Why joker laps are entering the mainstream

It's something of a sweeping generalisation - and correct me if I'm wrong - but it's probably fair to say many tin top fans are nonplussed about the World Touring Car Championship now.

Fewer cars, rivalries and overtakes than domestic series such as the British Touring Car Championship, Australian Supercars or DTM means not only less entertainment (generally), but also less for fans to invest in - which ultimately means there are fewer reasons to care about and engage with the WTCC.

But one recent development has, for better or worse, caused a stir.

Reaction was...mixed, at best, when a proposal to adopt joker laps became public following last November's World Motor Sport Council meeting.

It was the latest development in a policy of radical change adopted by organiser Eurosport Events and WTCC head Francois Ribeiro to try to improve the WTCC's appeal.

But was it a step too far?

Joker laps (alternative circuit loops that have been pioneered in rallycross) have since been written into the championship's regulations, and although that will allow for implementation on conventional circuits as well, they're expected to be limited to street events at first.

That was due to start with this weekend's season opener in Marrakech - was being the operative word in that sentence.

"We proposed to the FIA two or three options for the joker lap," says WTCC head Ribeiro. "Marrakech is quite a narrow circuit and in the end we took the decision with the FIA and the circuit commission not to do it. We did not want to take the risk for the first time we use the joker lap to see crashes.

"But I did not give up on that idea - the World Motor Sport Council approved it last December. Even if we do it once this year, I want to do it to see how it works and if it brings a new dynamic to the race. I'm convinced on street races it will."

Even before addressing the arguments against joker laps in circuit racing, there have been problems with the concept. Talk about handing your opponents ammunition...

But while that Marrakech launch was misjudged - not aided by the political situation in Morocco, which was government-less for six months - the plan to introduce joker laps is one that's been carefully considered.

Head trackside in Vila Real - which is now to be the litmus test for joker laps this season - and you won't be disappointed by the sight of TC1 cars being flung over kerbs or taking corners at speeds approaching 150mph, but you might be let down by the number of overtakes you see during a race.

This is an important point that those who believe an alternative loop is nothing more than a gimmick have tended to bypass.

By limiting the use of joker laps to street circuits, where overtaking is typically more difficult, it presents an opportunity for the order to be shaken up where it might not previously have been possible. At the same time, it preserves a fundamental principle of touring car racing on normal circuits.

"There are [conventional] circuits where you could do it," adds Ribeiro. "I'm not a fan of DRS [or] push-to-pass. I prefer to have a race of less overtaking - but real overtaking, that means something.

"If you are a good driver at Termas [de Rio Hondo] or Motegi, you can overtake. If you are a good driver at Vila Real, it's more difficult.

"I want to leave that chance open [so] a driver can set up his own strategy and if he is a bit faster he gets a reward. If we do this on permanent circuits, I get the feeling drivers will take less risks to overtake and wait for the joker lap.

"And then you kill your show, you kill the essence of touring cars. The FIA asked if I wanted to do it on permanent circuits because we gave the OK for it in the regulations, but I said no - only street circuits."

While we'll have to wait for joker laps in the WTCC, they have made their way into circuit racing already. The Argentinian Super TC2000 series has twice used joker laps, once in 2015 and again last year (although the Automovil Club Argentino decided street circuits weren't appropriate locations for joker laps) and that has been received positively.

"The joker lap turned out to be a resounding success, among drivers and the public, especially as this was the case of a layout not allowing for many overtaking manoeuvres," says Autosport's Argentina correspondent Tony Watson of the first joker-lap race at San Martin.

"Some may consider joker laps a bit too 'showy', and perhaps not true to the racing spirit, but at venues where it's tough to find one or more overtaking sectors, it's a good way of genuinely spicing up the spectacle."

If nothing else, joker laps have got people talking - and doing so about the WTCC. As the cliche goes, any publicity is good publicity. Have those so eager to throw another jibe at the WTCC ever watched rallycross, or simply dismissed the idea because it has links to a form of racing they're unfamiliar with and perhaps not interested in?

To those who have and are in the 'out' camp, that's fair enough - but I suspect most of the naysayers will be unmoved in their views, regardless of whether they give joker laps a try.

You might argue a world championship isn't the right place to be experimenting with such concepts; that would probably be valid. But at a time when plenty of series are struggling to attract interest, the WTCC and Ribeiro should be applauded for having the guts to put their reputations on the line in a bid to keep stoking interest in the championship in innovative ways.

I too leaned towards the disgruntled when plans first emerged, but just as was the case when the championship swapped the ordering of its opening (reversed-grid) and main races last year, this is a methodical decision that's been taken - with a problem cited and potential solution offered. There's as much reason for joker laps to work as there is for them to fail; to write them off now is plain short-sighted.

This is the same championship that also introduced the MAC3 (Manufacturers Against the Clock) concept last season, adding a Tour de France-style time trial for manufacturer teams at every race weekend, the like of which hadn't previously been seen. While the novelty wore off somewhat towards the end of the year, it was a captivating addition during the early rounds and more than merited its inclusion.

And despite the absence of joker laps from the opening round of 2017, they form part of a far more intriguing season than most would have anticipated when the notion of their implementation was first introduced.

Citroen's exit as a WTCC manufacturer - regardless of its previous domination - was a blow, as was Lada's decision to follow suit at the end of last season. Add the departure of Jose Maria Lopez and four-time champion Yvan Muller (in a racing capacity, at least) and 2017 looked a little bleak.

But the championship is alive and kicking. Two manufacturers - Honda and Volvo - remain, while leading independents will represent Citroen, Lada and Chevrolet. The title fight is as open as any season previously in the contemporary iteration of the WTCC, with the genuine possibility of an independent champion.

Much of the doom and gloom at the end of last year was an overreaction. But working by the same rules, any rose-tinted view of the 2017 season on the basis of an equal and open grid needs to be put into perspective.

Yes, there are up to eight drivers who can challenge for the title. Yes, Ribeiro is likely right when he says that's more than any other world championship can offer. But while it's a strength of the series that half the grid can harbour championship hopes, it's the total number of entries on that grid that is a concern.

Just 16 cars have been registered for the full season - down four on the entry list from a year earlier - and only 15 of those are expected to take part in Marrakech this weekend.

And that trend of grid depletion is a recurring one. Only between 2014 and '15 has the number of TC1 cars on the grid gone up (and even then the net number went down, with S2000-spec cars making up part of the '14 field), while it's been more than two years since any grid went above 20 cars (Macau '14, in case you were wondering).

Falling grids are a concern for any championship, but it's at this point now where things start to get critical. While it doesn't appear there could be a problem this weekend, article 15 of the championship's regulations stipulate an event can be cancelled if fewer than 16 cars take part.

And when you consider that 2017 will be the first of the second three-year cycle in TC1 rules, that concern suddenly becomes a mild panic - especially with the future direction of the championship's rules still undecided.

It only takes two cars to make a race, but it takes more to solve your problems. Joker laps won't do that, but let's hope they give the doom-mongers something to think about this year.