General Discussions

Prior to Day 1 Send-off I will be asking for team experience levels by a show of hands. This is to correctly finalize departure times. We have slowly learned to evolve this rally into a format which is most fair and beneficial to everyone regarding departure times. It is best to be honest, humble, and real with yourselves and your teammates.

There is no shame in being less experienced, but there is shame in being dishonest and holding up more experienced, competitive teams because of an ego issue. The less experienced people will learn a lot during this rally and have a blast doing it. The more experienced might learn a thing or two as well, so lets all be truthful. It'll all come out on day 1 trails anyway.

This year we have taken into consideration so many emails, comments, and suggestions from competitors in the past 3 years, and we feel like this will be a mainstay of RCR to come:

Before departure:

If you consider your team somewhat new (1 - 3 years) to technical off-roading it will be beneficial to EVERYONE that you are moved to a later departure time. It is nearly inevitable that you will get stuck, hung-up or otherwise stalled on some type of obstacle, including at least 2 times on day 1. This will cause teams, sometimes angry, to pile up on the trail. This distraction combined with your eagerness to be fast will make your recovery much more difficult and dangerous.

If you are running RCR for leisure and do not plan to drive competitively, please allow competitive teams to pass. You can also ask to be moved to a later departure if you feel you are going to hold teams up. Some teams are trying hard to maintain a pace and if you aren't, that's cool! Just let them move along. You can both enjoy your wheelin' the way you want to.

Day 2 Checkpoint 3 is the final checkpoint of the day. Use this time to diagnose problems with your vehicle before day 3 trails. Do not ignore problems! Small issues turn into 20 hour days, and trailside repairs in seconds. Ask us how we know.

Moving to a later departure will have no adverse effect on your score. This directive will minimize trail blockages, and help RCR traffic flow tremendously. We have incorporated several highway sections into the rally specifically for passing. If you have a team holding you up on trails, use the highway to legally and safely pass. Inform them of your intentions while you are being held up by them on the trails. If somebody want's to pass you, let them. Remember, this is NOT a race.

All competitor scores will improve if we are all truthful with our abilities. Keep in mind we have about 50% attrition each year. Consider this when determining your skill level. Difficulty is subjective, so I'm sure our guys mapping are somewhere right in the middle since half quit. Don't be a quitter. You built that truck, now use it.