TSD RALLY
TSD
is the form of rallying that many people in SCCA think of when you mention
rally. In a TSD rally, the route instructions give assigned speeds in addition
to information to keep a team on course. These speeds are always legal and
usually below the posted speed limit. A TSD rally is a competition of precision
driving – it is NOT a race.
The
goal of a TSD rally team is twofold: to stay on the prescribed course and
to drive at exactly the given speed. The perfect team would be on course,
on time, all the time. To score teams against this goal, checkpoints are sprinkled
throughout the course at unspecified locations. Each team is timed by a crew
at the checkpoint or control and their time is compared against a "Perfect
Time" (computed from the assigned speeds and exact distances measured by
the organizers before the event). Each team receives a score based on its
time for that portion or leg of the course. For each second early or late,
the team is given points. The team with the lowest total score for all legs
wins. However, each leg is independent, time late or early on one leg cannot
be "made up" on subsequent legs. After being timed by a checkpoint crew and
receiving a score, the team is assigned an out time to begin driving the
next leg. Just as there are several classes of race cars, there are several
classes of TSD rallyists. The differences are based on the equipment you
have installed in the car. You can have a computer that calculates average
speed or a simple hand held calculator or just the seat of your pants. There
is even one rally series where the odometers of the cars are removed or covered
up so the navigator has no means of calculating average speed.
RALLY SCHOOL
If
one is offered in your area, you should attend a Rally school. If not,
get together with an experienced rallyist, and go over the procedures of
a typical event.
THE EXPERIENCE
Whether
you go as a spectator, worker, official, or competitor, you will come back
a little different. There is an excitement about the sport. You'll find down
to earth people who are ready and willing to help AND you get to play in
the woods! You don't watch a rally. You become a part of it.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
By
now you should be looking for a way to be involved. We have contacts across
the country that are ready to help you get involved in their beloved sport.
For more information about Rally, write or give us a call.
Locally
(Texas) you can contact Sasha Lanz,
Divisional PRO Rally Steward.
Rallyists
are perhaps the most technical members of SCCA. A recent survey had the option
of responding by snail mail or Email. Well over half of the responses from
rallyists came in by Email. There are also a multitude of sites to visit
if you want more dust-kickin' entertainment.
some special gimmick
rule defined by the organizers. This is perhaps similar to a scavenger hunt.
You are generally scored based on information you find on the course. This
may be from signs, advertising, or even the number of cows. There are several
variations on gimmick rallies. There is the shortest distance rally where
a team tries to visit a given number of locations while traveling the least
number of miles. There is the hare and hounds rally where the lead car goes
out and drops a flour bag or other marker before each intersection and again
after making the turn. Again, lowest mileage usually wins. There are pie
plate rallies where the rally master places pie plates on stakes along the
intended route. Some pie plates have information for scoring and others have
information for course following. Serious rallyists often pass up gimmick
rallies (much to their loss) because there is often an element of chance
in these events. Luck can beat skill.
