Rallying is a type of road race that takes place on modified or specially designed cars. Rallying is characterised by the fact that the course is laid out on public roads. Rallyists drive from one point to the next and pass control events.
Rallyists may only drive at top speed at designated sections. Other sections of the course must be completed in accordance with road traffic regulations.
Rally competitions
Here’s a quick look at the main rally competitions and what features they offer that you must keep in mind when analysing results.
WRC
The World Rally Championship is the major tournament. It consists of several stages. Each stage gives two days for familiarisation with the special sections and a day for testing the vehicles.
The schedule runs from January to November.
The race itself takes three days (rarely four). The competitors start according to the position in the table (the leader starts first).
The Classic Rally is a non-contact rally. Competitors compete in absentia. They start at two-minute intervals, and, providing no force majeure occurs, they seldom cross paths. The spectacle suffers because of this, although there’s plenty of action in the world championship. But rallies are dangerous races, with no safety zones or bump stops on the route, so the adrenaline rush sometimes goes off the scale for spectators too.
The WRC is dominated by the French. Sebastien Loeb won the championship in 2004-2012 and since 2013 the era of Sebastien Ogier has been underway.
Dakar Rally
In 2019, the race was held for the first time within a single state, with the course turning out to be a looped one. Some argue that the Dakar is long gone. One can partly agree with them.
The route has been shortened and simplified, but the competition has become much safer. Earlier there were fatalities and serious injuries were commonplace. This is a thing of the past.
Conditions are still tough, but the race has become predictable. In the two car classes, the 2019 champions are the favourites. Among the off-roaders, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) felt no competition, while in the Pucks classification Eduard Nikolaev (KAMAZ) traditionally became the best.
Now almost all bookmakers are taking bets on Dakar, but the offer is usually limited to the outcomes on the best racers in the class. And while among off-roaders and trucks things are generally predictable, the situation is more confusing in the motorbike standings. In 2019, for example, Toby Price, who had an injured hand, won. The gap to his nearest rival was nine minutes. A paltry advantage for a marathon that lasted 10 days.
WRX
Also consider – the world rallycross championship. The rallyists compete in contact racing. Because of this, the spectacle of the tournament is much higher.
Races are arranged on short routes with different surfaces. Qualification, semi-finals and finals take place. The worst competitors are eliminated, while the best racers battle it out for the most points. The season is usually spread out over a six-month period.
Types of bets
The offer of betting shops grows regularly.
Besides the winner of a stage and the whole tournament, it is possible to bet on a place in the top three.
There is a comparison of results of athletes – from two pilots you have to choose the one who shows the best time.
In addition, the best drivers of the team, the winning car, the constructors’ cup and so on are predicted.
Betting features
Before the start of the competition the crew gets acquainted with the route. As a rule, competitors learn the special stages in a normal car. The navigator details the entries by making a transcript – an important part of the race. Track and pavement features, turns and jumps are recorded.
The notes from the navigator are the deciding factor for the specials (the sections where you have to drive at top speed to achieve the best time).
Since the skill of the crew is known in advance and their performance can be compared with other competitors, it is logical to bet on the favourites – to win or get into the top 3.
It is clear that it is necessary to consider technical characteristics of the vehicle, coherence of the team, route, weather conditions, etc. However, this is less important. Firstly, one part of the factors are stable and easy to determine, and therefore put into the odds by the bookmakers. And secondly, another part of the factors are extremely fast changing and impossible to predict.
Studying the latest results will allow you to understand the motivation and condition of the driver. To do so, use an interview with a rally driver shortly before the tournament.
Summary
It is not easy to predict the results of a rally, but in contrast to many similar disciplines, it is quite realistic. Especially, every year there are some regularities, which can be profitable.
The difficulties lie in the margins, which are about 8%, the low betting limits and the small number of events.