Please note that this is only a brief outline of what is involved, your local motor club should be able to give further advice.

Scatter Rallies, 12-Car Rallies, 20/20 Rallies, Navigational Rallies and Road Rallies are all similar in nature with Scatters being regarded as the simplest form of rally with 12-Cars next and Road Rallies the most challenging.

Scatter Rallies:

A navigational test held on public roads that usually lasts for an evening, starts around 8.00pm and finishes by 10.30pm or so. At the start you are issued with a series of points to plot on your map, using a variety of navigation types, some more cryptic than others. Your task is to plot as many of these points as you can, select a suitable route between them in any order (there is no fixed route or time schedule on these events) and drive to them to solve clues, such as the numbers on hydrants or the mileage on signposts. You must get back to the finish, which may be the same place as the start by a fixed time, often 10.30pm. There is no benefit in answering more than 75% of the clues as that is the maximum which will be counted. These are good fun and teach you to find you way around the lanes.

12 Car Rallies:

These are more like the bigger events in that there is a fixed route and time schedule. The length of these varies but in this area is usually about 50 miles starting at 8.00pm and finishing about 10.00pm. Cars leave the start at one minute intervals and will have navigation clues to solve to define the route to take to a series of Time Controls where your time will be recorded. Again these are good fun and excellent training for the bigger events.

20/20 Rallies:

Designed to be a stepping stone between 12-car rallies and full blown National B status Navigational or Road Rallies, the 20/20 rally is limited to 20 cars, with a route of under 100 miles comprising 20 controls, finishing by or soon after midnight. It is run on a Clubmans Permit, so members of the orgaising club do not need an MSA Competition Licence. Several 20/20 rallies run in the ASEMC area under the umbrella of Weald Motor Club, the members of which are the main Kent and Sussex Motor Clubs, so all members of those clubs are eligible to participate.

Navigational Rallies:

Usually run a National B status, these events are likely to be part of a local championship and are run through Saturday night and Sunday morning. They follow a fixed route with a fixed time schedule and the route to be taken is given out the event progresses, usually in the form of cryptic clues issued at various points along the route. They vary in length from a little over 100 miles up to 200 miles set at an average which may not exceed 30mph. The complexity of the navigation forms a major part of the competition and therefore the regulations covering the type of vehicle you may use are less prescriptive than for a Road Rally.

Road Rallies:

Road Rallies follow the same basic principle as Navigational Rallies but a greater emphasis is placed on the drivers ability to maintain the set time schedule over difficult terrain. These may be timed to the minute or to the second, under defined conditions, and, as there is a greater emphasis on the performance of the car and driver, the vehicle regulations are somewhat more stringent.

Events on the public highway are governed by the Competitions and Trials Regulations of the Road Traffic Act, and all other regulations regarding the use of the highway remain throughout. Drivers must be aged 17 years or over and navigators must be aged 12 years or over.