Official STPR Guide

Rally America Championship SeriesWhat is Rallying with Rally America?Events in the Rally AmericaChampionship consist of flat-outcompetition, in any weather, onchallenging forest, mountain or desertroads. While the format is similarto that used in the WORLD RALLYCHAMPIONSHIP, the US events donot allow the cars to practice on thespecial stages. Although route booksand pace notes are used, competitorsonly see the course at legal speeds inwhat is called a “one pass recce”. Theyhave the opportunity to look at the roadsand make notes regarding the course,noting surface conditions, corner radius,ditches, stumps, etc. The use of thesame stages for several years means thatthose who have raced the event before(and can remember the course) have anadvantage.The 2013 season marks the 8thconsecutive running of the series underthe sanction of Rally America, and the37th running of the Waste ManagementSusquehannock Trail PerformanceRally ® Presented by Citizens andNorthern Bank. Stage Rallying is oneof the most exciting motorsports in theworld, with fan followings and similarchampionships presented in virtuallyevery country in the world.Stage Rallying or PerformanceRallying takes place only on “specialstages,” using demanding back roadsclosed for the event or special stagesconstructed for the rally. “Transits”connect the “special stage” sectionstogether and are driven at normalhighway speeds, with teams fullysubject to all traffic laws. Included inSTPR ® for the sixth time this year isa “super special” or a stadium stage.Although the Super Special Stage is lessthan a mile long, it gives the spectators achance on both days to see the cars overa longer distance.The Waste ManagementSusquehannock Trail PerformanceRally ® Presented by Citizens andNorthern Bank is Round 4 of the 7event 2013 Rally America NationalChampionship Series. RALLYAMERICA is the sanctioning body forthis series, which runs from the rainforests of Washington State to the loggingtrails of Maine. The Championship isnot only a contest of who is the bestdriver, but also a competition betweenthose who prepare the car and themanufacturers. The team whose car issturdily built and who can avoid damagestands a chance of winning.THE STAGE RALLY COURSEEach team is given a book ofinstructions when they register for theevent. This competitor’s route bookdescribes the course in detail withdiagrams of turns, notations of watercrossing, jumps and stage to stagetransits, etc. Pace notes are also usedgiving a more specific prediction ofthe speeds at which the curves may benegotiated in the special stages. The codriver(navigator) uses the route book,the pace notes and the recce notes aswell as local maps, odometers, and evencomputers to keep the driver on courseand on time during the transits.Special Stages are where the realcompetition takes place. The roadsare usually unpaved, logging trails,mountain roads, desert tracks and ingeneral, pretty rough roads. Not allrallies are run on unpaved roads; thereare events and stages run on asphalt(TARMAC). STPR® uses the roadsin the Pennsylvania State Forests,the private roads provided by WasteManagement and the Tioga CountyFairgrounds. Checkpoints and trafficcontrols close all “civilian” access to thestages. The cars arrive at the “ArrivalTime Control” or “ATC” and leave inone-minute intervals. They are timedagain when they reach the “Finish TimeControl” or “FTC”. The score is theamount of time used to reach the FTCfrom the ATC.Transit sections are sections of theevents in which the team travels to getfrom the finish of one stage to the startof the next stage at street legal speedsand within the time allotted. This timespecification prevents the teams fromdoing major work on the cars betweenstages.At the end of the rally, all of thestage times are added up and the fastestcar wins. That is what Stage Rallyingis all about. Although it is typical forthe fastest cars to run at the head of thepack, in the Super Special Stages theywill start slowest cars first. The leadersin each class therefore know how fastthey need to run to maintain their lead;the slower know the speed they needto drive to catch those ahead of them.THE CARSAll Performance Rally carshave safety equipment includingsafety harnesses, roll cages, andfire extinguishers. The cars are alsoequipped with special rally tires Teamswear standard race-style protective suitsand helmets.Most popular cars are smallAmerican and imported sedans suchas: Ford, Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi,Saab, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen.All vehicles must be street legal withmodifications dependent on the class inwhich they run. The endurance requiredfor a Stage Rally makes it an excellentshowcase for manufacturers.A description of the classes can befound on the next page. A more completeset of specifications may be found in theRally America Performance Rally Rulesfound at www.rally-america.com.THE DRIVERSTeams start the first stage based onthe drivers Speed Factor. That factor isbased on a comparison of speeds of allcompetitors. Teams are reseeded duringthe rally based on their stage timesduring the event.35