Penalty points
Points a crew receives for every deviation from the target time; the crew with the fewest wins.
Penalty points are the currency of regularity motorsport. For every deviation from the target time, too early or too late, a crew receives penalty points, often measured in hundredths or tenths of a second. Mistakes such as missing a control can also be penalised with points.
At the end of the rally all penalty points are summed. The crew with the lowest total wins. Unlike in racing, here the lowest value is the goal. Exactly how penalty points are awarded is set out in the event's regulations.
Glossary from A to Z
Related terms
Special stage
A defined section of route where the crew's precision is measured (abbreviated SS).
Prescribed time
Time set by the organiser within which a section or task must be completed – closely related to the target time (Sollzeit).
Time Trial (TT)
A scored section where a single prescribed target time must be hit as exactly as possible (abbr. ZP); identical to the Sollzeitprüfung (SZP). Unlike the GLP, the target time counts, not a constant average.