Rallies generally fall under two categories: road rallies and cross-country rallies. Rally types using a mix of categories also exist. Road rallies are the original form held on public highways open to traffic. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) includes a definition of rally as a road competition with an imposed average speed run entirely or partly on roads open to normal traffic. A rally consists either of a single itinerary or several itineraries converging on a rallying-point fixed beforehand. The route may include one or several special stages, which are events organized on roads closed to normal traffic and determine the general classification of the rally.
In an exclusively regularity rally, the aim is to adhere to the itinerary by following the route and arriving and departing at checkpoints at the prescribed time. Penalties are applied to entrants who arrive early, late, or who deviate from the route. The entrants with the fewest penalties at the end of the rally are the winners. The reliability of the vehicle and the ability of the crew to drive, navigate, and follow the itinerary are tested in trying to maintain the set average speed.
Similar to a regularity rally, the itinerary for a Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) rally may advise a time and/or distance, or may only advise a target average speed with no indication where the checkpoints may be.
A navigational rally tests the ability of the crew to follow road signs or directions of varying depth of information.
Gimmick rallies have less concern for timekeeping or driving ability and include other fun and games. Examples include Monte-Carlo styles (Monte Carlo, Pan Am, Pan Carlo, Continental), logic, observation, and treasure hunts. These rallies are primarily amateur events. A gimmick rally may have stages with varying difficulty of the puzzle element.
Also called rally racing or stage rallying, speed competitions must use special stages where speed is used to determine the classification of the rally's competitors. The quickest time to complete the special stages wins the rally. These are sections of road closed to traffic and authorized for speed tests. Special stages are linked by open roads where navigation, timekeeping, and road traffic law rules must be followed. These open road sections are sometimes called transport stages, complementing special stages in the make-up of a stage rally. This is the most common format of professional and commercial rallies and rally championships. The FIA organizes the World Rally Championship and Regional Rally Championships.
In the wake of more advanced rally cars, there is a trend towards historic rallying (also known as classic rallying), in which older cars can continue to rally. Historic rallies are usually regularity rallies with no speed tests arranged. This discipline attracts some former professional drivers back into the sport.
Also commonly known by its types rally-raid or baja, cross-country rallies take place mostly off-road using similar competitive elements to road rallies and special stage rallying competitions. When off-road, waypoints and markers are set using GPS systems, although competitors cannot use GPS for navigation. The challenge is mostly navigational and endurance. The World Rally-Raid Championship was inaugurated in 2022, including the annual Dakar Rally in its calendar, with joint sanctioning by the FIA and FIM.
The word 'rally' comes from the French verb 'rallier', meaning to reunite or regroup urgently during a battle. The first known use of the word 'rally' to include a road competition was the 1911 Monaco Rally (later Monte Carlo Rally). Rallying as a form of road competition can be traced back to the origins of motorsport, including the world's first known motor race; the 1894 Paris–Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition.
The First World War brought a lull to motorsport. The Monte Carlo Rally was not revived until 1924, but since then, apart from the Second World War and its aftermath, it has been an annual event and remains a regular round of the World Rally Championship. In the 1930s, helped by the tough winters, it became the premier European rally. Other rallies started between the wars included Britain's RAC Rally (1932) and Belgium's Liège-Rome-Liège (1931).
Rallying was again slow to get under way after a major war, but by the 1950s there were many long-distance road rallies. In Europe, the Monte Carlo Rally, the French and Austrian Alpines, and the Liège were joined by new events such as the Lisbon Rally (Portugal, 1947), the Tulip Rally (the Netherlands, 1949), the Rally to the Midnight Sun (Sweden, 1951, now the Swedish Rally), the Rally of the 1000 Lakes (Finland, 1951 – now the Rally Finland), and the Acropolis Rally (Greece, 1956). The FIA created in 1953 a European Rally Championship (at first called the "Touring Championship") of eleven events.
Auto manufacturers had entered cars in rallies from the very beginning. The 1894 Paris-Rouen race was mainly a competition between them. From the time that speed limits were introduced to the various nation's roads, rallies became mostly about reliability than speed. As a result, rallies and trials became a great proving ground for any standard production vehicle, with no real need to purposely build a rally competition car until the special stage was introduced in the 1950s.
In 1954, the FIA introduced Appendix J of the International Sporting Code, classifying touring and sports production cars for use in its competitions. Groups 1–4 generally held the forms of unmodified or modified, series production touring and grand touring cars used in rallying. As rallying grew in popularity, car companies started to introduce special models or variants for rallying, such as the British Motor Corporation's Mini Cooper, introduced in Group 2 in 1962. The Lancia Stratos became the first car designed from scratch to win rallies in 1974.
In 1980, Audi introduced the Audi Quattro, a large and heavy coupé version of their family saloon, installed a turbocharged 2.1 litre five-cylinder engine, and fitted it with four-wheel drive. International regulations had prohibited four-wheel drive in rallying, but FISA accepted that this was a genuine production car and changed the rules. The Quattro quickly became the car to beat on snow, ice, or gravel; and in 1983 took Hannu Mikkola to the World Rally Championship title.
In 1982, the FIA replaced the structure of groups in Appendix J. Rallying, with the young World Rally Championship, now allowed Group N for unmodified touring cars, Group A for modified touring cars, and Group B for Grand Touring cars. The low production requirement and loose restrictions of Group B led many manufacturers to develop cars much further removed from production models, creating a generation of rallying supercars. This era was not to last due to safety concerns, and after 1987, rallying would be in Groups A and N cars, closer to the production model. The Group A Lancia Delta Integrale dominated world rallying during 1987-1992, winning six consecutive manufacturer's world rally championship titles.
The driver is the person who drives the car during the rally. Regardless of the type of rally, a driver needs a driver's license issued by a competent authority. Unless the car is in a scheduled service, only the driver and co-driver can repair or work on the car during the rally with no external assistance allowed. Often, a distinction is made between 'works' drivers and privateer drivers. Unlike in many other sports, rally has no gender barriers and everybody can compete on equal terms. Michèle Mouton became the first woman to achieve victories in the World Rally Championship.
The co-driver accompanies the driver inside the car during a rally stage and is sometimes called a navigator. On all rallies, their responsibilities are mostly organizational, assisting to ensure the route is adhered to, the correct timing of the itinerary is met, ensuring completion of the timecard, and avoiding penalties. On special stages, the co-driver's role is to notate pacenotes during reconnaissance and recite them at the correct point the driver demands when competing.
In February 2015, The National Film & Television School in England premiered one of their graduating films called Group B directed by ex-rally driver Nick Rowland. The film, set during the last year of the Group B class of rally, tells the story of a young driver having to face a difficult comeback. A documentary revolving around the life and career of World Rally Championship driver Ott Tänak entitled Ott Tänak: The Movie was released in Estonian cinemas on April 11, 2019. Queen of Speed is a 2021 documentary about rally driver Michèle Mouton's battle to rise to the top of the male-dominated world of rallying in the 70s and 80s.
Rallying has been featured in numerous video games, including Rally Trophy, Colin McRae Rally, Dirt Rally series, Richard Burns Rally, Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo, Tommi Makinen Rally, Network Q RAC Rally, V-Rally series, World Rally Championship series, My Summer Car, and Sega Rally Championship.
The Donegal Rally has inspired several songs by Irish bands, including "Can't Wait For June" by Ella & Off The Kuff Rally Band, "The Donegal Rally Song" by The Rally Band, and "Give It To Her Now" by The Rhythm Sticks. The track "Every Second Counts" from Chris Rea's album Auberge was named after the autobiography of WRC champion and Dakar Rally winner Ari Vatanen.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.