Rallying: Madness or Magic?

“You first have to finish a rally before you can win it”, is a very old saying that is true to the core.

A motor rally consists of open or liaising sections, which connect a series of special stages, as well as the start and finishing points of the event.

Liaising sections take place on public roads, where the competing cars have to adhere to normal traffic rules and regulations. Special stages are run on private or closed public roads, with the car that covers the total distance of these special stages in the quickest overall time being declared the winner. A rally special stage offers huge challenges to the competing crews, with road surfaces varying from hard gravel, to loose gravel, to rocky, to wet and muddy, to tarmac.

Going down a mountain side on a narrow dirt road at night, with rain pouring down, mist restricting view up to a few meters, driving as quick as you can, or being flat out at 200 km/hour on a winding gravel road is what makes rallying so exciting for both competitor and spectator.

Rally drivers have to be extremely fit and mentally alert in order to be competitive, as rallying is also an endurance sport, with some special stages up to 40 km’s in length or longer and some events spreading over three days in succession. Apart from driving fast in the above mentioned conditions, the driver also has to look after his or her car. Having a flat wheel, damaging the car’s suspension, experiencing an engine problem, or going off the road (which is very easy) are some of the factors that can slow a rally car down during a special stage, or lead to the retirement from the event. The role of the navigator is much more involved than just telling the driver to go left or right.

Local navigator Louis Menge shared with LETABA HERALD some of the responsibilities of a navigator:

1. Print all the relevant documents such as entry form, scrutineering form and route schedule.

2. Enter the team for the event and confirm that the entry fee is paid.

3. Ensure the rally car is on time for scrutineering, (a process where the car is checked for eligibility to compete in the event).

4. Synchronise the navigator’s clock with the master clock used on the event. 5. Check the official noticeboard for any amendments on the route schedule. 6. Liase with the service crew on special stage distances in order to determine when to refuel the car.

As a rally is based on time, a competing car has to arrive at a specific time at certain points during the rally, for example at the start of a ‘special stage’. It is the responsibility of the navigator to calculate the exact time the car has to arrive at that point.

If the car arrives too ‘early’ or too ‘late’, a penalty is incurred, which is added to the special stage time posted by the car, effectively making the car ‘slower’ (on paper). Instructions are constantly communicated by the navigator to the driver during a special stage and these instructions are attached to distances measured in metres or kilometres. For example: “Caution 300 metres there is a dip in the road”, or “200 metres T-junction turn left.” Servicing between special stages is imperative as the cars have to be refueled, tyres changed and any repairs needed, carried out. Once again, lifes biggest enemy ‘time’ is involved, as there is only a certain amount allocated for servicing before the car has to ‘clock’ in at the next special stage. Service crews are the ‘unsung heroes’ of a rally team, as their ability to service/repair the car in the quickest possible time, can determine the ultimate success of the team.

That, in a nutshell, is rallying.