1998 Branded Rally Series

The Catoctin Monte VIII

October 18, 1998

CAR # _______

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

INTRODUCTION: Welcome to the Catoctin Monte VIII, sponsored by the DC Region Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), hosted by the BRANDED Rally Club of Maryland, a NEDiv Championship event, Part of the Metro Championship Rally Series. This rally is conducted in accordance with the MWCSCC Standard Rally Rules 1997, copies of which will be available at registration. The rally is approximately 140 miles long, will take about 6 1/2 hours to complete, and includes two breaks. The rally runs in Frederick, and Washington counties in Maryland, and Franklin and Adams counties in Pennsylvania.

This rally is in "Monte Carlo" format. There are no assigned speeds, and you do not stop at controls. The route instructions include the location and the correct arrival time for each control. If you have questions, you may contact the rallymaster (see Information section below), or BRANDED club members will be available to answer questions at Registration.

The rally begins and ends at Ruby Tuesday in Frederick, Maryland. To reach the start:

From Washington, D.C.: I-270 North to US 15 North, exit onto US 40 West…

From Baltimore: I-70 West, US 15 North, exit onto US 40 West…

From points north: US 15 South to Frederick, MD, exit onto US 40 West…

… US Route 40 west about 1 mile, Left on McCain Dr, Immediate right into parking lot. Continue behind Joe’s Diner and Chi-Chi’s to Ruby Tuesday.

The phone number at Ruby Tuesday is 301-698-9400.

The rally is run in three sections, with a break between each section. Both breaks are in Thurmont, Maryland. Food, restrooms, and fuel are available near the start, and at both breaks.

REGISTRATION PROCEDURES: Registration opens at 8:30 AM. The official time-of-day will be available by radio near registration. You must register no later than 20 minutes before your official start time, which is 9:30 AM plus your car number in minutes. Unclaimed car numbers may be assigned to walk-up registrants. You will receive a score card, tech inspection form, and two car-number decals at registration. One of the number decals is to be mounted on the right (passenger) side of the front bumper, facing the front of the car. The other decal goes on the right side rear bumper, facing rear. The rear number must be visible from the left and right rear sides of the vehicle. Do not place car numbers over any lights or glass, this is a safety violation. The car-number decals must be mounted properly to allow the control workers to identify you, allowing you to be scored correctly.

A safety inspection will be required. To obtain your Route Instructions, you must inspect your car at registration. The inspection will include basic safety items such as lights, horn, wipers, tires, and seat belts.

Route instructions will be available as soon as you have inspected your vehicle. Make sure that all the pages are included and that they are legible. The rally is "self start", but please do not leave early.

SAFETY: The most important aspect of this, or any other rally, is safety. You must wear seat belts. Your car can be refused entry if it is in an unsafe condition. Any car that is observed by a rally official to be endangering life or property will be disqualified immediately. Consumption, or being under the influence of, alcoholic beverages and/or controlled substances is prohibited, and will result in immediate disqualification.

BOUGHT TIME: Bought Time plays a very important role in this rally. You are encouraged to buy time if you fall behind, rather than drive beyond the speed limit and risk an accident or citation. Due to the Monte Carlo format and the nature of the roads used, it will be difficult or impossible to make up time if you are delayed by local traffic or an off-course excursion. The penalty for buying time is equal to your adjusted score at the next manned control (possibly 0) up to a maximum of 20 points. This is also known as "Disappearing Bought Time." The minimum and maximum amounts of time that can be bought in any one sections are 0.50 and 19.50 minutes respectively. If you are 20 minutes or more late, you cannot buy time. Bought Time must be noted on your Bought Time Request Sheet and turned in immediately upon your arrival at the breaks and at the finish in order for your request(s) to be approved.

Any time bought is canceled at the breaks. The breaks are the only place that bought time may be canceled -- you cannot return to your previous slot at any other time. Your correct arrival time at the first Control following a break will again be the Key Time plus your car number. You may buy time again, as though you had never bought time before.

After buying time, it is possible for two cars to have the same adjusted arrival time. This means that two cars will be on each others’ bumper. If when you buy time, you find yourself on another car’s bumper (front or rear), you must buy another minute (no additional penalty). Control workers will disqualify cars driving in an unsafe manner, such as "tailgating".

EMERGENCY SIGNS: If necessary, the lead car will erect emergency signs to guide rally traffic. An example will be on display in the registration area. Instructions on emergency signs override all other instructions.

COURSE MEASUREMENT: The course was measured to 1/1000's of a mile in a light pewter 1985 Nissan 200SX shod with steel-belted radial tires using a Zeron 660 rally computer run by a sensor on the left-front (undriven) wheel. The weather during measurement varied from temperatures in the 80’s with hazy sunshine to temperatures in the 70’s with sun and clouds. Most roads were dry, however some were still damp from previous rainshowers. The official mileages shown in the route instructions have been truncated to 1/100’s. Each measurement was made to one of the following reference points:

Intersections with a STOP: The STOP sign

Other intersections: The apex of the turn or the center of the intersection

Signs: Even with the sign

Objects: The beginning of the object

ROUTE INSTRUCTIONS: The route instructions for this rally are written to help you stay on course. Unofficial information which is intended to be helpful is provided in parentheses. Official mileages are provided for each instruction in the Mile column in the routes. This is the mileage since the odometer was last zeroed. Unofficial Delta (Interval) mileage since the beginning of the previous instruction is also provided for each instruction.

To follow the rally course, perform each action of each route instruction in sequence as soon as the conditions necessary for its execution are met. Each instruction will be performed only once, and there can be no overlap between instructions. If you come to an intersection and cannot perform the current instruction, proceed in the straightest direction possible and continue looking for an opportunity to execute that instruction.

Only public roads exist. Roads marked "No Through Traffic", "Dead End", "No Outlet", "Private Drive", "Road Ends", etc., do not exist. Any road that is clearly private, a driveway, plant entrance, parking lot, etc., does not exist. Exceptions are the parking lots and roads used for the start, finish, and breaks of this rally. Divided highways are treated as single roads.

Both paved and unpaved roads are used. Key times have been adjusted considering the condition of the roads.

Cautions are provided to alert you to situations requiring reduced speed and extra attention. See the Glossary for definitions. Please take the cautions seriously, they are there for your safety. Cautions are not course following instructions.

CONTROL (CHECKPOINT) PROCEDURES: This rally uses closed (also called "passage") controls. Do not stop at the controls, the timing is continuous. Time lost on a leg must be made up on the next leg (see Bought Time above). The timing line for a Control is identified by a checkpoint sign (Ö · ) on the right side of the road as you approach the Control. Some checkpoint signs may be on mirror boxes. Many will be smaller signs, a sample of which will be on display at registration. These signs will be attached to any available support: trees, utility poles, road signs, stakes, etc. Controls may be located on a variety of roads, some unpaved, some with double yellow lines.

The control locations are identified by numbered route instructions that contain the word "Control" followed by its name and "Key Time" followed by a Time-of-Day. The times are shown to minutes and 1/100’s. (For example, 10:13.50 means 13 minutes and 30 seconds past 10 o’clock.) An official Overall Mileage is always given, and the Key Time is the correct arrival time for Car 0. Add your car number (in minutes) to the Key Time to get your correct arrival time.

Controls may be either manned or unmanned, and it may not be obvious which are which. All unmanned controls will have checkpoint signs at the start of the rally, however their remaining in place throughout the rally cannot be guaranteed. The mileages given are correct. At manned controls, the Control Workers note in their log the exact arrival time (minutes and 1/100’s) for each car as its front bumper passes the checkpoint sign.

Within sight of a Control you are not permitted to stop, unless within an intersection, or take evasive action (e.g., U-turn) in order to delay or avoid crossing the timing line. Violation of this regulation will result in a 100 point penalty if observed.

RESULTS and TROPHIES: The scores for each team will be calculated from the timing logs kept at each manned control, and the bought time information on your Bought Time Requests. Results will be posted at the finish location as soon as possible. There will be a protest procedure as per the MWCSCC rules. Trophies will be awarded immediately after the scores are final. First place in each class will receive a trophy, and additional trophies will be awarded in each class that has more than seven entries.

SCORING: The following penalties will be assessed:

1 point each 0.01 minute early or late at a control, up to 100.

100 points one to twenty minutes early or late at a control.

200 points more than twenty minutes early or late at a control, or for missing a control completely.

100 points stopping to avoid crossing the timing line as described above.

100 points for the first failure to wear seat belts.

0 to 20 points Bought Time as described previously.

Disqualification Any of the following:

GLOSSARY: See the MWCSCC Standard Rally Rules 1997, plus:

Key Time The Official Arrival Time for Car #0 at a Control. Or the Departure Time for Car #0 at an instruction other than a Control (such as a break). (The correct arrival time for each car that has not bought time is equal to the Key Time plus its car number in minutes.)

Traffic Light An intersection controlled by one or more traffic regulating lights, which need not be operating. (This is an exception to the MWCSCC Standard Rally Rules 1997.)

Water Break A place on a road where water run-off has eroded the road. Slow down for all Water Breaks.

INFORMATION:

Eric Bloom 703-313-8245 or ebloom@clark.net

 

MONTE CARLO RALLY TECHNIQUES: In a Monte Carlo rally your object is to get to each control at the correct arrival time for your car. The remainder of this document is unofficial and is provided to assist you in doing well in this event.

It may help to set your clock to Car 0 time (Time-of-day minus your Car #). You now have less arithmetic to do — your clock will match the key times.

There are no assigned speeds. You know where the controls are. Some experienced competitors proceed to a point short of the next control. If there is time to stop, they wait there until the appropriate moment to drive into the control at a moderate speed. 0.5 miles short and an entry speed of 30 MPH (2.00 minutes per mile) means leaving the stop point one minute before your due time. Some controls are on very narrow roads and 30 MPH may not always be safe. 0.4 miles at 24 MPH (2.50 minutes per mile) also equals one minute. Remember that you may not stop within sight of a control, unless you are in an intersection. Use caution when stopping — you must find a safe place to stop. Many roads will have non-rally traffic that will need to get by you. Other rally cars may want to pass, and then you may pass them again before entering the control. (They picked a different location to stop.)

You will need to read ahead in the route instructions in order to get good scores. Some control locations may be located close to intersections, or in areas of varying road conditions, and it may not always be possible to drive into the control at a constant speed.

If you drive at the speed limit, and obey stop signs and other traffic regulations, you will be approximately on time.

In general, if you are passing other rally cars, you are probably driving too fast. If other rally cars are passing you, you may be driving too slow (but don’t feel obligated to go faster than you are comfortable with).

Bought Time Request -- Instructions

Basics: In the usual Time-Speed-Distance format, you have a time-of-day restart after each control (the "out time"), so time lost on a leg does not have to be made up on the next leg. In the Monte-Carlo format of this rally you do not stop at controls, any time lost must be made up. Many of the roads used are narrow, and safe passing will often not be possible. If you are delayed by an off-course excursion or local traffic, it will usually not be possible to make up the time except by dangerous or illegal driving.

Bought time is the solution to this problem. It is easy to "buy" time: carefully fill in the Bought Time Request Sheet, and hand it to the Scorer at the breaks and at the end of the rally. The "cost" (scoring penalty) of buying time is very low: equal to your adjusted timing error (possibly 0) up to a maximum of 20 points. You are urged to use Bought Time rather than drive illegally or recklessly.

For example: You miss a turn on the course. When you realize this, the time is 10:14.70 (10:14 and 70 1/100’s). Turn around (cautiously) and return, driving at the same speed, to the location where you should have turned. When you reach the correct place, the time is 10:16.90. It took 0:02.20 to return, for a total off course time of 0:04.40 (because you returned at the same speed). You need to buy 4.50 minutes. Wait 0.10 minutes, then proceed on course. On the Bought Time Request Sheet, enter 4.50 (as the amount of this buy) in the Buy Time column for the next control. Don’t rush, you can buy an additional minute if you need it. Instead of waiting 0.10 minutes, wait 1.10 minutes, and buy 5.50.

The minimum and maximum amounts of time that can be bought are 0.50 and 19.50 minutes respectively. If you are 20 minutes or more late, you cannot buy time.

How Bought Time Works: For each control add your car number to the Key Time to get your correct arrival time. This number plus your bought time equals your adjusted correct arrival time. This adjustment, once made, applies to all subsequent controls until a break or the end of the rally. The penalty (if any) is applied only once per buy at the next manned control. Multiple buys before a single manned control will be consolidated into a single buy. In summary, to determine your correct arrival time, add the bought time, and your car number, to the Key Time.

A Potential Problem: After buying time, it is possible for two cars to have the same adjusted arrival time. If Car 2 buys 4.50 minutes, and Car 4 buys 2.50 minutes, both cars will be adding 6.50 to the Key Time. The result is that both cars will be trying to be in the same place at the same time. The solution is for one of the cars to buy an extra minute. Usually the second car in line will be the first to realize that it needs to drop back a minute. Do not tailgate! There is no added penalty for buying an additional minute. Remember that you may not stop within sight of a control.

 

 

updated October 3, 1998