Rally crews must cover a pre-defined route made up of road sections and timed stages. The result of the rally is obtained by totalling the times posted by each crew on each special stage.

Special stages (SS)
Special stages take place on roads or tracks which are closed to traffic and made secure for spectators on the day of the event. Their length tends to vary between 5 and 35km. Special stages are occasionally run at night.

Road sections
This is the mandatory itinerary that crews must follow to get to the different stages. These roads are open to other users and competitors must comply with local traffic regulations, although they must also complete the section within a given time.

Start orders
In the IRC, as well as in the different national championships, competitors start the first leg in the order of their ranking in the provisional championship standings and then according to their overnight classification for the next leg. Cars start the stages every two minutes or every minute.

Time controls
Each crew must have its timecard stamped by marshals at the start and finish of every stage, as well as at parc ferme and service park ‘in’ and ‘exit’ controls. This procedure serves as proof that the crew checked in at the different controls at its scheduled time.