Start number
Number allocated to each team, displayed on the car and determining the start order; cars start individually at fixed intervals.
The start number is the number allocated to each team by the organiser. It is displayed clearly on the car – usually on the doors and at the front – and serves to identify the crew at controls and to set the start order. The allocation often follows vehicle age, so that the oldest cars start first.
As a rule cars do not start together but individually, in the order of the start numbers and at fixed time intervals. Common intervals are 30 seconds or one minute, and two minutes for smaller or more spread-out fields. From the individual start time and the prescribed target driving time, each team's personal target time at the next time control results. The fixed interval ensures safety and that cars do not hinder one another at stages and controls.
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Related terms
Pursuit start
Pursuit start: a start format in multi-stage events where start order and gaps reflect the deficit from previous results – the leader starts first.
Minute start
A start procedure in which cars are sent off one after another at one-minute intervals, in start-number order.
Matching numbers
Collector term for a vehicle whose major components (engine, gearbox, axle, frame) still carry the original numbers that match one another and the factory records – an indicator of originality, not of identity.