Read the Quick Guide. Decide which mobile device your team will use. The guide might influence your choice.

Install the Competitor app.

You won’t be able to do much with the app until the day of the event. It appears in the Event List, but you can’t open it without the password and car number you’ll receive at the event.

The value of a good windshield mount for your device cannot be overstated.

Remember that you’ll want to have your device plugged in to power during the event.

Download and review the Supplemental Generals (‘supps’) for the April Friday Nighter. You can also opt to grab the April Generals which incorporates the supps into the rule book as a single document.

If you haven’t run an NWRC Friday Nighter previously, check out the Example Rally. This takes about an hour to run and will introduce you to our instruction format. Please note: the Example Rally does not use the Competitor app and adheres to the standard NWRC General Instructions.

Ever wonder what a Northwest Rally Council Friday Nighter event is like? This short (under 1 hour) rally has been written to provide an introduction to our route instruction format, teach some basic definitions, and demonstrate the workflow used to compete in time-speed-distance (TSD) road rally.

Start by downloading and printing out the General Instructions (in the Documents section). Give them a read as these are the ‘rules’ that we rally by. Pay special attention to Section 8 (DEFINITIONS) as these are important to understanding the Numbered Route Instructions and Section 3 (THROUGH ROUTE DETERMINANTS) as they explain how to find the main road.

Next download and print the Example Rally NRI’s, if you haven’t already. These are the instructions you use to follow the route and find the checkpoint. A printed copy is handy, allowing you to cross off instructions as they are completed. 

All our Friday Nighter Rallies start from the Eastgate Park & Ride off of I-90 in Bellevue. Our series is held on the 2nd Friday of the month – registration opens at 6:45pm. You would register, get your car number, and attend a short briefing at 7:15pm. Then cars line up at the start and receive the route instructions.  For this example we’re skipping a few steps: run this event on your own schedule and run it as many times as you like. Just get to the Park & Ride with a copy of the instructions. Pick an out time to start the rally (usually at the top of a minute) and give it a try. The start of the Example Rally is at the SE corner/exit of the lot.

Here are the instructions for the NWRC Example Rally,

and a link to the General Instructions.

As promised, we’ve put together a 3-page quick guide to getting the Competitor app installed and working on your device. You’ll find it under FAQs and Guides in our Documents section.

It’s Almost Time to Hit the Road!

The April Friday Nighter is on 4/14/23, just one month away.

The first Friday Nighter of the 2023 season will introduce you to Richta GPS checkpoints. This system has been used on more than 300 events since its introduction in 2018. We’ll have a User Guide posted here soon to share some tips picked up while using the Richta Competitor app. If you want an early lead, you can check out the Richta site right now. To run the rally, you’ll need a smart phone or tablet with the iOS or Android version of the Richta Competitor App installed.

To make things work smoothly, we need to change a few procedures and definitions using Supplemental General Instructions (‘Supps’). The regular NWRC Generals still apply, except as altered by the Supps. When a Friday Nighter will use Supps, they are posted on this website not later than the 2nd Friday, one month prior to the event.

You can grab the April Supps here.

Don’t want to download them just yet? The full text of the April Supps appears below, albeit with slightly odd formatting.

In section 1. INTRODUCTION, replace the last paragraph with:

Official temporary signs used on the rally, official time, and any changes to the instructions will be on display at the starting location and/or announced prior to FCO. All rally cars will be assigned a car number by the event registrar. If paper number placards are issued, display in the lower right corner of the windshield or other location where it will be easily read from a checkpoint vehicle. If magnetic numbers are issued, display on the upper right hand corner of the passenger door. Secure with tape, if needed.

In section 7. CONTROLS AND MEASUREMENTS, replace subsections 7.1 and 7.2 with:

7.1 Checkpoints

7.1.1 A Checkpoint may be identified with a REFERENCE given in the route instructions, by an official sign, or may be unmarked (hidden location).

7.1.2 Checkpoints will not be placed closer than 0.2 miles to the prior NRI or another checkpoint following the rally route.

7.1.3 Do not slow down or stop at the Checkpoint unless instructed to do so.

7.1.4 The Competitor app will notify you upon passing a Checkpoint. You can configure the app to play a warble sound or read your score aloud.

7.1.5 The most recent Checkpoint will be at the top of the list on your device, showing your arrival time and score. Read the official information (checkpoint slip) by tapping the checkpoints listed on your device.

7.2 Route Controls

7.2.1 A Route Control may be identified by a REFERENCE given in the route instructions, by an official sign, or may be unmarked (hidden location).

7.2.2 Do not slow down or stop at the Route Control unless instructed to do so.

7.2.3 The Competitor app will notify you upon passing the Route Control.

7.2.4 Read the official information (route control slip) by tapping the control listed on your device.

In section 8. DEFINITIONS, alter/add the following terms:

CHECKPOINT: A point along the rally route where the competitors are timed. See section 7.1.

LEG: A section of the rally either between an assigned starting place and a Checkpoint (i.e., Madison style, see section 9.1.1) or between an assigned starting place and the next Checkpoint as well as between successive Checkpoints (i.e., Evansville style, see section 9.1.2).

PREMARKER: A diamond-shape sign with text and/or symbols on a yellow background, intended to provide warning of conditions ahead.

RESTART Designates the start of a new LEG, at the indicated REFERENCE. As you approach the location, the Competitor app will display your assigned restart time for beginning the new LEG.

SPEED LIMIT: A rectangular, black on white sign reading SPEED LIMIT and a number. When an instruction uses the term SPEED LIMIT followed by a number (e.g., SPEED LIMIT 35) the number on the sign must be the same. A PREMARKER with the same text is not a SPEED LIMIT. 

In section 9. SCORING, replace 9.1 and 9.3 with:

9.1 Contestants will be scored on a LEG by LEG basis using one of two methods. The method used will be stated in the route instructions.

9.1.1 Madison style scoring – Elapsed time to reach a CHECKPOINT is measured from the previous RESTART time  If you score 10 seconds early or late as you pass it, you should take action to get back on time before the next CHECKPOINT by adjusting your speed, pausing more/less, or using TIme Allowance (T/A), You’ll still be running early or late and take more points at the next CHECKPOINT if you do not compensate.

9.1.2 Evansville style scoring – Elapsed time to the first CHECKPOINT in a LEG is measured from the RESTART time. Elapsed time to the next CHECKPOINT is measured from the previous CHECKPOINT. Whatever score you receive as you pass it, the time error does not carry forward. You leave every checkpoint on time in this method.

9.3 Time Allowances

9.3.1 Request Time Allowance by pressing the TA+ button on the Competitor app screen. The first press of the TA+ button will grant a 10 second time allowance. The next press increases this to 20 seconds. A third press increases it to 30 seconds. Additional presses will add full minutes, to a maximum of 19:30. The total time allowance is displayed next to the TA buttons. Pressing the TA- button will reduce the time allowance by those same increments in reverse order.

9.3.2 Time Allowance applies to future checkpoints only, not those you’ve already passed. Enter/adjust the TA as soon as it is needed. A Time Allowances persists until the next RESTART where it resets to zero. If you are late to your assigned RESTART time, start a new Time Allowance.

https://nwrally.org/930-2/