Special stage (rallying)
Encyclopedia
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
where the goal is to cover a stretch of closed road in the shortest time. On a special stage cars are set off individually at set intervals to reduce the chances of being impeded by other competitors. Each special stage is a relatively short section, usually up to about 30 miles in length. A rally usually consists of around 15-30 special stages. The driver with the lowest combined time for all special stages in an event is the winner.
The roads on which special stages are held vary from rally to rally, from the asphalt mountain passes used on the Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
to the rough forest tracks used on the Rally GB
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...
. Surfaces such as ice and snow or desert sand are also common, with the aim of providing a challenge for the driver and crew as well as a test of the car's performance and reliability.
While competing on a special stage, the drivers and co-driver
Co-driver
Co-driver is the term given to the navigator of rally car in the sport of rally racing, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver, often over a radio headset, due to the high level of noise in the car...
s can have no support from their teams (except through radio/phone contact) and must deal with any breakdowns or problems themselves.
Typically, each car will be given a specific start time for a stage at five minute intervals. In the minutes before setting off, a car will wait stationary at the start point until his scheduled start time. He may begin immediately at that time, and usually an official (using hand signals) and the co-driver
Co-driver
Co-driver is the term given to the navigator of rally car in the sport of rally racing, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver, often over a radio headset, due to the high level of noise in the car...
(through speech) will provide a ten-second countdown. The timing of a stage for a particular car starts at its scheduled time, not when it passes the start point. At the end of the stage, there are two sets of markers. The first is usually referred to as the flying finish, and is the point at which timing for the stage ends. The name comes from the fact that a car will be traveling at full racing speeds when it passes this post. Several hundred meters further along the stage is the stop control point, where the car must come to a halt in order for officials to record their time and check paperwork. Approximately 50 meters after the stop point is the end of the special stage restrictions.
The cars must travel between special stages on public roads, often known as transport stages. While on public roads, all local traffic laws must be obeyed, so all cars must be roadworthy and taxed
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
and insured
Vehicle insurance
Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise therefrom...
. Drivers may be given a scheduled time to arrive at their destination to ensure they do not speed during the journey, with penalties for arriving too soon or too late (although the margin for late arrival is quite large).
Super special stage
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
s, but occasionally in covered venues. Commonly two cars will set off at the same time and at the halfway point of the stage will swap lanes. The short distance means that the difference in times between the top runners is often negligible, and so the stage is of little relevance to the overall classification.