Glossary

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Service park: A designated area where checks, maintenance and running repairs can be made to competing cars, subject to strict time limits.

Shakedown: The opportunity for crews to check their competition cars, on terrain similar to the rally, just before the event starts. Competitors must drive through the shakedown stage at least four times.

Stages: The competitive sections of the rally, also called special stages, where drivers and co-drivers drive as fast as they can to complete the section in the shortest time possible.

Stage time: The time recorded from the standing start of a stage to the flying finish.

Stop control: A point 200-500 metres past the flying finish where the car must stop to have its time recorded.

Studs: Metal spikes fitted to the treads of winter tyres to give grip on snow and ice.

Superspecial stage: A stage - often set up in a sports stadium - with two parallel tracks that enable two drivers to race each other. Superspecial stages are also run in city centre locations but tend to adopt a pursuit-style format with a handful of cars competing on the stage at the same time, albeit separated by gaps.

SWRC: The Super 2000 World Rally Championship is a dedicated support championship for Super 2000 cars - the vehicles on which this year’s World Rally Cars are based. Within the Super 2000 category are competitions for drivers (known as the SWRC) and another for teams (the WRC Cup for Super 2000 Teams).

SupeRally: Drivers who retire on the first and second days of a rally can restart under the SupeRally system on the following day providing their car is safe to do so and can be repaired within the regulations. However, they will receive five minutes of time penalties for every stage missed.

Target time: The official time allowed by rally organisers for a WRC car to complete a non-competitive road section. Time penalties are applied if competitors check-in earlier or later than the target time.

Time card: Carried by the co-driver, the time card is a record of stage times and time control arrival times throughout the rally. The card is stamped by event officials as the rally progresses and provides proof of a competitor’s whereabouts in case of a dispute.

Time control: The place where cars must stop to get an official passing time recorded by rally officials.

Time penalty: Rally crews are penalised 10 seconds for every minute the car is late to a time control - for instance a stage start, service-in control, service-out control. Checking in early to a time control carries a stiffer penalty of one minute for every minute early.

Turbocharger: An exhaust-driven turbine that pressurises the fuel/air mixture into the engine to enable it to develop more power. All WRC cars use turbochargers (turbos) which develop 4-5 times the pressure of the turbo on a road car. Thanks to a system called anti-lag, most WRC cars are able to produce maximum turbo boost even at low engine speeds.

WRC Team: A WRC Team can score points in the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers providing it participates on at least seven nominated rounds, including two outside Europe, with one or two World Rally Cars of the same make and type.

Zero car: A course car driven through a stage before the competitors start it to alert spectators that the section is live. The zero car is preceded by the triple zero and double zero cars.

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