RecceLabRally glossary: 55 rally terms explained
Rallying has its own language, and much of it is heard at speed over an intercom. This glossary explains the terms you will meet on onboard videos, live timing, road books and entry forms, grouped into sections so you can find what you need quickly.
The rally event
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Stage rally | A rally made of timed special stages linked by road sections. The format used from club level to the WRC. |
| Special stage (SS) | A closed section of road driven against the clock. See what is a special stage. |
| Road section / liaison | Public road between stages, driven legally to a set schedule. |
| Leg | One day of the rally, usually ending with an overnight halt. |
| Loop | A group of stages driven between two visits to service. Many loops are repeated in the afternoon. |
| Section | Part of a leg between two regroups or services. |
| Shakedown | A test session before the start, used to check the car. Times do not count. |
| Super special stage (SSS) | A short spectator stage, sometimes with two cars side by side. |
| Power Stage | The final stage of a WRC event, with bonus points for the five fastest drivers. |
| Super Sunday | In the WRC, a classification of Sunday's stages that awards bonus points to the five fastest drivers. |
| Regroup | A stop where cars are gathered and restarted in order, often to close gaps between them. |
| Parc fermé | A secure area where cars are kept and may not be worked on, for example overnight or after the finish. |
| Service park | The base where mechanics may work on the cars during fixed time windows. |
| Remote service / tyre fitting zone | A limited service area away from the main service park, often only for changing tyres. |
Timing and controls
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Time card | The card on which every control time is recorded. Losing it brings heavy penalties. |
| Time control (TC) | A checkpoint where the crew must arrive at the minute on their time card. Early or late arrival is penalised. |
| Target time | The time allowed for a road section. |
| Stage start | The start line of a special stage, with a countdown to the start. |
| Flying finish | The finish line of a stage, crossed at full speed. The stage time stops here. |
| Stop control / stop line | A point after the flying finish where the car stops and the time is written on the card. |
| Split time | An intermediate time taken at a point inside a stage. |
| Stage time | The time a crew took to complete a stage. |
| Overall classification | The total of all stage times plus penalties. The lowest total wins. |
| Notional time | A time given by the stewards when a crew could not complete a stage normally, for example because it was stopped. |
| Road order / running order | The order in which cars start. On gravel the first cars clean the road for those behind. |
| Sweeping / road cleaning | The disadvantage of running first on gravel, when loose stones are still on the driving line. |
| Retirement | Withdrawing from the rally, for example after an accident or mechanical failure. |
Pace notes and navigation
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pace notes (pacenotes) | The crew's shorthand description of a stage, read aloud by the co-driver. See the complete pace notes guide. |
| Recce | Short for reconnaissance: driving the stages before the rally to write pace notes. See what is a recce. |
| Road book | The organiser's official description of the whole route, using diagrams and distances. |
| Tulip diagram | The small junction drawing used in road books: a dot marks where you come from and an arrow where you go. |
| Trip meter | A precise distance counter used by the co-driver to follow the road book and pace notes. |
| Calibration | Adjusting the trip meter so that its distances match the organiser's road book. |
| Gravel crew / ice note crew | A team that drives the stages before the competitors to update the notes with current conditions. |
| Safety notes | Warnings issued by the organiser about known dangers on a stage. |
| Hairpin | A corner that turns back almost 180°. |
| Square | A corner of about 90°, often at a junction. |
| Crest | A rise in the road that hides what is behind it. |
| Caution | A warning in the notes; double or triple caution means greater danger. |
| Don't cut | A note telling the driver not to use the inside of a corner. |
Cars and crew
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Driver | The crew member who drives the car. |
| Co-driver | The crew member who reads the pace notes, navigates and manages the time card. |
| Crew | The driver and co-driver together. |
| Rally1 | The top class of car in the WRC. |
| Rally2 | The four-wheel-drive customer car used in WRC2 and many national championships. |
| Rally3, Rally4, Rally5 | Lower-cost classes, from four-wheel drive (Rally3) to two-wheel-drive entry cars. |
| WRC2, WRC3, Junior WRC | Support championships run alongside the WRC for lower classes of car. |
| Recce car | The road car used during reconnaissance, not the competition car. |
| OK / SOS board | A sign carried in the car to show following crews whether help is needed after an accident. |
Surfaces and conditions
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Gravel | Loose, unpaved roads; the most common rally surface. |
| Tarmac | Asphalt roads. |
| Snow and ice | Winter surfaces, sometimes driven on studded tyres. |
| Cut / cutting | Driving over the inside of a corner. Cutting drags dirt and stones onto the road. |
| Ruts | Grooves in the road worn by earlier cars, especially on second passes. |
| Splash | A water crossing on a stage. |
Put the terms into practice
The fastest way to learn rally language is to use it. With RecceLab you can write pace notes on recce, draft notes from a GPX track and practise reading them against onboard video.
Frequently asked questions
What does SS mean in rallying?
SS stands for special stage, a timed section of closed road. SS1 is the first stage of the rally, SS2 the second, and so on.
What does TC mean in rallying?
TC is a time control, a checkpoint where crews must arrive at a set time.
What is the difference between a road book and pace notes?
The road book is the organiser's official route for everyone. Pace notes are the crew's own detailed description of each stage.