Getting to Spectate While Fighting the GPS
Something to keep in mind is that while you have GPS coordinates for the spectator areas, you still want to follow the directions in this guide. Your GPS may take you on a route that crosses roads we have closed for racing. Trust us! We’ve figured out the best way to get you to the stages! Sure, following directions is a little old school, but think of it as a rally navigation adventure!
Rally Car Explanation of Classes
There are seven standard rally car classes. The cars are classified by four wheel drive (AWD) and two
wheel drive (2WD) unless the car is stock essentially a showroom stock car. Each of the categories is
further divided by turbo and non turbo. Use this grid to learn the car classes! For each event, the cars
are scored in these categories; however, only AWD and 2WD divide the car racers for the championship
title.
| Turbocharged | Normally Aspirated | |
| 4-Wheel Drive | Open AWD Heavy | Open AWD Light |
| 2-Wheel Drive | Open 2WD Heavy | Open 2WD Light |
RallyMoto™ Explanation of Classes
There are four standard RallyMoto™ classes. Use this grid to learn the motorcycle class names.
| Class | Engine Size in CC |
| Heavy | 750.1+ |
| Medium | 450.1 to 750 |
| Dakar | 385.1 to 450 |
| Light | 385 or less |
Who’s Faster? Who’s Winning?
When you’re out in the middle of nowhere, it’s tough to know who’s winning the rally. One old rally trick is to look at your watch just as the rally vehicle leaves your sight. Take note of the seconds. Even without knowing how many minutes ago the cars started, you still know that they all started exactly at the :00 second of the minute. So, the first racer you see will probably go the fastest and disappears from sight at 2:03:20pm, for example. About a minute later, the next vehicle comes along, and is a hair slower as it disappears from sight at 2:04:24pm. You don’t need to know how far away the stage start is or exactly when the vehicles started racing. You will know that where you are right now, the second vehicle has lost 4 seconds to the first vehicle. You can do this with any ordinary wrist watch with a seconds display!
Or, download the Android smart phone app to do the calculation for you! Search the Android market for “Rally Fan Race Timer” and experience even more NASA Rally Sport tech!
Cool T-Shirts, Stickers, and Gear
We have cool rally T-shirts , sweatshirts and stickers for sale. You can buy rally souvenirs at the registration area before the rally or at the service area/pits on the day of the rally. You have to come home with “the concert T shirt”… after all, what will you wear to the NEXT rally? Pick one up! Oh… don’t forget the rally stickers, too!
I want to rally! What do I do?
You want to race? Awesome! You can! The first step is get a car or a bike. A legal, but used, rally car can be purchased at a very reasonable price, for example $3,500. That’s not a common price, but you will see it occasionally. More often, the range is $6,000 $9,000 for a well prepped 2WD car. An AWD car like a Subaru or Mitsubishi Evo will cost quite a bit more. The important thing to remember is that you are only being scored against people with cars like yours: the 2WD cars aren’t racing the AWD cars. The bikes are much more reasonably priced as any street legal dual sport bike is great for rally and will only need some additional safety equipment carried with the rider.
Getting a Racing License – You will need a rally racing license. There isn’t a school or race driving test that you need to pass. Getting a license means completing some forms and paying the license and membership fees. Generally, you can get that squared away about a month before your first rally. At your first three rallies, you will be required to attend the educational briefing for novices.
Entering a Rally – This part is easy. Go to NASARallySport.com. Make an account, click on the register tab, clickedy click, registered. Send in your entry fee via the online pay buttons and you’re practically racing already!
Be a Navigator – Consider navigating instead of driving! Ok, we admit it, it’s only half as fun as driving though some co-drivers will argue it is a lot more fun! Navigating only costs approximately 1% as much as preparing a race vehicle and driving! You will still need a helmet, a head and neck restraint, and a race suit; but, you don’t need to buy a car and a tow rig. Plus, you can get rides with different drivers in a variety of cars. Soon you can fly through the stages at crazy speeds. It’s a blast!
Crew for a Team – If you like fixing delicate pieces of race machinery with very large hammers, this is the perfect way to spend the weekend! Talk to the teams at the shows or at the service area/pits. Find out if they need your help! Most of the racers are just normal people doing this on their own dime, wrenching on their cars and bikes on the weekend in their own garage. They need all types of help at the rally. Most of it is straightforward such as fueling up, changing tires, making sandwiches; so, don’t be worried that you don’t know enough about rally or rally vehicles to volunteer.
VOLUNTEER!!! The easiest way to get to drive onto the stages is to volunteer at a rally. It will cost you a weekend of time, some gas and lodging. We offer fuel and lodging reimbursements to our volunteers. Plus, our volunteers get lunches, an event t shirt, and dinner at our awards party! Nothing beats seeing the rally from the best seats in the house! The cheapest way to learn about how a rally really works before you start spending money on a car or motorcycle is to volunteer!