The goal of the Balkan Rally is to create an unforgettable journey across the most stunning landscapes of our region in unique vehicles, with great people. To add a bit of excitement to the ride, we’ve put together the following competition rules:
1. Throughout the rally, we track your daily driving time, how accurately you follow the designated route, and how well you complete the hidden challenges along the way. The winner of the Balkan Rally Grand Prize will be the team that finishes as close as possible to the ideal time and route we’ve set and completes all the daily photo challenges. Each morning’s start follows a specific grid order.
2. At the opening event, each team will receive a race kit that includes all the essentials for the race:
3. All teams start with 1000 points. Over the 5 days of the rally, you can lose or earn points based on performance. The team with the highest score at the end wins the Balkan Rally.
4. Over 5 consecutive days, participants must complete 5 precisely defined routes, each within an ideal time. Every morning, teams receive a written description of the day’s route along with a regional map that marks key checkpoints and points of interest. The ideal time for each day is not given in advance, it must be discovered by solving tasks at the designated checkpoints. If you get stuck and need help, you can call the info hotline to receive the ideal time for the day — but it’ll cost you 15 points.
5. Out of the 5 rally days, only your 4 best days count toward the final score. That means each team gets one “joker day” — automatically the day when they lose the most points. The point loss from that day won’t be included in the final results.
6. Any deviation from the ideal finish time results in a 1-point deduction per minute. Seconds are rounded to the nearest minute using standard rounding rules. Since older vehicles generally face more challenges during the rally, therefore, cars in the vintage enthusiast category will be categorised into bands of 10 years based on year of manufacture, and the older the starting vehicle, the broader the interval of time that is considered the perfect time period, as follows:
7. Leaving the ideal route results in a 1-point deduction per kilometer between the start and the finish. Distances are rounded to the nearest kilometer using standard rounding rules. If the deviation exceeds 1 hour (60 minutes) or 60 kilometers, the maximum penalty is capped at 60 points for each. However, if a team leaves the ideal route but eventually finds their way back and completes the full track without skipping any section, no points will be deducted for going off-course.
8. As part of the race kit, each participant receives an RFID wristband, which must be tapped on the designated reader at both the start and finish each day. The device records your time on the course down to the exact second. We owe this precision timekeeping to Chrono24: “Timekeeping at the Balkan Rally is powered by Chrono24, ensuring every moment counts!”
9. At the opening event, each vehicle will be equipped with a GPS tracker provided by NAVCENTER . This allows the rally organizers to monitor the location, movement, and speed of all cars and motorbikes in real time. It’s how we verify route deviations and track any missed kilometers from the ideal path.
10.To prevent tactical stalling near the finish line, participants are allowed to stop only once for a maximum of 3 minutes during the final 30 kilometers of each daily stage. Traffic-related stops (like red lights or stop signs) are, of course, exempt. In addition to GPS tracking, we may also use an undercover “rally cop” to help monitor compliance with this rule. Violating this will result in a 30-point penalty.
11. During the final 30 kilometers of each stage, any deviation from the official route results in a 1-point deduction per kilometer, even if the participant returns to the track without skipping any section. In this final stretch, penalties are based on the total distance covered outside the designated route.
12. During the final 30 kilometers, the average speed must not drop below 20 km/h. Violating this rule results in a 30-point penalty.
13. Over the 5 days, participants must take a photo at each of the 18 designated locations. The completed photos must be placed into the official album received at the opening event. Missing or incorrectly taken photos will result in a 10-point deduction per photo.
Throughout the rally, participants must fully comply with the traffic laws and road regulations of all countries along the route.