A unique road rally will take car lovers and explorers through Placitas next month.
The inaugural Placitas Petroglyphs Rally is scheduled for Saturday, April 13. The event is organized by the ALFA Romeo Owners Club of New Mexico and sponsored by Red Fox Realty.
This particular rally defies the typical expectations associated with a car rally. Unlike traditional events, there are no maps to guide competitors to the end of the course. And unlike many car events, it’s not about speed, it’s about exact timing.
Red Fox Realty Owner Rick DeVoss explains that the term, ‘road rally’ is a broad term and can be organized and executed in various ways. However, the basic definition of a road rally is a game played by adults on public roads where they drive at or below the posted speed limit.
“This is a type of gimmick rally,” said DeVoss. “The challenge for the contestants is to count the signs they’re seeing along the road and we’ve identified specific signs that they’re supposed to look for.”
The rally organizers created what they call, General Rally Rules (GRR).
Although it is a driving competition, the organizers have strict rules to ensure legal compliance. Participants are instructed to drive below the speed limit and there are mandatory pauses for 15 to 30 seconds to reduce average speeds.
Instead of reading a map, rally competitors are given fact statements and definitions in advance to memorize, which they will need to recall while driving to get through the course.
“For example, if we use the abbreviation TL, that’s referring to the traffic light. So if I tell you to pause or turn at a TL, you have to know what that means,” says DeVoss.
The specific signs the competitors will look for have quotation marks in the GRR.
“For instance, when passing through Placitas, if I instruct you to ‘look for “wildlife,”’ you should search for a sign with the exact word ‘wildlife’ written on it. However, if the sign displays a picture of a wild horse, it doesn’t count,” clarified DeVoss.
Each car in the rally will consist of a two-person team — the driver and a navigator. DeVoss said they require both individuals to be adults due to liability concerns.
There is no entry fee for the rally and the only requirement to join is having a vehicle with at least four wheels.
The rally is scheduled to start at 10:05 a.m. on April 13 at the KFC located on Highway 550 in Bernalillo. The event will end at the Range Cafe located at 925 Camino Del Pueblo in Bernalillo. The majority of the rally will take place on the back roads of Placitas.
For information on how to enter the rally, contact Rick DeVoss, the Rallymaster at 817-300-6121.
There is no cap on how many cars can enter the rally, but organizers are prepared for 20 to 25 cars.