Distance
Precisely measured length of a route section – the basis for calculating target times and average speeds.
Distance refers to the precisely measured length of a route section. It is a central quantity in regularity rallying: the target time to be kept results from distance and the prescribed average speed, because time = distance divided by speed. Even small deviations in the measured distance affect the calculated time.
So that all teams work from the same figures, the organiser measures the route in advance with calibrated instruments and notes the distances – for example from one roadbook symbol to the next – in the roadbook. In the car, teams record the distance covered with a tripmeter, in order to know at every point where they are and whether they are on target time.
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Related terms
Roadbook
Each team's handbook: it holds the schedule, the times and the entire route – usually via tulip diagrams and distance figures. The basis of every rally.
Regularity rally
Classic-car motorsport where precision counts, not speed: hold prescribed average speeds and target times as exactly as possible.
Reference section
A defined section of route used as a benchmark for time and speed measurements.