Mercedes-Benz Vehicles, Concept Cars, and the Mercedes Lifestyle

Yesterday we took you through some ways to stay on track and avoid becoming hopelessly lost during a road rally. Today, we will look at the layout of a road rally and, of course, what happens at the finish line.

Checkpoints
Most legs will end at official checkpoints. At an official checkpoint, you will park on the shoulder of the road and walk with your scoresheet to the check-in point. A rally official will note your arrival time and assign you a departure time (generally your arrival plus five minutes or so). You will also receive a leg sheet, which specifies your arrival and departure times, tells you what to do next and contains special instructions for the next leg. Read through your leg sheet carefully, particularly the special instructions, as they may help you to avoid a trap.

Do It Yourself Legs
A DYL is basically a leg with no official checkpoint. Instead, you are expected to calculate your own time based on the distance that you travel at each speed. Be sure to use your calibration factor and include any pauses in your calculation. Also assign your arrival and departure times on your scoresheet. Your calculations will be compared to the official time for that leg.

Traps
In order to increase the challenge in a road rally, a number of traps are used. Traps are misleading clues that are designed to penalize teams that do not carefully follow directions. Traps come in many forms. Especially common traps are those that have to do with the wording of the clue. Always look for every possible meaning. Other traps include signposts that are partially obscured by trees and words that appear to be misspelled.

The Finish Line
With a bit of patience, effort and critical thinking, you will eventually reach the finish line. As a Novice, it is highly unlikely that you will win, unless you are competing in a separate Novice class. However, some rallies offer small prizes to all Novices who finish. There is generally a dinner and party following the rally, and perhaps an awards ceremony.

Road rallying is a great excuse for a road trip. Rallies cost little to enter and no special equipment is required. So next time you find yourself at a loss for entertainment, why not hop in your Certified Mercedes and find a local road rally? You may even develop a brand new hobby.

[tags] certified pre-owned mercedes, road rally, rallying, novice rallyist, checkpoints, finish line, do it yourself leg, road trip, rallyist, rally vehicle [/tags]