Rallying: handy hints and tips

What is the service area?

The service area is where all the teams are with all the mechanics, engineer, PR people and it's a fantastic place for spectators to watch and see the mechanics work on the car - massive atmosphere - and where all the cocky drivers are that is around.

What is the service park?

This is where the drivers park the cars at night-time, for example, and nobody can touch it. It has to stay there until the day after and it's a guarded area. If you touch the car - or anybody - you can be penalised. So don't touch any cars at all!

What is a regroup?

Regroup is where the people park their cars to get all the field together before they come into the service.

What is flexi-service?

Flexi-service is a flexible way for teams to service all their cars without having multiple service crews. Say, for example, you have three cars in the team, and you want to service all the three cars straightaway, but you can’t. You need 100 people but they can take only one car at a time so that we can keep the cost down for the teams and everybody

What instructions can you expect from marshals?

It's very important to respect the marshals along the rally route and the service area because they know about the safety and they have a responsibility and a lot of these people are doing this voluntarily. So, respect for all the marshals: it's very important for everybody and to listen to their advice for safety.

Do you need to know how to repair the car yourself?

As a driver to repair the car, it's maybe more important now than maybe in the early days. Now you're doing very long stages and not coming back to service. So, if you're not a good mechanic, maybe you will retire.