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.
What is the roadbook?
The roadbook (also called the road book or Bordbuch) is the central handbook each team receives before the start. It contains the running order of the event, the times and, above all, the complete route. Speed is not what counts – it is working through the roadbook's instructions exactly; every deviation produces penalty points in the end.
What it contains
The route is described section by section, usually via tulips (formerly called Chinesenzeichen): schematic junction symbols with a distance figure between them. This is supplemented by target times, time controls, notes on the scored tests and organisational details such as start and break times. In navigation events, map extracts, herringbones or other tasks take the place of tulips, while silent controls such as Baumaffen prove the route actually driven.
How to read it
The co-driver works through the roadbook line by line and continually compares the distance figures with the tripmeter. This makes clear at every junction which turn is the correct one and whether the team is on target time. A cleanly kept roadbook together with precise distance measurement is half the battle – preparation and a well-rehearsed cockpit routine matter more here than engine power.
In practice a roadbook holder with a reading lamp pays off: the co-driver keeps both hands free, never loses the line even at night and can read off distances and target times at once. Marking the current line with a finger or a clip stops you getting lost in the pages through the bends.
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Related terms
Tulip
The modern roadbook symbol for a junction seen from above: dot = entry, arrow = exit, distance figure between them. Now replacing the term Chinesenzeichen.
Tripmeter
A precise supplementary instrument for measuring the distance driven – more accurate than the standard odometer. The co-driver's key tool, often called a tripmaster.
Regularity rally
Classic-car motorsport where precision counts, not speed: hold prescribed average speeds and target times as exactly as possible.