The Official Road Rally (TSD/Monte Carlo/GTA/Gimmick) Thread

Discussion in 'General Subaru Discussion' started by SurlyOldManMN, Oct 24, 2012.

  1. SurlyOldManMN
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    SurlyOldManMN Omdat fok jou Staff Member

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    RALLY RALLY RALLY!!!! Kind of...

    A couple years ago I stumbled on road rallying after hearing about it in passing when another MNSubaru member (heel-and-toe IIRC) mentioned wanting to check out the Minnesota Valley Winter Rally. I did some research and my curiosity was piqued. Eventually I sought out a local road rally club (Twin Cities Rally Club or TCRC) and got involved in a few local events. The events I have participated in have easily been the most semi-legal fun I've ever had in a car with my clothes on. Owning a turbo 4-banger and not even realizing events like this exist is downright tragic.

    My goal for this thread is to introduce more folks to the different types of rallying available and maybe get a few of you out to some local events. I think a lot of you would be hooked if you get a couple events under your belt. If after reading through the descriptions in the next post you have any questions, experiences to share or are interested in trying out an event/would like help finding someone to run with, please post!

    I'll start by pointing out what road rally isn't. Road rallying is NOT:
    - A race or performance stage rally. The object is not to go as fast as you possibly can. In fact you are usually penalized equally for going too fast or too slow.
    - Expensive to enter and compete.
    - An event requiring a fancy high horsepower car or thousands of dollars worth of safety gear.

    Road rallying is:
    - A fantastic way to spend quality time in your car discovering and driving the best roads MN/WI has to offer. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to hurl a turbo 4-banger through a Bob Ross painting, this is what you've been waiting for.
    - Fun for people of all ages and skill levels.
    - Relatively safe. Average speeds are usually at or slightly below the speed limit (more on this later).
    - Great practice and exposure to fundamental navigation concepts required for pro and stage rallying. Particularly with regard to understanding notation and learning to communicate/work as a team.

    Upcoming Local Events:
    Coming soon!
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2013
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  2. SurlyOldManMN
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    SurlyOldManMN Omdat fok jou Staff Member

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    There are a few different flavors of road rallying out there, most of them available locally:

    TSD (Time/Distance/Speed)

    Like most local road rallies, the types of roads used are very similar and often identical to those used in stage rally. However, the object is exacting precision as opposed to balls-out performance.

    In TSD rallying, a route book is provided to competitors just before the event. The route book will define a route, times when each leg should begin and average speeds that must be maintained at all times. The objective is to successfully execute all of the instructions while precisely maintaining the correct stated average speed throughout the entire course.

    If you do this properly, you will arrive at undisclosed checkpoints at exactly the right time. If you don't, then you will be awarded points. Usually points are awarded based on 100ths of a minute (0.6 second). For example, if you are .25 minutes (15 seconds) late OR early, you get 25 points. A perfect time is zero points. The overall score closest to zero wins.

    There are two general variants of TSD rallying to be found locally. The first is a "tour" rally, wherein instructions are provided with exact mileages, turn directions and often tulip diagrams or street names. These are designed to be fun opportunities to take your car on some of the best gravel and tarmac roads possible without the whole ordeal ending in tow hooks and tears.

    Most local road rallies are TSD tour rallies.

    The next variant is a trap rally. This is where the rally master goes all Stephen-Hawking-Cameo's-As-The-Riddler on you and sprinkles little obtuse logical landmines in the route instructions. Often the traps will involve rules minutiae or involve a landmark detail that is easily overlooked but has a dramatic impact on how an instruction is interpreted. Trap rally is the variant most likely to cause spontaneous, gratuitous wanton violence.

    Also, about the average speed always being at or below the speed limit... When was the last time you did 30 in a 30 on a technical, twisty MN dirt back road in the middle of January? Think about that for a minute...

    Monte Carlo

    This variant is a little more relaxed than TSD rallying. Instead of providing speed and distance, Monte Carlo style rallies provide the location and perfect time for each checkpoint. There is no need to maintain perfect speed throughout the course so long as you enter the checkpoints at the correct time. These are very good events for beginners or folks who just want to drive some really fun roads without the pressure of constant on-the-fly calculations and logic puzzles.

    Gimmick/GTA (Game-Tour-Adventure)

    Gimmick rallying covers a whole range of "just-for-fun" events. A gimmick rally is usually scored by something other than time/speed. Sometimes you'll be asked to find items or do tasks, like a motorized adult scavenger hunt. Locally we have the Tombstone Trail rally every October that takes competitors through graveyards and other landmarks to find and record proof of finding various items. They may be asked for the middle name on a specific tombstone that requires light puzzle solving to find, or perhaps will be required to read a story on a plaque and record one of the details. This is a popular event that caps out the 40 car maximum most years.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2012
  3. SurlyOldManMN
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    SurlyOldManMN Omdat fok jou Staff Member

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    Useful Links (Please shoot me a convo/post in this thread if you have some to add):

    MnWisRoadRally
    Maintained by Clarence Westberg, rally master for several local events each year. This site is almost always current and complete.

    Twin Cities Rally Club (TCRC) Facebook Group
    This is a great place to keep tabs on local road rally events and source drivers/co-drivers to run with. Chances are someone in this group is the rally master for any rally event you hear of in the MN/WI area, including the regional and national performance stage rallies.

    TCRC Facebook Page
    The group is currently being transitioned over to a page. I'd recommend hitting both.

    Winter Road Rally Facebook Group
    There is a lot overlap between this group and the TCRC group. Usually events get announced both places but it's good to watch both of them.

    Land O' Lakes (SCCA) Road Rally Page

    Road Rally Intro Primer
    This is one of the more "readable" primers I've found.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2012