Plot and bash
A British navigation style where the navigator plots the route instructions – handed out only at the start or en route – onto the map while moving, and the crew presses on.
Plot and bash (also 'plot 'n' bash') is a British navigation style in which the route information is only handed out just before or during a section. The navigator must decode it – for example map references or spot heights – while the car is moving, transfer it to the map ('plot'), while the crew drives on ('bash'). On night navigational rallies in particular the route is issued section by section, and experienced navigators plot at speed and in the dark. It is the most demanding form of classic British map navigation.
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Related terms
Grid reference
A map coordinate (Ordnance Survey grid) used as a navigation instruction in British rallies: the navigator plots the given point or route from it onto the map.
Spot height
A height figure printed at a specific point on British maps. In navigational rallies it serves as a precise waypoint that the navigator locates and plots.
Twelve-car rally
A short British beginner navigational rally limited to twelve cars, usually on a weekday evening, to keep the impact on residents low.