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France: VHRS, RRO and Monte-Carlo Historique

French regularity is timed from the start of each regularity zone (ZR). The recipe: start, drive, never press a TC inside the zone.

Some French events ban devices like this

The Tour Auto (2020 rules, the current Peter Auto rules were not checked) bans any device that can display or compute an average. Only mechanical trip meters and stopwatches are allowed. The Monte-Carlo Historique bans competitor GPS-recalibration systems, with disqualification, and allows at most two instruments with electronic displays. Read the event's regulations before you bring the phone.

Not yet checked by a competitor

This page comes from the written rules. It has not been read by a French competitor yet.

How this format times you

The ideal time is cumulative (or implied cumulative) from the start of the zone.

  • FFSA VHRS (closed roads). The maximum average is 75 km/h. The organiser publishes high, intermediate and low averages in a table of averages (a fourth, "moderee", is optional). Mid-zone changes are given at a roadbook km plus a landmark, for example "du Km 13,18 a l'arrivee: 64/59/54". No distance-to-time table is supplied: only km/h per segment. Rain tables are -3 and -5 km/h, applied on the clerk of the course's order and announced at the time control (CH) before the zone.
  • Checks. Secret intermediate timings are mandatory, the first not before 2 km. They are timed by hand, by beacons or by GPS. The finish timing line may come before the roadbook finish, never after.
  • Penalty. 1 point per second, early or late the same. More than 10 % over the average is a EUR 160 fine, then disqualification. The stewards penalise slowing or stopping at the wrong moment, especially near the finish.
  • Start. A standing start with the engine running, a countdown, on the full minute, with no tolerance. The interval is 1 minute, sometimes 30 s.
  • FFSA RRO (open roads). Averages up to 50 km/h, several successive averages per zone, zones of at least 3 km. You are scored against the "heure ideale de passage". Checks are anywhere except the first 2 km. The organiser may double the early penalty. The start is by a marshal or by "autostart", where the crew starts itself at the time on its card.
  • Monte-Carlo Historique. Averages below 50 km/h and their changes are printed on the time card. "Exceptional conditions" averages are on the back of the card and switched on by a sign. The rules state the cumulative measure: the target is based on the distance from the start and the imposed average. At least 1 hidden point per zone. Manual timing is 1 point per 0.1 s, GPS timing is to the second at 10 points per second, capped at 20 000 per zone. More than 20 % over the average from the start to any point costs 30 000. Start: standing, on the full minute (30 s in the final leg), at the red board.
  • Tour Auto (2020). The set average must be kept throughout the test, at intermediate points as well as the finish, which means cumulative. 1 point per second, with penalties for braking or slow driving.

Stage setup

See Turning the roadbook into a stage. For a French zone:

  1. Stage type Regularity. Start signal Time, at the full minute you are given. The default is the next full minute.
  2. One section for each average segment. A change "at the oak tree, km 13.18" is a section boundary at 13.18 km. Enter the distance and the speed. If you are only given km/h per segment, that is all you need.
  3. Keep Auto-switch sections by distance on.
  4. One saved stage per table. Save a stage for each table you may need (high, intermediate, low, rain -3, rain -5, "exceptional"). The table to use can change on the day, and is announced at the CH before the zone. Load it from the stage sheet (Load) while you wait at the CH.
  5. Finish. The app cannot finish by distance. Use the Finish button, or a Line finish, because the timing line may be before the roadbook finish.

Button recipe

  1. Set the Rally Time to the official clock. At the CH, load the right stage and press Start.
  2. The Ideal Time counts down 30 s to the full minute. The start is at zero.
  3. Drive. Read + as late (SPEED UP) and - as early (SLOW DOWN).
  4. At a roadbook landmark where an average changes, press Sync when you are level with it. It does not restart the Ideal Time. Its number can move, because the distance changes.
  5. Never press Next Section + Restart, Sync + Restart, TC or long-press the Ideal Time inside the zone. They record a TC and re-base the ideal time. You would hide a real lateness.
  6. Press Finish at the end.

Pitfalls

  • The organiser's distance is the reference, not the GPS. Calibrate before the event and use Sync where an average changes. At other landmarks, correct the trip with - and +. See Calibrating.
  • The finish timing line can be before the roadbook finish. The app does not know where it is. Press Finish (or draw a Line finish) at the timing line, not at the roadbook distance.
  • Do not sprint to recover lateness or stop to burn earliness. Overspeed limits and penalties for slowing or stopping near checks apply. A display of -31 s (SLOW DOWN) is not a reason to stop. Correct gently over a stretch.
  • Wrong table. A rain table or an exceptional average changes every target in the zone. Check the speed of the first section before the start.

How well the app fits

Good. The cumulative model is what the app does when you press no TC.

  • The app shows tenths of a second under one minute, but it has no rounding or truncation setting. It is not known whether GPS times are rounded or truncated to the second in VHRS or Monte-Carlo.
  • Quick switching between tables is by loading another saved stage. It works at a stop, not on the move.
  • It does not know where the secret checks are.
  • It does not reproduce the early x2 of RRO.

Legality note

Check the event's regulations on electronic devices. The Tour Auto 2020 rules and the Monte-Carlo Historique limits above mean this app may be banned at some French events. An event's own regulations override the federation's. Do not assume an app is allowed. This app is a crew aid, not official timing.

Sources

Article numbers in brackets.

  • FFSA Reglement standard Rallyes de Regularite Sportive 2025 [7.5, 7.2.2, 6.1, Art. 9]: PDF
  • FFSA Regles specifiques RRO 2025 [7.1.8, 7.5, 7.5.1]: PDF
  • FFSA Reglement standard des rallyes 2025 (start procedure) [7.5.4-7.5.8]: PDF
  • Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2025 [13.3, 19.1, 19.3, 19.4]: PDF
  • Tour Auto Optic 2000, 2020 regularity rules [4.4, 7.5.2]: PDF