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

LEARNING MORE ABOUT RALLY
What other sources are there for info on rallying?
This one rally forum has a lot of cranky people on there, what’s up with that?
Are you on myspace?
OK hit me with it. Just what is ‘Rally’?
How did this all start?
Why rally, and why now?
How do stage rallies and rallycrosses differ?

What other sources are there for info on rallying?
Please refer to our links page for a handy guide of websites that can answer any question you might have. (back to top)

This one rally forum has a lot of cranky people on there, what’s up with that?
There is an ongoing battle in rallying today that basically revolves around old school vs. new school.  The older generation, dating back to the 1970’s, don’t want to accept the regulations and demands placed on rallies, organizers, and competitors today, and long for a return to the ‘good ol’ days’.   While there are many that empathize with that sentiment, most of the newer generation realizes that the world is indeed a different place and must be handled with new sensitivities and patience. (back to top)

Are you on myspace?
Our team is not yet, but stay tuned for that! (back to top)

OK hit me with it. Just what is ‘Rally’?
Imagine for a moment:  It’s a sunny afternoon and you’re driving up a mountain road, lazily winding through the corners.  The carefully placed guardrails and informative roadsides guiding you to your favorite mountaintop vacation site.  Now close your eyes and imagine this same road, only now replace your front wheel drive economy car with an all-wheel drive, turbocharged, roll-caged sedan developing well over 300 horsepower and capable of 0-60 sprints in 5 seconds.

The speed limit is now gone, and your goal is to race up this mountain as fast as you can.  Now imagine further that the road is not paved.  In most places it’s not graded at all, and most corners have undulating dirt ‘waterbars’ etched into them to control erosion. The surface varies from flat, to rocky, to sandy, to almost impassable. 

Divide the size of the lane in half, there are now boulders strewn across the lane as well.  The 1,000 foot drop, or ‘exposure’, on your left is now devoid of guardrails.  The map you used to have showing the highway is gone, replaced by a co-driver in the passenger seat barking the severity and distance to the next corner mere seconds before you must change the car’s trajectory to avoid plummeting off the sheer edge of the cliff. 

The directions you hear through your helmet’s intercom are in code, and come in rapid succession, the source being a detailed route book and carefully calibrated in-car computer that tells your co-driver your exact position down to thousands of a mile.   Your mind races to decipher the commands before it’s too late: “In 10, Left 3 minus, opens to Right 6 plus. In 20, Right 2 minus, bad camber, exposure outside!  Left 4 opens over crest, rocks inside, don’t cut!”  Oh yeah, and it’s now night time.  And it’s raining.      

This is the world of rally racing and it’s exploding onto the American scene!  ‘Rally’ is the generic term used to describe a timed precision driving event over typically unpaved public roads utilizing fully-prepared race cars (based on production automobiles) to achieve the goal of the lowest accumulated time for the day.  Or in other words, to be the fastest!  Rally as we know it today has gradually evolved over the decades from the inauspicious beginnings of decades ago past to the breathtaking spectacle it is today. (back to top)

How did this all start?
Begun in earnest after World War II by auto manufacturers to test their production vehicles’ long-term durability, these cars were made to traverse extreme distances from city to city and survive the most harsh climates and terrains in the world.  The goal 50 years ago was not to get there fastest however, but to get there, period.  Vehicles were typically bone-stock, as the entire goal was to show how a car plucked from the showroom floor could fare in the most adverse of conditions and over great distances.  The early trans-European rallies were relaxed, low-speed affairs, with the most excitement usually resulting from a pack animal that would not yield to rally traffic or an overheating car.  Drivers and co-drivers wore regular safety belts and used traditional maps to determine distances.  The co-driver was also the mechanic, who would ensure that any minor repair would be made en route. 

As the dependability of production automobiles improved and the goal of merely surviving these tests was more or less assured, “a change in the ethos of rallying from that of endurance to outright speed and the current format of 'sprint' rallies” began. 

Decades later, the age of the tea-sipping, cigarette-smoking gentleman’s rally of mid-century was giving way to huge factory-supported efforts by automakers such as Saab, Mini, Alpine-Renault, Porsche, Fiat Lancia, BMW, and others.  These cars were now being adapted not only to the harsh conditions, but also to the very fast speeds they were traveling over this terrain.  Events such as the Safari Rally across Africa and the Rally Monte Carlo are terrific examples of this new event focusing on both performance and durability.

Now used as a rolling test bed for high-performance technology, these cars began to sport turbochargers, superchargers and exotic engine parts, and bore only a semblance to their showroom counterparts.  An important evolution was occurring during this period: instead of using rally races to prove to the public the durability for existing vehicles, car companies were using them to design new technology for future automobiles and create brand cache.  Manufacturers scrambled to test their newest power-building applications on the rally cars; their success in the brutal 2 or 3 day events somewhat of a guarantee of their viability as consumer cars that wouldn’t leave the owner stranded somewhere. 

The 1970’s and 1980’s were, according to most, the golden age of rallying, with the advent of the World Rally Championship that recognized the ‘best of the best’ through dual championships - one for drivers and one for manufacturers.  In this period, manufacturers spent tens of millions of dollars to campaign rally cars in races throughout the world.  Rally drivers of this age competed with movie stars and entertainers as the most famous and recognizable public faces.  Most importantly however, with relatively lax rules and new technologies emerging, such as Audi’s Quattro system, cars were now becoming faster and more dangerous than anything the world had ever seen. 

As the resemblance to showroom cars waned further and the horsepower levels and aerodynamic aids grew.  The fans, especially in Europe, came out in the tens of thousands to see the spectacle. 

The early 1980’s witnessing the emergence of the fantastic ‘Group B’ cars that pushed the very bounds of technology and human ability.  After many tragic deaths related to these fire-breathing automobiles, both inside the car and in spectator areas, these beasts, which were now putting down well over 600-700 horsepower, were banned from rallying forever, with only the tuned-up production car class, or Group A, remaining.  This is how rallying exists today. 

Manufacturers use their basic cars as models for their professional rally cars, and though engine internals, suspension, and even body parts are all made of exotic materials and technology, they must bear the same ‘look and feel’ of that on the showroom floor.  They are also limited to 300-400 horsepower through the use of engine restrictors.  For the manufacturers, the goal remains the same as it did in the early years.  To use rally cars to increase product awareness, test new technologies and improve on existing ones. 

Rally is still hugely popular around the world!  There are currently 14-16 WRC events throughout the globe, with the closest WRC event to America taking place in Mexico.  America has just recently discovered what other nations have been experiencing for years:  the exhilaration and extremely demanding nature of these races, both for competitors and spectators!  Worldwide, rally fans are the most hard-core in all of motorsports, and relish the ability to hike into harsh terrains to camp and brave potentially nasty weather for a glimpse at their favorite driver or car fly by them at insane speeds.  Called the ‘NASCAR of Europe’ one needs to only watch one World Rally Championship event in locales such as Sweden and Spain to see the tens of thousands of rabid fans who adore this form of motorsport. (back to top)

Why rally, and why now?
Though there were organized stage rallies and manufacturer-sponsored teams in America in the 1970’s and 1980’s, participation and public awareness of the sport was marginal at best.  Even though auto manufacturers had financially supported rally teams and even campaigned their own ‘works’ cars in America during this period, because of the lack of media support and lackluster reception from American audiences, the popularity never grew to the level seen today.  Today in America however, the sport of rally racing has grown exponentially since mid-2001 when a few large manufacturers such as Subaru, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi stepped in and campaigned their cars in the national SCCA-sanctioned ProRally championship.  They were using these events to market their rally-bred cars like the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evolution.

Before manufacturers took an interest in American rallying, events would often only draw the family and a few friends of the competitors, making it extremely difficult to attract and retain sponsors, which would have increased exposure of the sport, then burgeon its popularity.  This ‘catch-22’ was turned around when the carmakers stepped in and got television, print, and internet coverage for their events.  Even 6 years after the sport ‘debuted’ to many Americans, the popularity, both on a professional and especially a grassroots level, continues to grow unabated today.  Moreover, with many of these new Impreza and Evolution owners wanting to go rallying like they see on TV, when coupled with the relative affordability of these cars, the sustainability of the sport as a marketing tool is assured, with the grassroots-level racing seeming to benefit from the most exposure to both seasoned enthusiast and newbie alike. (back to top)

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.