Image: © GIACOMO ALTAMIRA/Demotix/Corbis
About This Quiz
Car rallies test the limits of vehicles and drivers on long, hard courses. How much do you know about World Rally Cars and the World Rally Championship? Take this quiz to test your knowledge.
What year did the first World Rally Championship take place?
1962
1973
The races have evolved and changed substantially since 1973.
1981
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How many points do drivers earn for a first-place finish?
25
First place gets 25 points; second place gets 18; third place gets 15.
35
55
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Which racing organization crafts the specifications for World Rally Cars?
Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)
The FIA also organizes the World Rally Championship.
International Conference of Sports Car Clubs (ICSCC)
The Off-Road Championship (TORC)
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What happens at a historic rally?
Teams use older cars.
Teams use older cars in this event, which is also know as classic rallying.
Famous retired drivers are invited to compete.
The race is run on a famous course.
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World Rally Car engines have how many cylinders?
four
The four-cylinder specification applies to every car for the purpose of fairness.
six
eight
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How many miles might a World Rally Car driver travel on a typical day?
50 miles (80 kilometers)
150 miles
250 miles
And most of that 250 miles is traversed at breakneck speeds.
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Superstar driver Erik Carlsson drove for which manufacturer?
Saab
He drove for Saab and finished first or second in nearly every race.
Skoda Auto
Citroen
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In liters, what's the specified engine displacement for World Rally Cars?
1.6 liters
The specified engine displacement is 1.6 liters. They are turbo engines, too.
2.6 liters
6.0 liters
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What are pacenotes?
notes on the car's servicing during race pit stops
navigator notes regarding the course's characteristics
The navigator relays detailed messages throughout the race.
notes the driver uses to determine the car's torque during low-speed portions of the course
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Compared to normal stages, "super special stages" at rally events have what trait?
They are more hazardous.
They are shorter.
They are so short that each team's time is often nearly the same.
They are longer.
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Unlike most modern cars, World Rally Cars lack which critical feature?
power brakes
traction control
Drivers rely on their experience and instincts to maintain control.
seat belts
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Recce refers to which pre-race process?
car maintenance
course reconnaissance
Detailed notes on the course are critical to the team's success.
a pause just before the race begins
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What's the maximum brake horsepower for World Rally Cars?
400 horsepower (298,280 watts)
300 horsepower
Three hundred horsepower is a lot for lightweight cars.
280 horsepower
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About how many hours does it take to build a World Rally Car to correct specifications?
300
500
700
Engineers will strip a factory-made car to its frame and then rebuild it, which can take about 500 hours.
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What is the so-called "transport stage"?
the time just before race's start
the shortest stage
where the car is driven to the next racing stage
Between stages drivers guide their vehicles to the start of the next round
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How fast can many World Rally Cars go from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour)?
about three seconds
about five seconds
Most street cars are nowhere near fast enough to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in five seconds.
about seven seconds
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A "regularity rally" is also sometimes called what?
goal-speed-time rally
time-speed-distance rally
The TSD rallies are often held on public roads and don't require high speeds.
distance-speed-torque rally
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How many support championships are there in the World Rally Championship?
two
three
There are three: the Junior World Rally Championship, the World Rally Championship 2 and the World Rally Championship 3.
four
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In which kind of rally are public roads closed to regular traffic?
stage rally
Race organizers work with police to keep traffic off of the race route in a stage rally.
road rally
neither
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The World Rally Championship 2 was formerly denoted as what?
Super 1000
Super 2000
Rules for the World Rally Championship 2 cars are different than that of the other two racing classes.
Super 3000
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What is the maximum restrictor size of R5 rally cars?
30 millimeters
31 millimeters
32 millimeters
The maximum diameter of the restrictor is 32 millimeters. Restrictors limit the maximum output of turbocharged engines.
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Most racing seasons are made up of how many rallies?
13
Drivers accumulate points at the end of each of the 13 rallies.
18
24
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Which driving trick sends the car into a slide around a curve?
handbrake turn
Handbrake turns send the car into a slide. Controlled slides are a critical part of rallying.
heel-and-toe
hill jumping
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To what does the heel-and-toe technique refer?
using your feet to drive
the process of braking and hitting the gas at the same time
The technique involves hitting the brakes and gas at the same time. Done properly as a driver enters a turn, it allows the engine's revolutions per minute to jump and pull the car quickly onto the straightaway.
being a fraction of a second slower than the leader's race time
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What is "yumping"?
hill jumping
Aggressive drivers routinely send their cars airborne when they reach hills.
accidentally slamming into race spectators
an accidental rollover after striking a course hazard
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The 1000 Lakes Rally is held in which country?
Sweden
Finland
It's now known as Rally Finland.
Iceland
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What's a danger of the Scandinavian flick?
broken steering components
vehicle rollover
The technique uses inertia to fling vehicles around curves quickly, but it's also hazardous and can cause rollover.
punctured tires
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The effect of turbo restrictors is most noticeable above which amount of revolutions per minute?
2,000 revolutions per minute
3,000 revolutions per minute
5,000 revolutions per minute
Power is decreased but engine torque actually increases above 5,000 revolutions per minute.
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What is a benefit of left-foot braking?
It stops wear on the transmission.
It helps cars corner more efficiently.
It harnesses inertia to help drivers take corners faster.
It stops the car more quickly.
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The Acropolis Rally is known for what conditions?
hot and dusty
The dusty rally is held on rocky mountain roads.
swampy and humid
windy and rainy
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You Got:
/30
© GIACOMO ALTAMIRA/Demotix/Corbis