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Sideways action in the dirt is a staple of rallycross. Here, Cole Keats leads Justin Rimmer through GRC’s Turn 4.
Jumps are also a staple of rallycross. Indy’s jump was set up in the middle of the pit lane just after Turn 4. Cyril Raymond shows us the correct way of performing this jump.
Matt Halliday shows us how not to take the jump. He nosed hard, but was able to keep the wheels on the ground. This was Matt’s very first GRC event. He has raced in a ton of different series including Champ Car, A1 GP, V8 Supercars, and Porsche Supercup.
After a few Lites practice heats, it was time for the Supercars. While the Lites cars are all identical tube frame cars with fiberglass Fiesta bodies, the Supercars are all body-in-white street cars turned into racecars. Lites have around 300 hp, while Supercars make 600. They sound WICKED. The Fiestas all had massive backfire at the end of the main straight. It sounded like a cannon going off when they let off into Turn 1.
The Joker lap was built into the pit exit. As per usual in GRC, each car must make one Joker lap per heat. The chicane made this one very difficult. Hit it right, and the shorter distance gives you an advantage over a car that doesn’t do the Joker. Get it wrong, and you’ll lose too much momentum and drop a spot or two in a tight battle. The Joker serves the same purpose as a pit stop in a longer race: giving an extra piece of strategy to the drivers allowing for under and over cuts.
The final set of turns was quite fun to watch with the dirt infield and the tarmac oval. The cars were pushing so hard on the asphalt they would usually smoke the right front tire!
