The TT and Richta

OK, all of you road racers have had your fun on the big AMP weekend. Can our road rally program get some love now?

This is all tongue-in-cheek, of course. I don’t begrudge our circuit racing brothers and sisters (a number of whom either compete in road rally or are significantly involved in it) a superb weekend. I didn’t make it to AMP for various reasons but I understand it was more successful than anyone dreamed. Anything which puts our little region of rabid motorsport fanatics on the map is a good thing, and I promise to make it for the 2026 version. But on to rallying!

Reports are the Tarmac Trial is still on course for a September 7 launch. Unlike the SpaceX Starship, we expect no Rapid Unscheduled Disassemblies. But a lot of that depends on how the rallymaster applies his or her knowledge and understanding of math, questionable Nova Scotia road conditions and weather, and how the competitors are prepared to tackle the 170-odd km convoluted route from Hantsport to Kentville. It’s always a good idea to get an early start on planning and familiarization with what we’re using. So again, let me explain how this will work:

This rally will be scored by the Richta Rally system. Timing at Richta CPs will be to the second, and we’re aware this is a major change from what our road rally program is historically used to. We’ve always scored to the minute and this has given teams a bit of leeway as to when they arrive at a CP. At an Open (or staffed) CP, the CP crew watches when a competitor car crosses the CP marker, looks at the official time, and records their passage. There’s potentially a probability of error in the recording of arrival times.

Richta works on GPS-located CPs. Think of a Richta CP as being a GPS way-point. As you approach the CP/way-point, the Richta app recognizes this approach and as soon as you start to move away from the way-point, it records your time of passage. Of course, it’s all more complicated and exact than this layperson’s explanation, but I hope you get the picture. That time of passage is recorded, compared against the predetermined ideal leg time, calculations are done, and a score is assigned. This all happens immediately when you pass a CP. Your CP score is displayed on the Competitor app, and if you’re connected to cellular data it appears on the Scoreboard app a few seconds thereafter.

We have (well, I have) been through all of this before, but it bears repeating: if you’re a “zero hero” on the traditional system of timing to the minute, you probably won’t like your first Richta rallies. I get it. Even being a minute late at a Richta CP will result in a score of 60 penalty points (1 point per second early or late). I understand for some crews this is hard to swallow and seeing three-figure scores at the end of a rally is anathema to your enjoyment of the event.

But I would argue it shouldn’t be that way. What’s the difference in winning a road rally with a score of 350 points and winning one with 6 points? Did you still win and get a dash plaque, or accolades, mentioned in dispatches, or all three? Scores are scores. It’s a relative measure of where you finished on the event, a quantifiable comparison can be made to other competitors, and the results can be tabulated from those scores the same as single digits worked out by pen, paper and calculator.

I would also argue that your ability to see your current score as you progress through the route is an incentive to improve your maintenance of prescribed average speeds. It compels crews to be on time, all of the time, and negates the obvious CP location tricks such as gravel or quiet side roads. Richta CPs can be placed anywhere, even on a 100-series highway. There’s no second-guessing the system.

It may be firm, but it’s fair.

With regards to accuracy of CP placement and triggering – any modern smartphone, regardless of make, model or operating system, should provide adequate GPS accuracy to place (for the rallymaster) or trigger/record (for the competitor) CPs so the results are fair and consistent for everyone. A couple of the RRDG founding members with the applicable skill sets are studying methods of how to technologically increase the accuracy of CP placement without breaking the bank. Findings from these studies may be incorporated into Tarmac Trial planning. As with most facets of road rallying, time will tell.

Meanwhile, route instructions are being developed and the Supplementary Regulations will be heading off to the ARMS Rally Director for his blessing early in July. If you have any questions about road rallying in general or the “TT” or Richta Rally in particular, send us an email at roadrallyatlantic@proton.me.

Stay tuned for further updates and information on the “TT” and road rallying in the near future!