Skip to Navigation

Navigation in road rallies and trials

This introductory guide has been put together with the aim of encouraging you to go out and enjoy two of the most interesting and challenging forms of motor sport – road rallies and trials.

Road rallies and trials will sharpen your skills in observation, planning, logic and decision making while at the same time providing an enjoyable time with a friend or partner that can quickly become an adventure.

It is not a step-by-step or 'how to' manual and you will soon learn that for every answer that could be given for any given scenario there will be a devious director or organiser who can think up another way to obfuscate the information given. That is a very enjoyable and challenging part of the mind game between the director and competitor!

Some of this may seem daunting at first but you will find that your fellow competitors will advise and assist if you approach them with a genuine concern. Above all, remember that you are not competing for sheep stations so go about it with the intention of enjoying the challenge of the event in safety.

I make no claim to be the world's (or even my club's) best navigator and the information provided here is a combination of experience in motor sport, flying, sailing and outback travel together with advice kindly provided by several experienced navigators both here in Australia and overseas.

If anyone has a better answer to anything in this guide please tell us so that the guide can be updated and we can all learn. Discuss it on the Navigation in road rallies and trials forum thread.

This guide was first compiled in 2009 by Art Clarke.
Copyright 2009 Arthur Clarke.