Classic rally
Encyclopedia
Classic rallying, or historic rallying, is a type of road rally
suitable for most standard classic cars, with no special equipment needed (the equipment allowed depends on the particular rally). These rallies are more about enjoyment than speed, and can be a good introduction to historic motorsport
(which also include race meetings, classic endurance, and hillclimbing). A classic road rally is not about speed; in fact, there are severe penalties for finishing too early. The idea of a rally is to travel from a point to another within a certain time (time controls), not too fast or too slow, trying to match a speed average set by the organizers.
Touring rallying is all about enjoying countryside and the company of classic car owners.
In regularity rallies, a series of intermediate time controls must be visited in the correct order. At each control point, the team stops and has time recorded on a card. At the end of the event, the competitor who has visited all these controls and who has the fewest early or late penalties overall is the winner.
Endurance rallies are long-distance motor rallies for vintage, historic and classic cars.
Classic rallies try to relive some of the great events of the 1960s and 1970s when man and machine were often alone for hours, even days, with little support. Cars now have expendable parts and a gearbox can be changed in twenty minutes. On the long tough rallies of yesteryear drivers had to drive 3000 km exclusively up and down the French Alps
, against the clock for most of the way, and look after the gearbox and every other part of the car, since changing them was impossible. Liège
-Sofia
-Liège, for example, being almost a flat out drive from Belgium
to Bulgaria
and back, through the roughest roads the length of Yugoslavia
and over the difficult passes like the Gavia
and the Vivione
in Italy
. Service was wherever the service crews could reach and was usually limited to a change of tires, refueling and, hopefully, minor repairs, since any time used for service had to be made up on the road by the driver.
In the 1960s and 70s more than half of the competitive distance on the classic rallies was run at night. For example, Monte Carlo Rally
had long sections running through the Chartreuse mountains
between Chambéry
and Grenoble
before crossing the Rhone valley and continuing in what was often the deeply snowbound and ice covered Ardeche
, all in the same night.
(Tulpen rally) of the 1950s. It gives a diagrammatic representation of the road junction. Participants would be instructed to religiously follow the mileages on the left of the page to ensure that they were at the correct junction, for which an odometer
could be used.
Road rally
A road rally is a car rally that takes place on the public road. It is a popular sport in the United Kingdom, especially Wales, and has traditionally been the core of the "grass roots" of club-based amateur motorsport. However it has declined in popularity since the 1980s and now stage rallies are...
suitable for most standard classic cars, with no special equipment needed (the equipment allowed depends on the particular rally). These rallies are more about enjoyment than speed, and can be a good introduction to historic motorsport
Historic motorsport
Historic motorsport relies on cars of a particular era. Events are purely regulated to only allow cars of a certain era to participate. Only safety precautions are modernized in these hobbyist races. A historical event can be of various types of motorsport disciplines...
(which also include race meetings, classic endurance, and hillclimbing). A classic road rally is not about speed; in fact, there are severe penalties for finishing too early. The idea of a rally is to travel from a point to another within a certain time (time controls), not too fast or too slow, trying to match a speed average set by the organizers.
Classic rallies
Classic rallies can be classified as- mixed competition and regularity rallies
- competitive regularity and endurance
- touring rally
Touring rallying is all about enjoying countryside and the company of classic car owners.
In regularity rallies, a series of intermediate time controls must be visited in the correct order. At each control point, the team stops and has time recorded on a card. At the end of the event, the competitor who has visited all these controls and who has the fewest early or late penalties overall is the winner.
Endurance rallies are long-distance motor rallies for vintage, historic and classic cars.
Classic rallies try to relive some of the great events of the 1960s and 1970s when man and machine were often alone for hours, even days, with little support. Cars now have expendable parts and a gearbox can be changed in twenty minutes. On the long tough rallies of yesteryear drivers had to drive 3000 km exclusively up and down the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
, against the clock for most of the way, and look after the gearbox and every other part of the car, since changing them was impossible. Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
-Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
-Liège, for example, being almost a flat out drive from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and back, through the roughest roads the length of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and over the difficult passes like the Gavia
Gavia Pass
Gavia Pass is a high mountain pass in the Italian Alps. It is the tenth highest paved road in the Alps.The pass lies in the Lombardy region and divides the province of Sondrio to the north and the province of Brescia to the south...
and the Vivione
Vivione Pass
Vivione Pass Passo is a mountain pass that links Schilpario in Val di Scalve with Paisco Loveno in Val Camonica.The road was built during World War I to supply troops in the nearby Adamello...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Service was wherever the service crews could reach and was usually limited to a change of tires, refueling and, hopefully, minor repairs, since any time used for service had to be made up on the road by the driver.
In the 1960s and 70s more than half of the competitive distance on the classic rallies was run at night. For example, Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
had long sections running through the Chartreuse mountains
Chartreuse Mountains
The Chartreuse Mountains is a mountain range in eastern France, stretching to the north from the city of Grenoble to the Lac du Bourget. It is the southernmost range in the Jura Mountains and belongs to the French Prealps....
between Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
and Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
before crossing the Rhone valley and continuing in what was often the deeply snowbound and ice covered Ardeche
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...
, all in the same night.
The road book
In most events, participants are given a road book essential for the race. This map style book is a straightforward ball and arrow system to show the route. The name of tulip diagram, usually used to describe the road book diagrams come from the Tulip RallyTulip Rally
The Tulip Rally , first held in 1949, is the oldest Dutch rally competition.The teams are divided into three classes: Tour, Sport and Expert. The Expert Class is for the navigators which in the past 2–6 years in the Top-20 of the Sport class have ended, or the previous years in the Top-20 of the...
(Tulpen rally) of the 1950s. It gives a diagrammatic representation of the road junction. Participants would be instructed to religiously follow the mileages on the left of the page to ensure that they were at the correct junction, for which an odometer
Odometer
An odometer or odograph is an instrument that indicates distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or automobile. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The word derives from the Greek words hodós and métron...
could be used.
Famous rallies
Famous rallies that now have a revival edition are for example:- Safari RallySafari RallyThe Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...
- Monte Carlo RallyMonte Carlo RallyThe Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
- Acropolis Rally
- Rallye SanremoRallye SanremoRallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally...
- Tulip RallyTulip RallyThe Tulip Rally , first held in 1949, is the oldest Dutch rally competition.The teams are divided into three classes: Tour, Sport and Expert. The Expert Class is for the navigators which in the past 2–6 years in the Top-20 of the Sport class have ended, or the previous years in the Top-20 of the...
- Tour de CorseTour de CorseThe Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...
- Lombard Revival
- Legend Boucles de Spa
Famous rally drivers
Famous drivers of the 60s and 70s- Erik CarlssonErik CarlssonErik Carlsson, aka "Carlsson på taket" , was born March 5, 1929 in Trollhättan, Sweden and was a rally driver for Saab. Because of his public relations work for Saab, he is also known as Mr. Saab....
- Vic ElfordVic ElfordVictor Henry Elford is a former sportscar racing, rallying and Formula One driver from England. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968...
- Brian RedmanBrian RedmanBrian Herman Thomas Redman is a British racing driver from England....
- Björn WaldegårdBjörn WaldegårdBjörn Waldegård from Rimbo is a former Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979...
- Jean-Claude AndruetJean-Claude AndruetJean-Claude Andruet is a retired French professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship.Andruet took three WRC event wins during his career; 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, 1974 Tour de Corse and 1977 San Remo Rally. The 1973 Monte Carlo was the first ever rally in the FIA World...
- Gérard LarrousseGérard LarrousseGérard Larrousse is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France.He participated in two Grands Prix, debuting on 12 May 1974, scoring no championship points. He drove Brabham BT42s for Scuderia Finotto....
External links
- Classic Rallies calendar - Classic Rallies worldwide calendar.