TECH: RALLY ROADBOOKS - DAKAR RALLY NAVIGATION BASICS

BY: NED SUESSE

Rally is a term that gets easily thrown around, sometimes as a verb (ex: we rallied our rental car), sometimes as a noun referring to closed course rally racing (WRC or time speed distance events), and sometimes referring to navigation rally races like the Dakar. All of these uses describe activities that are both fun and irresponsible, but here we’re focused on the last one- roadbook navigation events.

Roadbook navigation originated in North Africa, much of which was colonized by the French. While these protectorates came to an end in the middle of the last century, European and especially French motorists continued to explore the deserts there, much the way that Americans might choose to go riding in Baja. And where people go exploring, inevitably, they want to go racing.

The terrain in North Africa lends itself to cross country races across big distances. In the 1970s, when these races were becoming popular, GPS was not yet a thing, so creating a racecourse across such desolate territory was a challenge. The open terrain in Africa led race organizers to create a paper roll chart of instructions, using roads where they exist and compass headings where they did not, to define the race course. Because the distances in North Africa are so large, the sport made more sense as a multi-day endeavor. Modern rally racing is truly a product of the topography where it was born.

The lack of a marked course creates a very different kind of race. A racer must use many parts of their brain- they must simultaneously do arithmetic for mileage and compass calculations at the same time they are trying not to die and move forward as fast as possible. Because the sport originated with the French, racers must also figure out what terms like Piste and Cuvette and Cailloux mean. If this sounds difficult, it is. In my opinion, the uncertainty surrounding navigation is the defining characteristic of these types of rallies, more so than speed.

As we approach the grandest rally of them all, the Dakar, here is a primer to help you understand what the racers are coping with as they follow instruction after instruction, mile (or kilometer) after mile, during this amazing event. For the racer trying to interpret all these hieroglyphics at speed, there are a few practical considerations.

First, your mileage typically won’t match the roadbook perfectly at all times. Maybe your wheel size is slightly different, maybe you took a sharper apex through a corner, maybe you did some excellent wheelies. For these reasons and more, mileage is a game of probability rather than precision. To improve your odds, every time you are sure of your location, you “mend” mileage, meaning you use the button by your left grip to make your display match the roadbook at the moment you are certain.

Second, drawings are easy to look at, but subject to interpretation. If the roadbook includes a CAP heading, this is the next most important piece of information after mileage. Often, especially on roads, intersections look alike, so CAP will be the best way to tell if the turn you made is the right one. The tulip drawing can be helpful or misleading, so they must be taken with a grain of sand.

Third, the use of way-points has totally changed the sport since the days of actual compasses. These virtual checkpoints can be placed anywhere (like the top of a difficult dune) and have no visual clue. The penalty for missing one is severe, so racers will circle trying to find the spot. They know they hit it when their GPS beeps at them, but that’s all that happens- then they are on to the next note. Their GPS includes a satellite phone (one of two on the bike, to help in emergencies) so the beep they hear is transmitted to race control and becomes the timing and scoring we see when following the race at home.

As soon as the instruction has been completed, you’ll use the switch by your left thumb to advance to the next note. If the track is smooth and straight, you might try to memorize a few notes ahead, but generally, your time in the saddle is a somewhat frantic division of attention between riding and navigating. Even the best can’t excel at both things at once, so the penalty for leading a stage physically is that your pursuers have an easier time with your dust as a clue. This creates a need for strategy that goes beyond our space here!

In practice, some of the time everything matches up effortlessly. Your mileage is spot on, the picture looks like what you see, and the notes make sense. This is the best feeling in the world, and it is fleeting. At 120 KPH, .5 km is 15 seconds, so the next instruction is already coming at you, and it’s another opportunity to beat your rivals or make a mistake that costs you the race. A stage in Dakar might have 300-500 notes, each of which represents an opportunity and a risk. Sometimes, nothing seems to work, and that’s where a racer’s true colors are shown. The best systematically find a solution, others flame out and let their emotions take them away.