Rally-X'ing Saturday!

[mdwyer]

wow, rallying here is not what I was expecting, I've got several old videos of Class B Rallying in Europe with multiple big jumps and gobs of people right next to the race, do we have anything like this here in the East?

I did some work for an SCCA rally in Colorado a few years back. It isn't WRC stuff, but it's somewhat closer. When I was there, I saw an Evo upside down (they're not nearly as pretty that way) and a WRX that sheared off a telephone pole with the passenger door. Amazingly, the door still worked!

I think the problem is that "Rally" gets used for a dozen different sports. My friend used to do Autocross (I think), which was sometimes just cones on a airport runway, and sometimes a muddy field. I can't keep them all straight.

[cyronman]

[taken from the FAQ's section of my friend's website]:

http://tommygunrally.com/index.html


How do stage rallies and rallycrosses differ?
Stage Rallies (or ‘ProRallys’ as they used to be called under the Sports Car Club of America, or SCCA) can be viewed as the ‘crème de la crème’ of rally, as they have the most prepared automobiles and are the largest events—both in miles of competitive racing and cost. Events local to us, such as California’s Gorman Ridge Rally and Arizona’s Prescott Rally are typical stage rallies in America and mimic most closely the events you might have seen on television or in internet clips. First, a stage rally requires a co-driver who dictates upcoming road conditions to the driver. The 1- to 3-day event is broken up into 10 to 15 ‘stages’ which each consist of 5-15 miles of flat-out racing through forests, deserts, and any other kind of terrain imaginable.
The cars are separated by 1 to 2-minute time windows and race against the clock. At the end of the event, those drivers and co-drivers with the least aggregate time are declared the winners. National-level stage rallies number just over a dozen nationwide; in addition to numerous regional events that typically have fewer miles, lower costs, and a more compact schedule.

The fundamental difference between stage rally and rallycross is both the level of car preparation and layout of the competitive course. Rallycross, is much friendlier to the novice competitor.
Rallycross cars can vary in level of preparation from street stock, that is, one can purchase it on the showroom, to fully-prepared. ‘Fully prepped’ cars feature extensive modifications to the engine, suspension, and chassis and can in most cases be used as stage rally cars.
Course layouts for rallycross events are quite dissimilar than its’ stage rally brethren. Rather than racing on public forest roads in the middle of nowhere for dozens of miles, rallycross courses are large loops set up in plain sight of both spectators and other competitors, delineated by cones or natural objects. The loop is often between one-half mile to one mile in length, depending on venue and course design.

This is very similar to autocrossing which often takes place in large paved lots, like San Diego’s Qualcomm stadium. Drivers compete alone in their automobiles, as no co-driver is needed to dictate directions.
The focus in rallycross is simply on the driver and his/her precision driving abilities over a short course, rather than highest horsepower or most expensive/trick car setup (sometimes, class winners actually have the least horsepower of others they are racing against, illustrating the focus on a driver’s overall finesse and technique).
After a number of laps are driven by each competitor, times are added together and the winner determined by lowest total time elapsed. The courses are new at every event, and no competitor is allowed access to the course in a motorized vehicle. Also, since the times are aggregated and no laps are dropped from total times, each lap must be raced in the most controlled-but fast-manner, as downed cones or spinning out will usually result in a loss for the event. This is notably different than Solo2 (autocrossing) where simply your best lap wins.

Since the total mileage for a rallycross event numbers under 5, attrition due to mechanical issues is kept to a minimum. This increases the overall attractiveness of the sport to both new and seasoned competitors. This is, of course, in stark contrast to stage rally events, where often 10-30% of the entrants are forced out due to mechanical issues. (back to top)