When people think of rally, they probably picture flying cars, superhuman drivers piercing through fireworks and smoke bombs in the monégasque night and drifting on mountain roads. And they're right. Mostly.
But what exactly is rally?
In this blog, I'm going back to the basics of this motorsport, through its history and everything else for everyone who wants to get into it, but doesn't know quite how.
(remember: this post is an introduction to rally. Almost everything mentioned here will be seen in depth in later posts)
First of all, unlike most motorsports, rally doesn't take place on circuits (except on some occasions, but we'll come back to that later), but on closed off public roads.
And, no, for some of you who start your rally journey from scratch, there is no wheel-to-wheel racing, not really. Overtakes do happen, but it's not often, and it's not generally part of the show.
Indeed, a rally is divided in a set number of timed stages on closed roads, linked by untimed road sections (also called liaisons). Since the latter are on open public roads, every rally car has to be road-legal.
Example of a regional rally itinerary, where the timed stages are highlighted in red, and the liaisons in blue.
A rally usually takes places in the span of 2 to 4 days. In modern WRC, events run from Thursday to Sunday.
Regional rallies, like the one pictured above, usually have few stages spread in a single weekend, while modern WRC has an average of 20 stages per rally, with around 4 to 10 stages per day from Friday to Sunday.
How does a rally stage work?
All contenders (commonly more than 100 crews with different cars, sometimes racing in different championships) line up at the start of a stage, and start one by one in intervals of 1 to 3 minutes.
The winner isn't who crosses the finish line first, but rather who's the fastest overall. Each stage time of a crew is added together, and the one with the smallest total wins the rally. Easy, no?
Where does it take place?
Like mentioned earlier, rallies typically take place on closed off public roads, and, depending on the region, it could take place on either asphalt (In WRC, Germany or Japan), gravel/dirt (Paraguay, Portugal or Kenya), snow (Sweden), or even a mix of those (Monte Carlo).
How can I attend a rally?
Since the "grandstands" are literally the side of the road, attending any rally is generally free. And you'll be able to stand very close to the cars!
All you need is the motivation to walk to the designated spectator zones! Bring good shoes, something to snack on, loads of water and be patient, because you can be waiting a while! (though, if you've already attended a F1 Grand Prix, I'm not too worried for you)
If you want to try out attending a rally, I'd recommend looking up the events in your region, if there are any, and go there to begin with. There will most likely be less people, and it would be easier to access.
As someone who's a fan of a lot of motorsports, I've found rally events to bring the most passionate people together, and every rally I attend is a great experience, on both the mechanical side, and the human side.
But do bear in mind that I do live in France, which I think is the second country where rally is the most popular (after Finland!). Depending on where you live, things might be different, so do your own research first, stay in safe designated areas, and good luck!
This is it for the introduction of this amazing sport, if you didn't understand something, don't worry, more posts will cover every detail you need to learn!