[Graham]

I have to confess that I have never watched an actual real Rally taking place, I wonder what time penalty criteria they use for cars which do not complete a stage ?

That’s quite a confession! You are missing out on a treat. There‘s nothing quite like wrapping up and going out on chilly winter’s day to enjoy the action - and see how the event is run. A popular format these days is a one-day single-venue event based at a circuit or on MOD land. Not quite the same as classic forest stage, but still great fun. If you want to get really close, organisers always welcome volunteers to help marshal the event.

If you prefer to stay warm, there are plenty of highlights free online (RedBull have extended highlights each evening of a WRC rally), including classic rallies from the 80s & 90s on the fabulous VHS Rallies YouTube channel.

As for the time penalty, the WRC currently use ten minutes for cars that fail to finish a stage. If a car misses two stages, that becomes 20 minutes etc. They plan to reduce that to two minutes next year for hybrid malfunctions that have blighted some rallies this year - that would mean a penalised car could score championship points. At ten minutes, any points are highly unlikely.

Feeling even more embarrassed (as I never been or watched a stage right through),  So I guess a Real Rally stage is around 8 minutes long ? and if the penalty for a DNF is 10 minutes, it is just over twice as long as the average Rally time ?