Peachstate Region PCA General Rally Procedures
Revised 2-06-2009
Overview:  A rally is a timing and logic contest driven on public roads at legal speeds.  The rally should be designed with the safety and pleasure of the participants as the primary considerations.  Hazardous situations must be avoided and the location of checkpoints should be carefully selected.  The Rallymaster should take care to design the rally route to provide a challenging contest yet contain safeguards such as closed loops, off course controls, or call back mileages to avoid long off-course excursions.  Only paved roads may be used for the route unless otherwise stated before the start of the rally.
 
RULES OF THE ROAD SECTION
COURSE FOLLOWING PRIORITIES:  In the absence of other rules declared in advance by the Rallymaster, the following priorities shall be in effect.  Should there be any conflict, the priority listed first will be used.
  1. Execute an emergency or special instruction.  These instructions may take any form and may be given at any time and are executed only once.  Usually these instructions are given at the start of the rally or at the checkpoints.
     
  2. Execute a numbered route instruction.  These instructions may or may not be accompanied by an official mileage.  A numbered route instruction may be redundant only if accompanied by official mileage.
     
  3. Execute a lettered note instruction.  A lettered note is invoked with the words 'Begin Note (letter)."  The action called for by the note my be executed at each opportunity until the note is cancelled by the words "Cancel Note (letter)".
     
  4. Named Road Following.  Stay on, or turn back onto, the last road you are placed on by the words "on," "onto," or "pick up" (or "PU") until you are taken off that named road by a higher priority instruction.
     
  5. Protection.  Upon arrival at an intersection of roads, turn onto the road that does not have a Stop or Yield sign if it is the only such road leaving the intersection.
     
  6. Straight as possible.  Proceed on the route that causes the least direction change from the direction you were traveling when the intersection was entered.  At a slant T, the straightest possible route must be clear or an official mileage must be given.
COMPLETION OF INSTRUCTIONS:  Instructions will be executed in ascending numerical order.  An instruction is completed only when all of its conditions are fulfilled.  There will be no more than five miles between instructions.
CONTROL FREE ZONES:  Three areas of the rally will be free of timing controls:
  1.  ODO Leg:  The odometer leg is provided to allow odometer (and perhaps speedometer) calibration in relation to official mileage.  The start and finish of the leg will be designated in the route instructions.
     
  2. Free Zone:  A part of the rally route that is free of timing controls (checkpoints).  Any CAST of 50 or greater will also be considered a free zone and shall extend to at least 0.5 mile after the termination of that CAST.
     
  3. Transit Zone:  This is provided to permit rest breaks for gas, food, etc. during the rally.  It may also be used to transit a heavily congested area.  The start and finish of the zone will be designated in the route or emergency instructions.  A Transit Zone is also a Free Zone and the time of passage will be stated.
GLOSSARY
Acute A turn of substantially more than 90 degrees
After Any distance past (from 1 inch to 5 miles)
At Closest opportunity within sight of the Course Marker
Bear A turn of substantially less than 90 degrees
Before Closest opportunity prior to but in sight of the Course Marker
Blinker A light or lights that blink to warn of a hazard or traffic stop.  Only one light may be counted per intersection.  Need not be working.
CAST Change Average Speed To (in MPH)
CM Course Marker
JOG A turn in one direction followed by a turn in the opposite direction.  The second turn must be in sight of the first turn.
L A turn to the left of any magnitude.
"OR" An instruction which tells the contestants to do one thing OR another. The first item which the rallyist encounters should be executed and the other ignored.  Do not execute both sides of the "OR."
Pause A pause of a specified time along the rally route.
R A turn to the right of any magnitude.
Redundant An instruction is redundant if you would have proceeded along the same route had the instruction been omitted.
RIP "Reads in Part:" a sign or a major part of a sign in quotes
S To proceed as Straight as possible
Slant T A T intersection, with an angle substantially more than 90 degrees
SOL Sign On Left
STOP Official highway sign at which you must stop.
T An intersection in a T shape as approached from the base of the T.
TL Traffic Light of the Red, Yellow, Green type. Only one may be counted at an intersection. Need not be working.
WOIN Working On Instruction Number
OPPORTUNITIES: An opportunity is the occurrence of a situation in which an instruction can be executed.  Unpaved roads, roads marked 'dead end," "keep out," "private," "road closed," entrances to parking lots shopping centers, etc. are not turn opportunities unless they are called for by statements such as "ignore dead end sign' or "this is an unpaved road."
OPTIONAL ROUTE INSTRUCTIONS:  Route instructions may be in forms other than written instructions, such as map following, straight line navigation or tulip diagrams.
PARENTHETICAL INFORMATION:  Information in parenthesis is extra and intended as an aid to the rally team.  It cannot alter the rally route and may be redundant.
QUOTED MATERIAL:  All quoted material will be on the right of the route you would have taken in its absence.  Quoted material shall be easily seen at rally speeds and must be the most prominent part of the sign.  Any quoted material, on the left of the rally route, must be accompanied by the notation "SOL" (Sign On Left).  No traps shall be based on the spelling or misspelling of quoted material.
ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION
CLASSES:  Peachstate Region, PCA, shall sanction the following classes:
  • Class SOP (Seat Of Pants).  Teams may only use pencil/pen, paper, clipboard, and any device whose sold purpose if measuring time.  The original equipment odometer mounted in its original location must be used.  No manual or electronic aids are allowed.
     
  • Class TOUR.  Tour class may have extra instructional information to facilitate entrants completing the course.  No competitor points shall be awarded tour entrants.
     
  • Class VISITOR.  Same as class SOP for any contestant who is not a PCA member.   Visitor class is not sanctioned at Rennfest.  No competitor points shall be awarded visitor entrants.
A rally team consists of a driver and a navigator.  Only these two contestants will be allowed in the rally car except in Tour class.  Small children may also be carried.
CONTROLS:  The basic type control (Checkpoint) recognized as most suitable for Peachstate Region rallies is the open control.  The "in" line of the control is identified by the checkpoint sign, consisting of a checkmark and a dot, located on the right side of the road.  At an open control, participants are expected to drive past the checkpoint sign, park the car safely, and return to the timing table to receive a time in, a time out, and a critique slip.  In the absence of other instructions from the Rallymaster, all mileage, including that between the "in" and "out" market (if any) is included in the official mileage of the route.
Procedures for Do It Yourself Controls (DIYC)
At a DIYC write your "time in" in five digits for hour, minutes, and seconds (h : mm : ss) in the first available TIME IN box on your scorecard. In the next available TIME OUT box write a time that is exactly three minutes after the time-in that you selected. This will be the time that you leave the DIYC and continue with the next instruction(s) at the same CAST if a new CAST is not given. Rallyists should pull ahead to complete the logging of times so not to block the view of subsequent cars. The times must be logged before reaching the following checkpoint. The critique sheet will be given at the next checkpoint which must be a manned open control.
PROTESTS:  All protests must be in writing and must refer to the specific section and paragraph of the rally rules which the rallyist feels have been violated.  A road course protest must be submitted to the Rallymaster within 30 minutes of the closing of the last checkpoint.
The protest committee shall consist of the Region President or Competition Director, Event Chairperson, and Technical Chairperson.  Should one of these members be involved in the protest, the President will appoint a substitute.  The committee may resolve a protest as it sees fit.  The decision is final.
SCORING
  1. Contestants shall be awarded one point for each second early or late at the control for errors up to five minutes.  For errors of five to twenty minutes, 300 points shall be awarded and for over twenty minutes, 500 points.
     
  2. Entering an off-course control or entering a checkpoint backward results in a 100 point penalty in addition to any timing points.  In the case of entering a control backward, the team will be timed in the first time they enter the control, regardless of the direction.
     
  3. A 100 point penalty will also be awarded for taking evasive action in sight of a control.  This includes stopping, turning around, or slowing to less than half the CAST.  Entering a control at more than double the CAST is considered dangerous and results in 100 points.
     
  4. All scoring must be a leg by leg basis.  The winner of a rally is the team with the lowest total score.  In case of a time, the team with the best individual leg time will be awarded the higher position.