Cross-country rally: motorcycle racing to the limit

At the very dawn of motorcycling, most races were not just competitions among motorcyclists, but real tests of endurance. They took place on public roads connecting cities, and racers took part in them on a variety of vehicles - from motorcycles to horses. Later, motorcycle racing smoothly turned into a completely separate sport, but one of the disciplines still seems to serve as a tribute to where it all once began. Its name is cross-country rally.

Rules and features

Cross-country rallying is a type of endurance racing characterized by extremely long course distances over rough terrain. The main objective of the competition is to reveal the skill and endurance of the racers, reveal their navigation skills and determine the reliability of the equipment used.

The equipment for the races can be used in a variety of ways - from off-road motorcycles to cars and even trucks, while competitions can take place either separately or together, but divided into classes.

There are 3 classes of participants in total:

Motorcycles. Additionally divided into 3 groups: serial motorcycles with a small number of modifications in 2 subgroups - with an engine up to 450 cm3 or more,
motorcycles seriously improved for cross-country rallying with a similar division into subgroups,
ATVs in subgroups up to 500 cm3 and more.

SUVs weighing up to 3 tons. Also divided into 3 groups:

specially improved cars,

production models with a small number of modifications,

buggy.

Cars weighing more than 3 tons are divided into 2 groups:

serial with minimal modifications,

specially modified for off-road racing.

Different vehicles do not start at the same time. The standard gap between the start of the last motorcycle and the first car is up to 30 minutes or, if specified separately, 1 hour.

The competitions themselves are also divided into 3 types depending on the total length of the distance and time:

Baja is a relatively fast race over short distances. Conducted in one or two days. The total distance does not exceed 1000 km.
Rally raid is a race lasting up to 10 days with a total distance of up to 6500 km.
Marathon - up to 30 days and a length of more than 6500.

The distance and timing may also be limited by the rules of a particular competition.

The impressive duration of the race does not allow you to cover the distance at once, so the race is held in several stages with mandatory rest between them in a bivouac - a specially equipped area, or even with a long break if the next stage takes place in another country.

Each stage is a set of route sections with certain passing conditions:

A navigation zone is an area without a precisely laid route. To overcome it, the rider must independently plot a route using landmarks using a map, road book or GPS.
Liaison is a zone with a set time limit between successive control points.
Speed section is a timed cross-country race off public roads or on roads specially closed for the competition.
Super special section - a high-speed section with a designated, safe area for spectators. Used to increase interest in the race.

The total time for completing the entire route is the sum of the time for each special stage.

Separately, the rules of a particular competition stipulate the procedure for towing a vehicle that has broken down during the race. In a nutshell, it is only allowed on special stages and bivouacs and only with the use of cars or motorcycles officially entered in the technical support category or retired participants who can also move into this category. Towing is prohibited on the liaison.

The 690 I purchased last spring behaved normally for about a year, and then I wanted to go rallying.
I had to go... Ours win rallies not because the trucks are powerful, but because they have roads like ours

There was no sign of any rally in Belarus, so I started looking in Russia. I remembered Vanya Li’s posts, saw that in past years there was still a Russian championship, and people raced in Astrakhan, but now almost everything has disappeared. In addition to the amateur Moto Rally Cup, which is made by Alexey Kuzmich. He also lays out routes, draws road maps and shares his experience with beginners. The cup consists of five stages, which take place from May to October in different places in Russia. The final race of this season took place near Kamensk-Shakhtinsk in the Rostov region - 1550 km from Minsk. My friend Dima and I loaded our combat KTMs into a trailer, on Wednesday evening we drove towards the M4 Don highway and on Thursday at midnight we were already in place - at the Skazka camp site, where we were accommodated in a “five-seater suite” with one room and two sofas . We woke up to the screams of geese freely grazing around the camp site, and the screams of the administrator, who wanted to limit this freedom of theirs.

Prologue

In a rally, everything happens quickly and according to a strict schedule, but the first day was relatively free. Until 14.00 - registration, and legends (a paper scroll with symbols of the route), GPS tracker to track the result and technical control in a specially designated area. There they checked for me:

Are all the controls of the motorcycle working properly - primarily the headlight and brake light;
whether the motorcycle is covered with stickers from the sponsors of the competition. A huge sheet of stickers was given to everyone in advance;
is the start number readable?
do you have all the necessary protection (helmet, motorcycle boots, turtle, knee pads and neck protection is a must);
Is there a supply of water, food (Snickers), a first aid kit.

The inspector stamped the appropriate piece of paper and sent me off to prepare further.
The essence of the race, to simplify it, is to reach the finish line according to legend with the best time, without getting lost anywhere, without getting fines, without breaking yourself and your motorcycle, and collecting all the checkpoints. For navigation in this rally, a list of points with coordinates and a legend were used. If you don’t have a device for rewinding the legend, you can draw the route yourself or go directly, and beginners are given the entire track. But then the interest disappeared, and I agreed to rent a tower for the race. There was no confidence that it would fit - the kit was designed for the KTM 450, and I have a 690.

6 clamps and a few bolts did the trick - I now have navigation, complemented by my Chinese navigator on Android. The small rectangular device at the top of the photo is an ICO GPS navigator, which is used by many rally drivers. It is controlled by just three buttons on the steering wheel and shows everything you need - speed, course, mileage, time. If the actual mileage does not coincide with the legend, you can use the buttons to rewind it and move on. Professional racers also have additional screens - a course repeater and a spare odometer, as well as a special Unik rally navigator. But for us, everything is simpler for now.

This time there was no official opening with a ceremonial passage through the arch and the announcement of the riders - although there is usually one in this series. We went straight to the liaison to the starting point. The time for more than 20 kilometers of run is limited to thirty minutes, and you need to arrive at the pre-start zone exactly on your own minute - otherwise you will be fined. The Chinese navigator took me to fields with cows instead of a normal road. Four minutes late is a great start!

Still trying to figure out what was going on, where to go and what to do, I received the control card and, following 8 other riders, finally took off. There was no time to get used to the navigation controls, and I had to figure it out on the go, at speed. Also, dodge cows and tinted Priors with mushroom pickers. It turned out to be easy to read the legend—that’s how it seemed to me until its first discrepancy with reality. If you miss a fork or a landmark, you have to return to the same point, rewind the legend and mileage to the required distance, and start from that moment again while others rush past. I must admit, everyone got lost - due to a small discrepancy in the roadmap. And my friend, who was driving not according to the legend, but along a independently drawn track, overtook everyone not only in his class, but also in the “Sport” class. The prologue lasted only 17 kilometers and all the action took a little longer than you are now reading this article. And it's all? — I thought and went back to the base to realize what had happened.

In the evening after dinner there was a briefing - we all gathered in one room and listened to the features of tomorrow's route. In total, about twenty motorcycle racers gathered, mostly from Russia. Me, Dima and several guys from Kazakhstan made the event international. We got half a chicken for dinner, road maps for the next day and instead of sleeping we went to service the motorcycles and mark the maps.

I googled how to do it - everything seems clear. Marking the DC helps speed up reading; this is done with bright multi-colored markers. Everyone makes the markings for themselves, as is more convenient, and I followed the general rules - green marked large distances between markings, red - up to 300m, where you need to slow down and be more attentive. I marked obstacles in red, but all this will still need to sit down and figure it out.

Day 1

A new morning and a new race - this time two laps of a special stage 85 km long on sandy dirt roads and dunes! I was most worried about the dunes because I had never tried anything like this. I just saw on video how cars get buried in them and trucks overturn in Dakar.

Everything went great with navigation today - it’s so good to drive when all the landmarks and distances match! The main thing is not to accelerate too much, so as not to miss a turn, and not to be distracted by others. Everything went well until the dunes. Usually, during rally raids along the dunes, you drive on courses - you take a course at 234 and drive to the point - either directly, if you can, or maneuvering between the dunes. We had the coordinates of the point, and I used the drawn route directly. More precisely, I tried to use it.

I took the first point according to legend, but then something went wrong. Instead of showing the direction, the navigator tried to find the road, rearranged the route five times per minute and behaved inappropriately. You are driving in one direction, the map is scaled, the point goes out of sight, after 2 minutes you stop, zoom out on the map - you are not at all where you need to be. Yes, I had to stop, breathe and calmly figure everything out. But there was a sense of urgency: the others were passing by. Therefore, I poked around in the dunes like a blind kitten, groped my way out of the sandbox directly, and directly through the forest with fallen logs I looked for a further route. I even knocked my motorcycle over a couple of times and spent energy lifting it. Apart from the problems with navigation, driving through the dunes on my 690 turned out to be easy - the sand was dense, and from acceleration it was possible to take even the highest of them head-on. The main thing is to stop in time. Sometimes you fly out onto a small dune, and behind it is a cliff! The slope is 70 degrees and three meters down. You can go down slowly, but you wouldn’t want to jump out into something like that.

We were given 3 hours of control time for these 85 kilometers. I spent them all, without collecting a good part of the points. Frustrated, through some wilds and sands, I drove either according to the legend or according to the navigator to the finish. And I thought that I didn’t meet it on time and they might not let me in any further. But they let me in! Even with a fine. There was a regulated half-hour break between the stages, during which we managed to lose our gloves, refuel the motorcycle, rewind the legend to the beginning, break a nail, find gloves, fiddle with all the settings in the navigator and set them to normal for navigation directly to the point.

The second round turned out great! I caught up on time while I got to the dunes along the already familiar route. And using the “compass” I easily took half of the points, enjoying every second. You cut through the sand, there is no one around, only natural beauty, you and a motorcycle. How important it is to know your equipment down to the smallest detail... The sun began to set, so I had to skip a few points and move towards the finish. At the end of the day - 9th place out of 18 participants and dissatisfaction with myself (I could have figured out the navigation right away, you damn humanist!). Again a briefing, receiving a recreation center, a night of marking and sleep.

Day 2

The last day was fast and technically easy. The main thing is not to slip on the ground, hardened like concrete, and again, not to get lost. My friend was unlucky in this regard, and had to cross reclamation ditches and jump over a huge pile of manure. But I got used to navigation, got a little lost, got a fine for exceeding the speed limit in a section (yes, 1 kilometer also counts) and ultimately took 8th place. I can’t call it success, but at least I understood what rally raids are. Not only speed, but also navigational work, and the ability to quickly calculate everything and behave correctly in the right situation.

Participants - Nastya and the men

While we were driving back, I had time to cut down expenses. The costs per person were as follows (in Russian rubles): 7000 rubles - rent of the tower. The toad and I strangled each other for a long time, but still decided to try what it was. It was possible to drive using the navigator without it. 9000 rubles - diesel fuel for a car and gasoline for a motorcycle 3000 rubles - accommodation in a camp site on site, +2000 rubles for overnight stays and food on the road 6000 rubles +2000 rubles - entry fee 1100 rubles - food on site for three days

Total 31,100 rubles - $490 for a five-day adventure, if you count the road as part of it. I will now assemble my tower to eliminate this expense item. Yes, rallying remains a sport for, to put it mildly, the wealthy. But damn, it was great. I will look at options in Europe for next year...

PS And near Lipetsk, in the Kudykina Gora park, these orange sheep graze.

Key cross-country rallies featuring motorcycles

Not all motorcycles can take part in all races. For example, the FIM Baja Cup, which is one of the youngest but quite significant world competitions, allows participation only on quad bikes. However, in a number of significant races, motorcycle racers play a very important role.

"Paris-Dakar"

The most famous, even among people far from motorcycling, is the famous Paris-Dakar rally marathon.

The start of the first race was given on December 26, 1978 in Paris, but since the rally ended only next year, the first year of its holding is considered to be 1979. Since then, the competition has been held annually.

Racers on motorcycles, ATVs, all-terrain vehicles and trucks take part in the race. Initially, in the first years of the event, the race was general, but later, for obvious reasons, it was divided into classes. Moreover, at present, routes for vehicles of different classes can vary quite significantly.

Not only professional athletes are allowed to participate in the race, but also factory teams (performing from the equipment manufacturer), as well as amateurs, and the number of the latter is about 80%.

How to get to the Dakar rally marathon - how much and what to pay for, recommendations from Anastasia Nifontova

Every year, when the next Dakar starts, questions arise - how to get to the main rally marathon on the planet, because not only professional factory racers participate in it. Before Dakar 2021, the Bombora publishing house just released a book by the famous Russian motorcycle racer Anastasia Nifontova

entitled “Clear Sky of Dakar”, where the athlete not only talked about her career, but also revealed in detail its financial component.

Nifontova went to the start of the Dakar twice, and if in the first case she competed in the regular motorcycle competition, then in the second - in the special Original competition, whose participants are required to independently service the equipment; any assistance from mechanics is strictly prohibited. Nifontova successfully coped with the tests she described in her book. Well, we are publishing a chapter from it dedicated to budgetary matters.

*****

How to get to the big races? I mean the World Championship, Africa Race, Dakar, Silk Road. Lately, this question has been repeatedly addressed to me by those who have already tasted off-road racing and even took part in some short Baja. People often believe that if they were able to pass this stage, they can easily enter top races and finish them successfully. “Participant of the Dakar - sounds like it!

It is impossible to give simple and short advice on this topic. Behind the simple phrase “Dakar participant and finisher” there is much more hidden than meets the eye. Many people simply do not know that money alone is not enough to participate in it. Each newcomer is required to have in his racing archive at least two races of the World Championship series or the Dakar series (some large private races under the auspices of ASO and the Dakar brand), based on the results of which applicants for participation are selected.

Probably, someone can afford not to waste time on trifles and immediately start spending 20,000 euros per stage of the World Championship, gaining experience at the highest level. But, in my opinion, this is unreasonable not only from a financial point of view, but also trivial for security. In this regard, I urge you to start a gradual upward movement from the first steps and not to jump through flights of stairs.

The beauty of the day. Nifontova and Nesterova - on the podium of “Africa Eco Race”

Unfortunately, in Russia we have a small selection of rally competitions. Only two options come to my mind: MRC (Moto Rally Cup) and the official Russian rally-raid championship. The first is an interesting series of races for beginners under the guidance of experienced car navigator Alexey Kuzmich.

The second is now going through another period of reformation with new leadership, but I hope in the near future it will regain its former glory befitting its status.

Once you feel more confident and your book scribbles magically turn into meaningful reading, feel free to move on to the next level. In this case, you will have a choice: go to several stages of the Russian championship or choose one inexpensive foreign private race. There are a great many of them held during the season. In this chapter I will try to shed light on the “dark kingdom” of foreign rally championships.

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As an example, let’s take participation in the most expensive competition – the World Cross-Country Rally Championship. Each stage, of course, is unique in its own way, but in general the cost for all is approximately the same.

First, you need to decide which motorcycle you will be racing on - your own or a rental one. If you have your own prepared vehicle, then I, naturally, highly recommend driving it. As they say, it is always closer and clearer. The downsides to this choice are that you need to think about shipping the unit to the race and the mechanics.

Here, by the way, there are also a lot of options. Many teams offer race support and transportation, but this costs more money than doing it yourself. Ideally, you need to find a friend, or better yet two, who will travel with you on the bus. Then fuel costs can be significantly reduced, and you won’t have to shell out money for an air ticket.

Powerful Dakar for Toyota. Al-Attiyah's victory is just one of five successes

So, we calculate the distance to the race site, multiply by 2 (back and forth) and add about another 1000–1500 km as vehicle mileage during the competition. Next, we calculate the fuel consumption for this mileage, add the cost of mandatory maintenance of the car before the trip and accommodation with meals along the way. This is how the cost of transport turns out. Are you shocked by the resulting figure? I’m already used to it and have a philosophical attitude. For example, transport to Sardinia (total travel distance 9000 km) cost about 3000 euros.

The mechanic's salary is considered separately. This question is quite slippery and strictly individual. It's up to you to come to an agreement. From the guest worker “I work for food and lodging” to a full salary with travel allowances.

FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship

Held annually since 2003. From 1999 to 2002 it was called the World Cup.

The route passes through different countries and is divided into several stages with a fairly long break in time. This year the Championship took place as follows:

30.03 – 4.04 – United Arab Emirates,
7.07 – 19.07 – “Silk Road” route – Russia-Mongolia-China,
1.09 – 7.09 — Chile,
3.10 – 9.10 – Morocco.

In addition to global competitions, various local races are also held throughout the season. For example, in our country this is the Russian Cross-Country Rally Championship and Cup, and one of the most famous foreign races is the so-called “Baja 1000” - a Mexican rally marathon, held annually since 1967 and considered the longest non-stop race in the world .

How to drive a rally raid?

How to get to the big races? World Championship? Africa Flight? Dakar? "Silk Road"? A very common question that cannot be answered in a nutshell. Behind the simple phrase “Dakar participant and finisher” there is much more hidden than meets the eye. Many people are not aware that money alone is not enough to participate in the Dakar; every newcomer must have at least two races in the world championship or the Dakar series (this includes large private races under the auspices of ASO and the Dakar brand) in their track record. , based on the results of which applicants for participation are selected.

Probably, someone will be able, without wasting money, to immediately start spending 20 thousand euros per stage of the World Championship, gaining experience at the highest level, but this is unreasonable from the point of view of not only finances, but also safety. Therefore, I would advise starting a gradual upward movement from the first steps and not jumping over flights of stairs. Unfortunately, in Russia we have a small selection of rally-raid competitions. Only two options come to mind: “Moto Rally Cup” (Moto Rally Cup/MRC) - an interesting series of races for beginners led by experienced car navigator Alexey Kuzmich, and the official Russian championship in rally raids, which, unfortunately, is not inhabited by the most the best times both in terms of the composition of participants and the length of the tracks.

If you have decided to try your hand at rally raids, bought a suitable motorcycle and attached a rewind for the road book to it, feel free to search the MRC calendar online and accelerate to your first races. A friendly atmosphere, loyal attitude of the organizers, interesting routes, advice and assistance from experienced riders, plus the necessary basic skills in working with a road book are provided to you. Once you feel more confident and the roadbook scribbles suddenly begin to transform into something meaningful, feel free to move on to the next level.

In this case, you have a choice: either go to several stages of the Russian Championship, or choose one inexpensive foreign private race, of which there are a great many held during the season. Some of my friends complain: they say, we are not so rich to go to international competitions, so our ultimate dream is 300 km of SS in three days of racing in the Russian championship. In fact, going “there” is sometimes cheaper, so you shouldn’t be afraid of traveling abroad at all. Let's take the seven-day race in Albania as an example.

“Rally of Albania” has been held for 13 years in a row and annually brings together from 65 to 150 motorcyclists. The linear route of the race, more than 2000 kilometers long, is scheduled for seven fighting days, so taking into account arrival and departure, administrative and technical checks, you need to budget about ten days for the entire event. To participate, you do not need to have an expensive international license from the FIM, and no one will even ask for our national license from the MFR, so apart from your license, documents for a motorcycle, a passport and two photographs from the documents, you will not need anything. Separately, you will have to pay 25 euros for mandatory insurance from the organizers. The entry fee of 550 euros includes motorcycle insurance for the duration of the race, transportation of luggage from camp to camp, medical care, transportation to the hospital, space for a tent/car at the bivouac, rental of a navigation system and trekking control, evacuation of broken equipment to the camp, road book for the participant and his assistance, daily route map.

70% of Albania's territory is mountainous and forested, so the main part of the race takes place in the mountains. About half of the liaisons also run on the ground and sometimes the surface does not differ much from the special sections. Unlike the classic stages of the World Cross Country Rally Championship, where the average speed can exceed 100 km/h, the race in Albania is closer to the classic mountain enduro and the average speed does not exceed 40 km/h. Therefore, most of the participants take to the start line on light power bikes with an engine capacity of 250 to 500 cm3. For special connoisseurs of large two-cylinder touring motorcycles such as the Honda Africa Twin, KTM Adventure or BMW GS 1200, there is a separate class. Last year I rode the entire route on a KTM Adventure 990 and I can say that it’s a dubious pleasure, especially for a girl. There are eight different classifications in total in the race, if you choose a lighter motorcycle, you can enter one of seven: M-1 (up to 450cc), M-2 (450cc-600cc), M-3 (over 600cc single-cylinder), M-4 ( over 600cc two-cylinder), M-5 (Veterans up to 450cc. Date of birth before 01/1/1967), M-6 (Veterans over 450cc. Date of birth before 01/1/1967), M-7 (Women's classification), M-A (passing routes according to a specific time schedule). Since the speeds in Albania are low, the special sections are relatively short, which allows you not to pile a bunch of additional tanks on the motorcycle and get by with a standard larger tank from the factory tuning catalogue, even 12 liters is quite enough. From navigation equipment, it is enough to rewind the road book attached to the steering wheel on two extensions, and two odometers, the main one and the spare one. There is no need to install expensive fasteners for navigation, which is required for the Russian and World Championships in Albania.

With accommodation and food, everything is also very democratic. The most expensive hotel with a pool and all the amenities in Tirana costs about 50 euros for one or 60 euros for two. In smaller cities there are simpler hotels, and prices do not exceed 30 euros per night, including breakfast. Those who want to save on housing can live in a car in the bivouac, which is usually located next to the main race hotel. In the most luxurious restaurant, lunch with wine, steak and cheese costs no more than 15 euros per person, but if you don’t go too fancy, you can easily fit in 5-7 euros.

With all the above advantages, there is one big disadvantage to the Albanian Rally, it is not close to get to it from Russia, about 3000 kilometers one way, and here several options arise. You can feel like a factory pilot and not bother with your equipment and motorcycle. You negotiate with a foreign team and rent from them a ready-made motorcycle with full technical service. This pleasure will cost about 1,800 euros per week, but you relieve yourself of a lot of difficulties, and besides the plane ticket and your personal belongings, you don’t need to worry about anything else. If you drive your own car, you will have to pay about 700 euros for fuel (at the rate of 10 liters per 100 km), 200 euros for accommodation and meals along the way, 150 euros for the car and mechanic, and some other small things. The total will be about 1100 euros. And if you take like-minded people with you and divide these travel expenses in half or even three, the amount will be significantly reduced. In my opinion, this option is the most budget-friendly and, oddly enough, fun.

Overall, the race in Albania is very democratic. For the most part, the participants are amateurs from European countries with completely different levels of skiing, from very fast to very slow, so even if you are not the most confident rally driver, you will not feel uncomfortable in this company. The standard time for the rally is early June, the average temperature is about 25 - 30 degrees. Since the area is mountainous and there is a sea nearby, the weather can change during the day from sunny to rainy and back several times, but this only adds to the variety. I remember Albania for its beautiful landscapes and fantastic clouds that cling to the mountain peaks and swirl in bizarre shapes. You definitely need to be prepared for the fact that every day on the way you will have to cross several fords through mountain streams, so you need to take with you shoe dryers or spare liners, if they are provided for in the design of the motorcycle boots. A raincoat and a spare set of uniforms with thermal underwear are also required. Another necessary thing is a belt bag where you can put your phone, money, food and other items necessary on the road. Just in case, I took with me a spare lens for glasses. On my Oakley airbrake it literally changes in seconds and sometimes it was easier to do just that than to rub the dirt with a rag while scratching the glass. Since the track is as close as possible to enduro, I recommend driving not in a rally jacket, but in an ordinary jersey with full protection - a turtle neck underneath.

In any case, if anyone has any questions, I am always ready to answer them on my pages on social networks. Squeak, don't be shy. @ nifontova 13
V 10 points > August 23, 2022 19:20 Anastasia Nifontova