07SubaruRallyCar-461

The Scandinavian flick is a manoeuvre used by rally drivers on loose surfaces.

Rally cars tend to understeer on loose surfaces, and the Scandinavian flick – developed in the 1960s by the top rally drivers, who were mostly Finns and Swedes – was developed to counteract this problem.

To make the car turn into the corner sharply, the driver begins by making a small steering movement in the opposite direction, at the same time releasing pressure on the accelerator pedal and perhaps applying the brakes. This unsettles the car, causing the tail to swing out. If the driver now applies lock in the direction of the corner at just the right time, the tail of the car swings back in the opposite direction and the nose of the car turns into the corner. The car flicks from one direction to the other – the Scandinavian flick.

The driver must then increase pressure on the accelerator to maintain the car's attitude through the corner, balanced by opposite lock.