pace lap

1 7.2

The first time cars go around the track in a race when drivers go slowly to prepare for the start

noun

Jargon

: vuelta de calentamiento

During the pace lap, the cars maintained a controlled speed to prepare for the start.
just a pace lap

Examples

The pace lap will follow.

Winning (1969)
All cars in their proper position, as we travel around on the pace lap.

Speedway (1968)
Beautiful weather and a great field of cars as they head out for their two pace laps.

Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)
The drivers completed the pace lap before the race began, ensuring they were warmed up.
As the pace lap concluded, the anticipation in the stands grew for the upcoming race.

Surface Forms

pace lap singular

pace laps plural

Morphology

pace + lap

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'pace' (speed/tempo) with 'lap' (a circuit): it denotes a lap driven at a controlled pace. This noun+noun composition follows normal English compounding and is easily inferable by a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Pace lap comes from car racing: drivers drove one slow lap behind a safety car to set the pace and warm their tires before the race. That slow lap was called a pace lap, so today the phrase means the controlled lap 'to prepare for the start'.