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. The individual start time plus the prescribed driving time gives each team's personal target time at the next time control. The fixed interval ensures safety and that cars do not hinder one another at stages and controls.
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Related terms
Regularity rally
Classic-car motorsport where precision counts, not speed: hold prescribed average speeds and target times as exactly as possible.
07er-Kennzeichen
Germany's red classic-car plate (rotes 07-Kennzeichen): one transferable plate for several historic vehicles, usable only for events plus test, transfer and workshop drives – never for everyday use.
Minute start
A start procedure in which cars are sent off one after another at one-minute intervals, in start-number order.