We tried to think of all the questions we’ve heard or actually wondered about ourselves in the past few years and translated it into this rather long (I call it ‘comprehensive’, Mindy calls it ‘just plain LONG’) FAQ section.

Categories:
The Sport In General | The Team | The Car | Benefits of Becoming a Sponsor | Learning More About Rally

THE SPORT IN GENERAL
Can you explain RALLY to me in 10 words or less?
This sounds cool. Didn’t I see it on the X-Games?
Are you going to try to get on the X-Games next year?
What are the requirements?
Isn’t it dangerous?
Don’t you have a little more in-depth explanation of the sport?
What does a co-driver do?
What is he/she shouting at you in those videos I see?
What does ‘In 10, Left 4’ mean?
Can’t you do this alone?
Why on earth would anyone consider this fun!?
How does this differ from events like the Baja 1000?
How does this differ from a sport called SCCA RoadRally?
What is a ‘rallycross’?
So, do people start out in rallycross, then move up to rally?
How do I get started?
R-A, NASA, CRS, SCCA, FIA, WTF!?!
So can anyone do this?

Can you explain RALLY to me in 10 words or less?
No. Just kidding.  Racing on dirt roads you’ve never seen as fast as possible. Well, 11 words will work too. (back to top)

This sounds cool. Didn’t I see it on the X-Games?
Yes, though that was a little different. That was the made-for-TV, ESPN version which was entertaining to be sure, but traditional rallies are in the middle of the woods for up to 100+ miles, sometimes spanning 2 or 3 days. (back to top)

Are you going to try to get on the X-Games next year?
No, we will be concentrating on the NASA United States Rally Championship and in California Rally Series events.  The X-Games participants must enter events all over the country just to vie for a spot to compete.  We know of teams that spent tens of thousands of dollars to get there, only to be left on the cutting room floor at the end of the day.  Sad but true.  We’ll stick to the dirt roads! (back to top)

What are the requirements?
It’s really not that hard.  One must attend a certified rally driving school (Like the CRS annual school, Paul Eklund’s School, or Tim O’Neils’s School) and present that completion certificate to the sanctioning body you choose to get a license from.  Rally America requires that a driver must have a minimum of events, or ‘coefficients’, to drive a 4 wheel drive and/or turbocharged rallycar, though that requirement has been relaxed a bit in past years.  Please refer to each sanctioning body’s website for further details.  Co-drivers must also attend a certified class, though in some cases, that requirement may be waived with other adequate experience. (back to top)

Isn’t it dangerous?
Yes, it is extremely dangerous!  However, the safety equipment we use, whether personal gear or a part of our in-car equipment (like the rollcage and harnesses) are a part of a comprehensive system that protects us. (back to top)

Don’t you have a little more in-depth explanation of the sport?
We sure do!  You’ll be sorry you asked!  Check the learning more about rally FAQ page.  If that’s not enough, or you’re a glutton for punishment, check the FAQs on the Rally America or NASA RallySport websites. (back to top)

What does a co-driver do?
A co-driver, very simply put, tells the driver where to go.  He/she has a highly accurate mileage computer in the car and, using an organizer-provided routebook (mapbook), names each and every corner for the driver, including its distance and severity. (back to top)

What is he/she shouting at you in those videos I see?
These are stage notes that tell the upcoming corners. The co-driver is shouting usually because the inside of a rally car is very loud.  There is no traditional sound deadening, carpet, or insulation.  Even with helmets on it’s loud in there! (back to top)

What does ‘In 10, Left 4’ mean?
This is a stage note call.  The ‘In ten’ means ‘in 10 meters/yards’, the ‘left 4’ is a turn direction and severity, 1 being the most severe corner (like a hairpin) and a 6 being a gentle sweeping corner.  That said, it means in 10 meters, turn a medium angled left or you might drive off a cliff! (back to top)

Can’t you do this alone?
No. The co-driver is as important in rallying as the driver (or more important, depending on who you talk to).  They are not only in charge of telling the driver which way to go down to the corner, but play an important administrative role as a team’s timecards are held in the car and must be presented at ‘Time Controls’ at the start and finish of a stage. Rally Champion John Buffum once said he could go just as fast with a sack of potatoes in the car, but what does he know?  :) (back to top)

Why on earth would anyone consider this fun!?
How could you not?  We can’t see how anyone could consider anything ELSE fun! (back to top)

How does this differ from events like the Baja 1000?
The basics are the same - two people, a vehicle, and a map/routebook. The scale of these desert events is so much larger than stage rallies though. Baja 1000 and similar races are huge undertakings that cost tens of thousands of dollars to compete in. Their roads are remote and inaccessible; the competing vehicles often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. But at the end of the day, they are racing off road just like us. (back to top)

How does this differ from a sport called SCCA RoadRally?
RoadRally is a navigational rally in unprepared cars that pits competitors against one another on public roads to try to get from point A to B in a prescribed time. Not fastest, but most accurate time. These are similar to how rallies used to be decades ago. (back to top)

What is a ‘rallycross’?
Rallycross is just like autocross, which is a timed motorsport on a small prescribed course, one at a time, though it’s in the dirt instead of on tarmac (asphalt). One competes for lowest accrued time on a course less than a mile. The course is laid out in cones and classes are established to segregate vehicles by level of preparation. (back to top)

So, do people start out in rallycross, then move up to rally?
Some do.  Rallycross is perfect practice for rallying, as it concentrates on driver precision and driving skill – things all rally drivers need.  The sport is self-sustaining and challenging enough to not be a ‘feeder’ league for rallying however.  Most competitors have no stage rallying aspirations and love rallycross for what it is. (back to top)

How do I get started?
The best way to get started is asking plenty of questions.  It certainly is daunting at first – it took us years to figure it all out and are still learning lots every day. Once you are fairly comfortable with how everything works, come out and spectate or even volunteer to work an event. That’s the way we got started, and it’s highly recommended by everyone else to start this way. You can e-mail us directly with questions if need be. (back to top)

R-A, NASA, CRS, SCCA, FIA, WTF!?!
These are the acronyms for the various sanctioning bodies and organizing bodies that run rallying in America: 
-R-A is Rally America.  R-A the high-end sanctioning body in America, and their events have the most media coverage, pomp and pizzazz.  They are also by far the most expensive to enter. 
-NASA, or NASA RallySport, is the cheaper, competitor-driven sanctioning body.  Their events are typically cheaper and do not offer the media exposure that R-A events do. 
-CRS is the California Rally Series, which is a group of California rallyists that organize and group local events together for their own California-based championship. 
-SCCA is the Sports Car Club of America which used to sanction rallying in America before they dropped it altogether, because of insurance increases (at least that was the party line). 

So can anyone do this?
Yes.  It just takes tons of patience, time, and an overwhelming desire to do whatever it takes to get out on stage and race!  It took me almost 5 years to move from a spectator to competitor, and that’s with sacrificing all my free time and money! (back to top)