Car Rallying is

• An adventure motorsport!
• A team motorsport - driver & navigator
• A test of driving precision and the will to finish
• Run at any hour on the clock, any season
• Run on loose surface and tarmac roads (it is NOT off-roading)
• A competition for Modern and/or Classic cars
• Varying levels of competition ranging from Club level to Regional, to National, to Continental, to World Rally Championship

Navigational / TSD Rallies

• Real cars, real roads - legal speeds
• Basic rules: Stay on the road, stay on course, stay on time.
• Open public roads
• Legal speeds requires only regular licensing
• Unmodified cars (some people add more lights)
• Low cost, "normal" risk
• Stay on time all the time – several variations and styles
• Route instructions vary widely, simple to perplexing
• Classes based on experience, or navigational equipment.
• Good driving skills are required
• Navigational is a good and popular entry to higher levels
• Many have so much fun doing TSD they do not aspire to the higher speeds and costs of performance rallying
• Never on TV!

Performance Rallies

• "Real cars, real roads, real fast"
• Closed roads (permits/permissions)
• High speed racing, special competitor licensing
• Route instructions are simple, many styles (blind, stage notes, or pace notes)
• Slightly to highly prepared cars
• Potentially high cost, higher risk
• Classes based on car specification
• Very good to excellent driving skills are required
• Often on TV!

RallyCross & RallySprint

• Performance with much less: risk / equipment / cost
• Classes based on car specification
• Very good driving skills are required
• Great entry to performance rallying

All types of rallying are closely related

• Rally etiquette
• Cars leave one at a time at a regular interval, usually a minute apart
• The exact route is almost always a secret until just before you start
• Consistency and discipline typically win out over pure horsepower
• Often a family sport (teams are father-son, brothers, sisters, husband-wife, etc.)
• Many avid TSDers marshal at performance events
• Many performance rallyists help out with TSD events
• Timing calculations are required in all rallies, and nearly identical.