Detroit Region SCCA

How The Other Side Does It II

Road Rally

Friday, July 12, 1997

The rally portion of the Waterford Hills weekend will be a very short and simple example of a road rally. The idea of a road rally, is to remain "on time" at all times. This Rally has been designed for the beginner or for ones who have never even run a rally (Novice class). All paved roads will be used for the rally route. Mileage's will be given at every instruction. No attempt will be made to fool the competitors or lead them off course.

There are many forms of rally. There are PRO Rallies, which are real races, over closed roads, in real race cars. There also are endurance and brisk TSD (time, speed, distance) rallies. This rally is designed to allow for an enjoyable drive in the country, with the option to try to remain on time.

An easy to follow route has been laid out for an enjoyable tour of some of the more interesting, paved, roads in the area of the Waterford Hills race track. Competitors should always let safety be the rule, as the trophies are not worth dangerous or harzardous behavior. The rally will use public roads and average speeds for the rally will be at or below the posted limit for that road. Time will be given (in the form of pauses) for the competitors to stop at each stop sign or traffic light and proceed in a safe manner once clear of the intersection.

This rally is an over-simplified and shorter version of a typical TSD (time, speed, distance) rally as presented by the Detroit Region SCCA. It is intended to give those who have never run a rally, a chance to give it a try. It has been geared toward the novice, with emphasis on learning the basics of course following and calculating the proper time to execute a given instruction (exact time that the vehicle should leave a specific location, usually an intersection).

The organizers have tried to provide written material about road rallying, in a stage by stage manner. The first page will be simple, the next pages will provide more and more detail. Finally, the last page(s) will provide the math and example calculations. If you are interested, collect the written material as it becomes available and study as much as you feel you should.

The rally team - a driver and a navigator - should decide how serious they wish to take the rally, and hence how hard they want to work at doing well. The team can try just to follow the route and take their chances on their score. Or, with a bit of calculation the correct time to leave a specific instruction can be figured. The rally is scored by the time that the rally vehicle reaches each "check point". For every 1/100 of a minute that the rally team arrives either early or late, from their ideal time, a one point penalty is assessed. The scores from all the check points are added-up to determine a team's score. The lowest accumulated (penalty) points the better. (Like golf, only not so boring).

The organizers, Scott Harvey and Jim Mickle will try to provide as much personal instruction as possible. Other experienced rallyists should be on hand to help as well. If you are not sure of something, all you need to do is ask.

Review 1996 How The Other Side Does It Rally Results

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Date Created: May 17, 1997
Last Modified: July 25, 1997

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