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Rally Test Day

Where to practice, where to practice? That's a common question among ralliers. To help out the rally community, NASA Rally Sport has put together this package to help racers get the practice time they need. Best of all, it's very affordable. There's some planning and advance work that goes into putting together a test day but the effort can be shared by several rally teams.

Cost
The sanction and insurance cost is $1100 for the day. This is not a per-car price, that is the total price.

Number of Cars
A maximum of 10 drivers could participate. This means the effective price could be as low as $110 per driver.

Structure
A single road must be used. Just like "RallySprint In A Box", the maximum stage length is seven miles. All access to the road must be secured. Ham radio communication has to be in place between the start and the finish. There must be a paramedic with current certifications on-site. All people in the racing vehicles must be current NASA members and have current NASA Rally Sport licenses. All people must sign the standard liability waivers. There must be a person (approved by NRS) who is not racing that day designated as the Clerk of the Course. Details of the stage (location, maps, list of access points to be marshalled, ownership information, and proof of authorization to use the road) must be supplied to NRS.

Simplify
In order to arrange this event with a minimum of overhead, some of the support needs to be done entirely up front, and not left till the day before the rally.

  • No memberships or licenses will be processed on-site.
  • No log book issuing. Cars must be pre-approved to attend by the regional Chief of Scrutineering and tech is basic safety items only (like belts / helmets / suits / h&n / extinguishers).
  • No transits. No looping around, no rally cars on any public/open roads during the testing. This means back and forth on the stage is standard, like a turnaround stage.
  • All service, registration, and tech is at the start of the stage.
  • No novice school will be offered, this must be taken care of before the event.

Road Permits
Naturally, some kind of road permit is needed. It might be private land, corporate land, or government land. Just about every situation is different, but it's not so complicated that it should be shrouded in mystery. Whoever you end up talking to, you'll be going in with the knowledge that you have a five million dollar insurance policy backing you up, and that's usually the part that worries landowners. It's impossible to predict if there's a cost associated with this or how much it might be. Plus we have a Land Use Agreement, crafted by motorsports attorneys, that you can use as a contract with the land owner to make sure you're both protected.

Medical Support
The easiest way to find a paramedic is to walk into your local fire department. You're essentially looking for fire department personnel or local ambulance personnel who would be off-duty during your test day. The people at the fire depart will either be who you need, or will know who to call. You'll need to hire one for the day, unless they they already love rally and you promise to deliver hot pizza. ;) Costs for this could vary wildly in different labor markets, although somewhere between $200-$400 could be used as a guess.

Media
The intent of the event is for driving practice and vehicle tuning. As such, media personnel will be restricted to rally-experienced photographers who are pre-approved by NRS.

Spectating
The intent of the event is for driving practice and vehicle tuning. There can be no public spectating. Test day participants can watch other participants from designated areas.

Crew
It is intended that friends and family can attend and participate in the fun. However, to reasonably manage large amounts of people with minimal staff, drivers with more than six people on their crew must submit a description of the duties of each of their crew.

Documents to be Submitted to NRS

  • Property Use Contract
  • Copy of medical personnel's current certification
  • Map, overview
  • Map, start and service
  • Map, finish
  • Course specifications
    • GPS, start
    • GPS, finish
    • Measurement of length of course

Limitations

  • No car can run before sunrise
  • No car can run after sunset
  • No timing equipment on site
  • All membership, licensing, and medical forms have to be finalized in advance of the event