Competitors will traverse everything from rocky mountains, washes, many kilometers of flat-out beach, open deserts and the largest and most remote sand dunes in all of the Americas.
This terrain is completely different from Baja or Nevada, nearly all of the Sonora Rally takes place on “roads” and terrain completely unknown to off-road racing.
As with most cross-country rallies, the actual race course is never published and always kept secret from competitors until the race start. Dakar- Style Roadbooks are handed out each evening, to prepare for the next days stage. There is no pre-running, no GPS, and the course is not marked. Understanding how to navigate and how to use the Roadbooks correctly, are the keys to doing well in this rally.
NEWCOMERS TO THE RALLY FORMAT?
Don’t worry! There will be a condensed version of our Navigation School prior to the first drivers meeting, on the day of registration. For updated school schedule, click here:
NAVIGATION SCHOOLS
All race vehicles are required to have an odometer with 1/10 or 1/100 kilometer precision, as well as a digital compass (GPS) that provides “True North” vehicle headings in numeric format (0 to 359 degrees). The odometer MUST be adjustable up and down in distance via manual control. Utilizing a GPS as an odometer is generally not acceptable since they are usually not easily adjustable on-the-fly. All distances in the roadbook will be in kilometers, not miles. These are all standard requirements for cross-country rallies worldwide.
In cross-country rally, competitors take care of themselves while on the race course. Crew support is allowed in the bivouac only. Support provided to competitors, by crew members, on the “Special” stages OR Transfers (Liaison), is forbidden, except where specifically authorized by the rally organization. However, fellow competitors are allowed to help each other on Specials or Transfers (Liaisons).
A temporary overnight camp — a place where competitors and crews rest, repair their vehicles, and share stories — the Sonora Rally Bivouac has become synonymous with camaraderie among teams and drivers. Locations are chosen with beauty and historical significance in mind, and the towns we visit benefit as we hire local chefs, use local ingredients, and serve regional beers and wines with our meals. The organizers of the Sonora Rally strive to offer a complete experience for our competitors, immersing them fully in Sonoran culture with the hope that they return, either with the rally or on their own.
Sonora is full of delicious traditional foods, including the world-famous Sonoran beef, giant handmade flour tortillas, and modern specialties like Sonoran-style aguachiles and chiltepín shrimp. The warm and welcoming people of Sonora are ready to show the rally world everything that makes this state so special.
There are showers, bathrooms and camping space available in each bivouac (subject to change).
Competitors must supply their own fuel. Each stage will have a fuel area near the start of the Special (usually competitor provided gas cans), and on certain stages, there can be a single neutralized (off the clock) fuel stop mid-way through.
Motos: 150-160km between authorized refuelings. Any stages longer than 150km the organization will have a 10 minute neutralized stop in order to fuel the bike safely.
Cars, Trucks, UTVs: Should have fuel range of minimum 250km. Remember: Fuel range is much worse in sand and dunes than what you would normally get, so give yourself plenty of margin!
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