting concept.

RXfan · 2 Jun 2007, 20:47 (Ref:1927079)

Not convinced by them but i can see why they are used at some of the European tracks as overtaking seems almost impossible, and it may not have been a bad idea to have used one at Essay as the amount of overtaking after the first corner was minimal with many frustrated drivers stuck behind slower cars (ask George Tracey) Its a shame so many circuits are so tight and twisty something we do not have a problem with here so therefore no need for joker laps.

**BertMk2** · 4 Jun 2007, 07:56 (Ref:1928135)

I'm not a fan of Joker laps, as RXfan says they're just a way of getting around deficiencies in circuit layouts - if the track had passing opportunities then you wouldn't need the Joker lap concept.

People think BRDA/BTRDA is confusing - that's nothing on the Joker lap

"Who's winning?"
"Don't know - they haven't all taken the Joker lap yet."

Keep it simple - no Joker laps in the BRC/ROC please. Do other national championships run Joker laps or is it just the ERC?

StockHatch782 · 4 Jun 2007, 08:48 (Ref:1928181)

"Who's winning?"
"Don't know - they haven't all taken the Joker lap yet."

Good point Bert, the casual spectator has enough trouble working out who's winning already, particularly if the field is spread out! (Cough, cough, Bellerby, cough.)

Something that occurs to me, however, is how the casual spectators cope at circuit racing events, where they may encounter the horrors of lapping, the ultimate confusion in determining who's leading. At least we don't have that in rallycross. And it's certainly easier to tell than in rallying, where the leader is guessed at depending on their relative level of committment as they pass. So we do, perhaps, have the most accessible sport for the use of a joker lap.

A question to all those familiar with joker laps: How often does the exit of the lap cause an accident between people exiting it and those on the normal line? I know it happened last year in the ERC at least once, but was that a one-off or is it a regular occurrence?

zac510 · 4 Jun 2007, 09:05 (Ref:1928201)

I've seen a bit of footage of the ERC joker lap, mainly on pitstop.tv. I think it can be a little confusing to the spectator but other times it does throw up a little surprise.
Some European tracks have it, some don't, so you get the best of both worlds.

rx-guru · 4 Jun 2007, 10:48 (Ref:1928310)

Taken from the ERC24 website: »Best of the finals was Ludvig Hunsbedt’s mighty charge from the back of the C final and into the B final. Having pipped Olivier Anne to win the C, Hunsbedt hunted down B final leader Morten Bermingrud. The two were neck and neck as Bermingrud took the Joker Lap at the end of the penultimate lap. “I didn’t see Ludvig and I guess he didn’t see me,” said Bermingrud of the crash which left his Citroën in the barrier. Hunsbedt continued but damaged rear suspension allowed Per Eklund to pass and take the win.«

About the Joker Lap in Hungary yesterday…

Cryos · 4 Jun 2007, 17:35 (Ref:1928623)

hrm didnt we discuss this indepth before ?

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