Monster Cup Track

So is the Joker Lane faster this race? The Toyota marker came out in front, but it looks like an actual rider could get a much larger lead.

Still don't get. WTF

The joker-lane makes it so you do not cross the finish line, I guess you technically get a 1-lap-for-the-price-of-2 kind of deal going there?

Faster joker lane is way better then slow.
Now riders can use it stragically to make passes.

The Toyota marker looks comfortable.

F.B wrote:

The Toyota marker looks comfortable.

I was waiting for the Monster logo to block pass in a turn for the lead, but I can't believe they allowed another company to beat them on their sponsored event advertisement.

thearc wrote:

Faster joker lane is way better then slow.
Now riders can use it stragically to make passes.

I'm not sure. I feel like everyone will take it the first/second lap, while the field is still bunched up. Somewhat defeating the purpose of a joker lane

OK...I'll go first, Kinda looks like fail to me! Doesn't look like a good use of space. (hope i'm wrong and we see some great racing) Hope they make them use each side at least once or have a blind draw ect...

ky_savage wrote:

I was waiting for the Monster logo to block pass in a turn for the lead, but I can't believe they allowed another company to beat them on their sponsored event advertisement.

Haha same here.

I like the outside area not being the same old round flat track style as always. Good that they changed it up.

I am looking forward to seeing it on FS2 Saturday!

Falcon wrote:

I didn't see anything about this so I started a thread.

The track looks cool, but.....
The split start is DEFINITELY going to favor the guys on the left, as they will get three left-hand turns to start the race, while the dudes on the right get three right-handers.
Jason Thomas seems to disagree with me in today's Staging Area, or at least he is withholding his opinion. He states that it will be interesting to see which gate the riders choose. I say the guy with the first choice always picks left.
http://racerxonline.com/2017/10/12/staging-area-monster-energy-cup

What about the fact that if you go left you're riding the track in the same direction as you would on a normal lap, but if you go right, you're hitting the rhythm section backwards?

Is it an advantage to hit jumps that aren't worn down/beaten up? Or will it be too unpredictable?

Will the track builders make the backsides of these jumps identical to the front sides? If so, would that make them faster, or slower in normal racing direction?

How many questions is too many questions? Is it 7?

So is it allowed to enter the joker lane in the first lap? We might have something like a startcrash in it.

Falcon wrote:

I didn't see anything about this so I started a thread.

The track looks cool, but.....
The split start is DEFINITELY going to favor the guys on the left, as they will get three left-hand turns to start the race, while the dudes on the right get three right-handers.
Jason Thomas seems to disagree with me in today's Staging Area, or at least he is withholding his opinion. He states that it will be interesting to see which gate the riders choose. I say the guy with the first choice always picks left.
http://racerxonline.com/2017/10/12/staging-area-monster-energy-cup

Bosco wrote:

What about the fact that if you go left you're riding the track in the same direction as you would on a normal lap, but if you go right, you're hitting the rhythm section backwards?

Is it an advantage to hit jumps that aren't worn down/beaten up? Or will it be too unpredictable?

Will the track builders make the backsides of these jumps identical to the front sides? If so, would that make them faster, or slower in normal racing direction?

How many questions is too many questions? Is it 7?

I'm skeptical about that also. Not sure which side will be better but they definitely won't be equal

That looks some pasta exploded on the print and they built a track around it.

thearc wrote:

Faster joker lane is way better then slow.
Now riders can use it stragically to make passes.

Radman66 wrote:

I'm not sure. I feel like everyone will take it the first/second lap, while the field is still bunched up. Somewhat defeating the purpose of a joker lane

I think a lot of interesting strategies could come into play. In the past, the joker lane was obviously slower, and a lot of the front runners tended to put it off until the end of the race when they HAD to take it (or forget about it completely - looking at you two Ryans). Now, the riders have an incentive to take it. I would think that you'd save it until you needed a strategic pass. To your point, yes, if you get a bad start and need to quickly move up around a bunched up pack of riders, take it early. But assuming one of the favorites gets a top 5 or even 10 start, why not save it for later in the race when they are having a hard time getting around a particular rider? Or for guys that are evenly matched - take it and hope that a clean lap without battling the other dude allows you to gain the tenth of a second you need to come out ahead when your opponent takes it on a later lap (much like pit stop strategies in F1). In theory, I'm a fan of the new joker lane; we'll see how it works out tomorrow.

I could see the merge from the joker lane back into the normal track causing some issues and close calls if someone gets crossed up ,should be entertaining

Are they allowed to take the Joker lane at the beginning of the first full lap? I don't know why anyone would not take it then if they can. You would lose positions for sure if you don't. I think it would be more effective if it was closed till the second or third full lap.

Press day this morning

919x wrote:

Are they allowed to take the Joker lane at the beginning of the first full lap? I don't know why anyone would not take it then if they can. You would lose positions for sure if you don't. I think it would be more effective if it was closed till the second or third full lap.

In the past, the Joker lane has been closed for the first lap.