THE ABC OF RALLYING THIS GUIDE WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE JARGON OF RALLYING WRC: RALLY: LONG DISTANCE RACE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES

THE BEGINNING

he first official event was the million tune in from home. Broadcast by 150 line pushing the car to the limit and beyond. TRally which took place in January 1911. TV Markets around the world it even has its A rally can be made up of over 30 special 23 Cars started out from 11 different locations own video game series. The WRC is widely stages. The WRC currently takes in 13 rallies around Europe to meet in the mountains regarded as the most challenging in 13 countries. To win the title a team has surrounding the principality of Monte Carlo championship on the planet. to be quick on every surface. No perfectly at the bequest of Prince of Albert 1st. maintained tracks, no barriers to keep the cars His goal was to promote the micro state as a Today rallying pits production based cars from flying off, just two men against the road holiday destination. Among the factors used to on closed road sections against the clock. fighting for the title. determine the winners were passenger comfort Production based means the cars must be and the condition in which the car arrived. based on normal road going equivalents of Two titles are up for grabs in the World Rally which a defined minimum number must be Championship, one for the drivers and one for The World Rally Championship was created in made available at dealers around the globe. the manufacturers. At the end of the season 1973. Competitors met in 13 countries with This is part of the Homologation Process the driver with the most points lifts the trophy rallies on every surface from gravel strewn (Certification of Regulatory the same applies to the manufacturer title. forest paths to icy mountain passes. It was Standards). In order to meet the WRC primarily seen as a way for car manufacturers homologation requirements a car must be Points are allocated to the top ten drivers in to test out new cars and new technologies. For produced in a series of at least 25000 units each competition on a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4- this reason only the winning manufacturer was per year. Closed road sections means that cars 2-1 basis. 25 points goes to first while tenth awarded a championship title by the FiA. (FiA – complete mostly on real public roads with placed team or driver gets one point. For the Federation International Automobile is the real pot holes and real snow, real forests and manufacturers title the teams must designate governing body of international motorsport). dangerously real cliffs. drivers that can score points for them. Bonus points are awarded at each rally in the Power Five years after its inception in 1978 the Instead of circuits a Rally is divided into Stage (final stage of a rally 5-4-3-2-1).As WRC established a Drivers Championship. sections from A to B these are called Special a general rule the teams are timed both on By the mid 80’s the WRC matched Formula 1 Stages (section of closed road at a special and off the stages. Stops for maintenance are in popularity thanks to the infamous Group stage rally event). These special stages are strictly regulated and may not last longer than B era in which the cars boasted unlimited driven one after another in intervals against 45 minutes. If a team exceeds this limit it will power. Today over 3.8 million spectators watch the clock. The previous championship winner be given a penalty which usually comes in the the rallies live stage side while almost 800 starts first and it’s all about finding the perfect form of a time penalty.

A typical rally usually lasts a week. The teams arrive on THE TIME TABLE OF RALLYING Sunday prior to the event start to prepare the Service Park.

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RALLYASTRALIACOMA THE SERVICE PARK MEET THE TEAM

he rally cars visit the ‘Service Park’ using tools and spare parts carried in the back to the driver. Every team has their successful rally team is made up Tat pre-determined times during car. Time penalties are applied if visits own way of making pace notes. The Aof a variety of skilled individuals, each event. Besides checking the car to the service park exceed the period corners are usually assigned a number while managers, engineers, drivers and changing tyres, during this time a allowed. Time penalties are also given which corresponds with their radius. A 5 and co-drivers are obvious. Some team of four technicians is allowed to to competitors who arrive late at stage might be a fast curve while a 1 might be teams have a physiotherapist, perform mechanical work on each car. starts, or any of the other numerous 90 degrees. Pace notes are usually read Chef, PR, Media manager and meteorologists. After all correctly Service time available is strictly limited, check-points throughout the event. 1 or 2 corners in advance helping the picking the weather can make or with each stop being either 10, 30 or driver to create a mental map of the road break a drivers rally. 45 minutes depending on the itinerary. Tuesday and Wednesday the ahead. With the recce complete the team Being able to work in this pressured drivers begin with their “recce” or reviews the pace notes while watching environment means WRC mechanics are “reconnaissance” (survey to gain the on board camera footage. some of the best in the world, capable of information about the extraordinary ingenuity, speed, and the and a location). The drivers use a non- On Thursday it’s time for the odd miracle. In the heat of competition a rally car to complete the reconnaissance. “Shakedown” (test run of the suspension upright, hub and brake unit Before the rally starts each team is rally car). The drivers are allowed will be swapped in around five minutes, allowed to drive the stages twice but to tackle the shakedown stage a gearbox in 10. Armed with hammers, only within the legal speed limit. On the at full speed in their rally car welding torches and tank tape, WRC first run the driver estimates how fast to make any final technical mechanics have the power to transform he can push his car while instructing checks to the car before a sorry looking wreck into a rally winner. his co-driver to note down the layout the rally starts. The teams Away from the service park repairs or of the road ahead. On the second run then have a service before adjustments can still be made, but only the co-driver reads these pace notes heading off for the by the driver and co-driver, and only (navigation details of a rally route) Opening Ceremony.

OPENING CEREMONY

very WRC event has an Opening warn spectators that a “faster” car regulations to make the sport safer. deal with all the impacts they get on ECeremony on the Thursday afternoon/ is coming. Stronger roll cages were introduced and the stages. They have different types evening. It gives the fans a chance to cars were given a minimum weight. of springs to deal with different types get up close and personal with the In traffic rally drivers have to respect the The engines output were restricted. All of road conditions. They have remote drivers and their cars. The drivers get to rules of the road just like the rest of us. of these regulations are now inspected canisters where the damper oil is stored meet their fans and sign autographs. Rally cars spend most of their time on meticulously by the scrutineers (official which keeps the oil cooler and working Traditionally the cars drive onto a stage Liaison Sections (public road sections to inspect the implementation of as efficiently as possible. and each car is waved off the stage to from one special stage to the next). For regulations). The scrutineer’s role is to signal the beginning of the Rally. After this reason every car must have a horn, a check each of the cars before the event, Another vital ingredient to keep the cars the ceremony the cars are driven to the licence plate and an insurance policy. If during the event and after the event to in contact with the ground is pressure. To Service Park where they go into Parc a car arrives late to the next stage a time ensure they comply with the regulations improve the airflow around the car and Ferme (an area at the Service Park penalty will be waiting. At the end of of WRC. Safety is the top priority. Tyres increase downward pressure, spoilers where the cars are parked and not the first day there is another 45 minute are barcoded before they leave service as are mounted on the body to create allowed to be touched until the rally window for maintenance called “end of they are not allowed to change the type “aerodynamics” (manipulation of begins the next day). The Rally cars go day service”. After this service the cars of tyres (soft or hard) they have chosen to air around a moving object). The rear into Parc Ferme, Thursday, Friday and then enter Parc Ferme. use on that specific stage. Tyres will be wing doesn’t work well at low speed but Saturday after the final service of the day. checked at the end of the stage and again when you get up over speeds of 80km’s Saturday the Rally starts again. The when they return back to the service park. it makes a massive difference. You don’t Friday the Rally starts. The drivers are stages vary in length from 80km to They will carry one or two spare tyres want to lose your rear wing. The front fully focused on the stages that lie ahead 1.8km’s and every day there are different depending on the length of the stage but wings create a nice flat profile trying to so to ensure the spectators are safe the stages. Some rallies have Super Special these tyres will need to have been bar generate a bit more down force on the Zero Cars are deployed ( to Stages (circuit stage where two drivers coded by the scrutineer before they leave front wheels. The most important part carry out security for a rally). The triple complete in front of an audience). The the service park. Selecting the right type is the front splitter. You can’t believe Zero car comes first it is not a rally car Super Special Stages are often held on of tyre for that specific surface is always the difference in the handling of the car but a normal production car to ensure all stadium circuits in front of a big crowd very difficult. if you loose this piece. The air starts to spectators are not standing on the road and more often than not two drivers get underneath the car and you start to and are in safe spectator areas. This car is compete directly, head to head against Another crucial component is the loose feeling in the steering and over followed by the double Zero car which is one another. After 3 days of Rallying an Dampers (component to absorb heavy the jumps the front will start to lift. It is also a series car and double checks there awards ceremony is held on Sunday to energy on the car). Rocks and jumps a massive challenge in rallying as the are no obstructions on the road. Finally congratulate the winners. can easily damage a car and upset the terrain is not like circuit , rallying the Zero car does the final check of the balance. Rally cars use dampers that are in forest stages cutting corners and flying road. This is a rally car with a Based on the experiences from the twice as big, twice as strong and twice over jumps you hope that the rear wing co-driver, this car drives much faster to era the FIA introduced new as heavy as normal shock absorbers to and front splitter stay put.

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RALLYASTRALIACOMA