Historic road rallies are composed of a number of parts. Typically a one-day event consists of about 150 road miles. Preceding the actual competition are the preliminary activities of noise checks, scrutineering and documentation.

The road sections will be broken down into competitive and link sections. In the terminology of the ‘Blue Book’, link sections will be ‘Neutral’ or ‘Transport’ sections and are there to get competitors between the competitive sections. Competitive sections are either ‘Standard’ or ‘Regularity’ sections and are the main navigational bits of the event. ‘Standard’ sections are uncommon on daylight events as tighter restrictions apply as to the roads which can be used, and the organisers have to perform a lot more public relations work with the home owners enroute. Therefore the bulk of the competitive route will be run as ‘Regularity’ sections which require the competitors to maintain set average speeds of up to 30 mph. The tricky bit to regularities is finding the correct route whilst sticking as closely as possible to the required speeds.

The organisers will monitor your progress along the route by means of manned ‘controls’. A control is a point on the route that you are required to visit. These can either be Time Controls (TC) where your time of arrival will be recorded for the purpose of calculating penalties or Passage Controls (PC) where only the fact that you visited the control will be recorded. Typically, a control is preceded by a ‘control board‘ at the side of the road. Passage Controls may be replaced by Passage Checks. Typically these take the form of a ‘code board’ by the side of the road. You will be required to record the letter(s) on the board as proof of passage on the appropriate part of your time card.

Along the route there will be a number of ‘special tests. A special test can take a number of forms but in general will take place off the public road and you will be required to complete the test as fast as possible. The test will be timed at an average speed of 30 mph and no benefit will be gained by completing it any faster than this. That said don’t expect to ‘clean’ many tests!

Organisers make best use of the venues available for tests. Thus you can find tests in car parks, private estates, farm or military roads, wood yards, pumping stations, airfields etc. Tests will vary, according to the venue, from fairly tight manoeuvrability tests to more open faster tests. Tests will always be on non-damaging surfaces, though some may be on the loose or gravel.

The route may also be punctuated by a number of rest halts to allow both vehicle and crew to be fuelled and watered!

Assuming you, your driver and the car are fit in wind and limb and have found your way to the noise check, the car will be tested to ensure it is under the maximum noise level permitted. You will be asked to rev the engine to either 5000 RPM or ³/₄ of maximum RPM whichever is the lower so make sure the engine is warmed through before entering the noise check. Noise tests are conducted either at ¹/₂m (102dBA maximum) from the exhaust or at 8 m (78dBA maximum) from the side of the car.

Most road cars pass easily, provided exhausts etc. are sound. Smooth throttle control on the way up and especially on the way down also helps. Most noise test officials are friendly souls and will only fail you if you are grossly over the limit. You will have the opportunity to take the check again, if you fail the first time, after you have made permanent modifications. Remember also that most events will have a second noise check somewhere enroute (normally just before halfway), so any ‘temporary’ modifications you do prior to the start will probably have long since blown out of the back by then! Failure at second noise usually means exclusion from the event.

Its also worth noting that the Noise test official often doubles up as a Driving Standards Observer for the event. As such he has the power to exclude you from the event without appeal if he sees you ‘Misbehaving’. You will also come across the same official at many events, so being on friendly terms with him and paying attention to the advice he gives you may get you the benefit of the doubt if your car is marginally on the noisy side.

The Scrutineer will check the car conforms to the technical regulations for the event. Like the Noise Test official, make friends with your scrutineer and listen to any advice he gives - you never know when you will meet him again and they tend to have long memories... Scrutineers are really there for your benefit and will only fail your car if it is unsafe or contravenes some technical regulation in a major way. At the lower levels of rallying, scrutineers will check your lights, brakes, seat mounts etc. Minor discrepancies may be passed, on the understanding that they are rectified before the next event - don’t abuse this latitude!

Technical scrutineering also involves looking under the bonnet and boot and inside the car, So it helps everyone if the car is clean, tidy and well presented. So release all the catches whilst you're waiting in the queue and have all the paperwork available for inspection. This helps speed the whole process.

At higher levels of rallying, scrutineers expect a lot more of the cars and competitors; this is particularly true for stage rallying where all safety systems will be checked for operation.

In addition to technical scrutineering you may have to pass eligibility scrutineering. In this case the scrutineer checks the car for modifications that are not consistent with the age of the car. Again on lower levels of rallying, a gentle suggestion that you change something before next time is worst you can expect but don’t turn up with an ‘MGB’ engine in your MGA or vented discs all round on your Cortina or you may be disappointed.

As the eligibility scrutineer will get to know your car over the years, its worth while consulting him before attempting any modifications that you are unsure about.

All being well you will pass and can now proceed to the start (do not collect £200) and ‘Documentation’ or 'Signing on'. If you haven't filled up with petrol, now is a good time - running out in the middle of the first regularity section tests everyone's' patience and carrying spare fuel is 'technically' not permitted.

Most events will provide a measured mile against which you can calibrate whatever trip meter you are using, be it a Halda or just the car’s normal odometer. This is useful because it will allow you to compensate for any error which exits between your trip and that of the organisers. This will ultimately mean more accurate regularity performances. The easiest method of compensation is to calculate the average speed table you need to use from the % error in the measured mile and the organisers set speed. Thus if the trip over reads by 10%, you should use the speed table that corresponds to 110% of the organiser’s set speed. Equally if the trip under reads, by 10% you should scale the speed down to 90% of the set value.

At Signing On the event officials will check your licences, insurance etc. and confirm you have paid your fees, You sign the indemnity sheets, championship registration forms etc. Once completed you can collect whatever information the organisers are going to give you and your real work can begin. Before finding somewhere comfortable and light to go through the information, check the official notice board for any additional information that may have been posted. If the start is not at co-located with signing-on, check your information pack contains ALL the bits of paper it's supposed to before leaving the signing on area. It's a pain to have to drive back from the start to collect your time cards or other vital bit of information.

Depending on the event format what information you get at this time can vary a lot. At the very least you will get time cards which you should attach firmly to your clip board, some final instructions, damage declaration and some rally plates. Leave the difficult job of sticking these and numbers (if required) on the car to the driver (having told him where to stick them - consult event regulations but usually plates go on boot and bonnet for historic events) as a) it gives them something to do befitting their skills and b) it keeps them out of your hair whilst you have a read of the instructions.

In the case of most historic events these are issued in the form of a road book. Contained in here will be information, which you can transfer to your map. This will probably include a list of Black Spots - areas on the map which you MUST NOT enter for the duration of the event on penalty of exclusion and a list of Quiet Zones where you must proceed quietly and avoid any unnecessary disturbance to the local residents. You may also be given a list of Give Ways, which will correspond to junctions where you must stop and give way. All this information will probably be given to you as map references. You should plot these on your map but be aware that the route will not necessarily traverse all the QZs and GWs given!

You will also be given some route information for the non-competitive sections (technically no competitive route information can be issued prior to your start time). This will probably be in the form of a 'Tulip' road book detailing the route to be taken during parts of the event but additional navigation types may also be used. This combined with the special tests information allows you to plot some of the route out on the map and with the timing information contained on your time cards allows you to work out when you should be at given locations. You should get as much information on the map as possible. Usually it is easier to navigate by the road book in built up areas and the map in rural areas but its useful to have both available.

Some organisers prefer not to issue road books. Instead they will issue the non-competitive route information as map references which you will be required to plot onto your maps. If this sounds a bit mean, they will usually post a marked map in the signing on area to allow you to check (or copy!) your route. It's worthwhile checking your plotted route with other (reliable!) navigators. The test diagrams and locations will be issued in a suitably abbreviated road book.

Having done this you will find that there are gaps in the plotted route. These will correspond to the regularity sections, for which route cards will be issued during the event. You will be required to navigate these sections by 'PLOT and BASH' i.e. as you go. You may be given some of this route information as you leave the start or at other points enroute. Try to solve the navigation and fill in the blank bits of route before you get to the start of the section - you will find you should have some time at special test starts and with practice you will be able to plot ‘on the move’ during link sections. This will make the regularity time keeping a lot easier. If you think plotting during the link sections is hard, each part of the 150 mile competitive route of night navigational rallies is handed out at the start of each short section, this is real ‘Plot and Bash’ with the best navigators able to plot on the move at competitive speeds, at night, whilst still keeping the car on the right roads and maintaining the required schedule.

By now your driver, who having stuck the plates on and disappeared for refreshments and general chit-chat with other drivers, will be fretting again. So if you have finished all you can, either give him the road book so he can peruse the special test diagrams or tell him to clean the windscreen/lights etc. but don't let him do unnecessary tinkering with mechanical bits and bobs. You should check your watch against the official watches and check the official notice board once more for any route amendments or other instructions. Then have one final read of the regulations etc. - pay particular attention to the penalties as you may have to make some decisions later about the best time and place to cut part of the route if you run into time difficulties. Finally sit back and wait for the competitors' briefing, which you should attend to clarify any queries you or anyone else may have. Make sure you and your driver have seen examples of the official control and passage check boards to be used on route so that both of you will recognise them later.

At the various controls enroute you will be required to stop to have signatures and times recorded on your time card. The control procedure may vary from event to event so you should make sure you know what to do. Ask at the Competitors' briefing, normally held about half an hour before first car away, if you are unsure. Regularity controls will probably differ from other controls in that stopping within sight of the control may be penalised. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure the details recorded by the Marshal are correct and that he signs the card. If you leave the control and find it is incorrect you must not reverse back into the control but get out and walk. In any case, you lose little time by checking before leaving. Try to get into the habit of recording your times on a pad. Time cards are collected periodically during a rally and your own record will be useful at the finish.

There may be unmanned passage checks around the route. These take the form of Code boards with one or more letters to be recorded in the appropriate slot on your time card. Write legibly and tell your driver to keep his eyes peeled as you may well have your head down when you pass them.

Make sure you know your start time, as being late at the start is embarrassing. It is useful to identify the cars starting just ahead of you so you can keep an eye on where you need to slot into the start queue. Having been signed out by the marshal, you can begin navigating around the route.