Road Rally
Please note that this is only a brief outline of
what is involved. Our club nights are a great source of information and there
will always be someone who will answer any questions you may have.
Scatter
Rallies, 12-Car Rallies and Road Rallies are all similar in nature with
Scatters being regarded as the simplest form of rally with 12-Cars next and
Road Rallies the most difficult. It follows therefore that the requirements for
vehicles, paperwork etc are also similar.
What is
it?
A navigational test held on public roads that lasts
most of the night. They usually start at 11 pm and finish at around 4am. In
simple terms they are like several 12 car rallies put together.
At the start you are given a series of
instructions, which define a particular route to be taken. On our events these
take the form of envelopes each of which deals with one section of the route.
Once the envelope is opened it tells the navigator what route to take to the
next Time Control where a marshal will be waiting to check off the time of
arrival. Once there the next envelope can be opened and the process repeated
until the finish is reached. Along the way there will usually be some unmanned
controls designated by marker boards with a couple of letters which you have to
record in order to prove that you have followed the correct route. The event is run to a time schedule so each
of the controls should be visited at a specific time, assuming of course that
everything is going to plan!
Although the basic principle is fairly simple, in
practise things are not quite that easy. The instructions for which route to
take can at times seem to be puzzling and take some time to decipher. The
organisers can usually be relied upon to throw a few problems in along the way
for the more experienced crews.
What do I
need to get started?
Age
17 to
drive, 16 to navigate.
Paperwork
For drivers a valid
driving licence and club membership card and a non-race National B licence,
which costs £34 from the Motor Sports Association (MSA). For navigators a club
membership card, a non-race licence and Ordnance Survey 1:50000 maps of the
area.
There is a class system on
road rallies, but this relates to the experience of the navigator rather than
the vehicle used. There are usually 3 classes - novice, semi-expert and expert,
so you generally only compete against crews of similar experience.
Vehicle
Any road legal taxed,
insured and MOT’d car is acceptable.
Useful
items/modifications
A navigator to help plot
the points and tell the driver where to go (spouses, girl or boyfriends are
usually good at this!).
A map light for the
previously mentioned navigator.
A piece of wood to put
under the jack if you need to change a wheel, as you are likely to be using
some obscure lanes.
What will
it cost
Entry fees are currently approximately £50 an
event. Enough petrol for about 120 miles.
What can
I enter
There are numerous events
around the country that our members are invited to compete in.
The down side - possible pitfalls
Due to the nature of the
event the navigator can suffer from varying degrees of carsickness.
You will be driving on
narrow roads at night so while it is possible to use a large car it can make
life a little awkward.
You will be out all night
so you need the ability to stay awake and alert.
The state of some of our
roads does also mean that it is possible to pick up a puncture.
The event is on public
roads so you have to be aware of
other road users and abide by any traffic laws and speed restrictions, and
there will often be club officials checking this.
If taking a spouse, girl
or boyfriend as a navigator it can cause a certain amount of stress when things
do not go according to plan!
As with any form of motor sport, although they are
rare, accidents can happen. You must be aware of the risks and accept them, if
you are to compete