1. The overall classification is based on three equally important elements: following the official route as accurately as possible, completing each day’s route within the designated ideal driving time, and successfully completing all required challenges along the route. The Balkan Rally Grand Prize is awarded to the team that most accurately follows the prescribed route and ideal driving time while successfully completing all daily photo challenges. Each morning, competitors start in the predetermined starting order.
2. At the Opening Ceremony, every participant receives the official rally package containing:
3. Every competitor starts the rally with 1,000 points. During the six scored days (Prologue + 5 Rally Days), competitors may lose points due to penalties.
Overall winners are announced in each competition category (Vintage Enthusiast, Modern Classics, Motorcycle). The winner of each category is the competitor or team finishing with the highest total score.
4. Each competitor receives an RFID wristband as part of the starter package. Competitors must tap their wristband on the official RFID reader operated by the organizers both at the start and upon crossing the finish line of each race day. The RFID system records the official race time with second-by-second accuracy.
5. During the Opening Ceremony, GPS tracking devices provided by NAVCENTER will be installed in every vehicle. These devices enable the organizers to monitor the real-time position, movement and speed of every participating vehicle throughout the rally. GPS data is used to verify adherence to the official route and to calculate any omitted sections of the prescribed route.
6. The GPS route data and the official RFID timekeeping data are automatically processed and evaluated using software provided by Dataspy Kft.
7. Competitors must complete six predetermined routes over six consecutive days while adhering as closely as possible to the designated ideal driving time.
Each morning, competitors receive the detailed itinerary for that day’s route at the Start, when their RFID wristband is scanned, together with a regional map indicating the official checkpoints and designated photo locations.
The ideal driving time for the day is revealed at the checkpoints shown on the map, provided competitors successfully complete the assigned checkpoint challenges.
On any of the six competition days, competitors may receive the itinerary for the final stage of the route only after successfully completing the task at the second checkpoint.
If assistance is required to solve a checkpoint challenge, competitors may call the designated information number to receive that day’s ideal driving time in exchange for a 15-point penalty.
8. For the six race days, every competitor receives three Coffee Break Cards, each worth 60 minutes. Using a Coffee Break Card extends the competitor’s ideal driving time for that race day by exactly 60 minutes.
A Coffee Break Card is considered used only after the competitor notifies the organizers in writing using the designated contact information printed on the back of the competitor badge, and the organizers confirm its activation in writing.
Coffee Break Cards may be activated no later than at the second checkpoint of the relevant Rally Day, provided that written confirmation is received before leaving the checkpoint.
A vehicle may use a maximum of two Coffee Break Cards during a single race day, and both cards must be declared at the same time. Unused Coffee Break Cards have no value after the rally and do not award bonus points.
9. Of the 6 scored days, only the 5 best results count toward the final classification. This means that every competitor has one discarded day. The day on which the competitor loses the highest number of points is automatically excluded from the final score, and any penalties incurred on that day will not count toward the overall results.
In the event of a tie, the result of the discarded day will determine the winner. If the competitors remain tied, the older vehicle, based on its year of manufacture, will be declared the winner.
10. Any deviation from the ideal finish time, whether early or late, results in a deduction of 1 point per minute. Seconds are rounded to the nearest minute according to standard mathematical rounding rules. Since completing the rally with older vehicles is generally more challenging, competitors in the Vintage Enthusiast category receive a time tolerance based on the vehicle’s year of manufacture. The permitted deviation from the ideal driving time is as follows:
11. Leaving the prescribed route between the start and finish results in a deduction of 1 point per kilometre. After the total length of the omitted route sections has been calculated, the distance is rounded to the nearest whole kilometre according to standard mathematical rounding rules.
A competitor may lose a maximum of 60 points on a single Rally Day through the combined penalties for time deviations, route deviations, and missing photos.
If a competitor temporarily leaves the prescribed route but later rejoins it without omitting any mandatory section, no route penalty will be applied.
The exception is the final section of the day, known as the Red Zone, whose starting point is clearly marked in the official itinerary. Every competitor is required to enter the Red Zone. Failure to do so results in a 15-point deduction.
Within the Red Zone, every kilometre travelled outside the designated race route results in a deduction of 1 point per kilometre, even if the competitor later rejoins the route without missing any mandatory section. If, based on the available GPS data and other evidence, the organizers conclude that a competitor intentionally gained an unfair advantage or deliberately delayed their arrival for tactical purposes, an additional 20-point penalty may be imposed. The reason for the penalty will be published on the competitor’s personal results page. Competitors may submit a protest in accordance with the official protest procedure and by providing appropriate supporting evidence.
12. Tactical time-wasting or any behaviour intended to influence the competition result is strictly prohibited within the Red Zone.
The following actions are considered tactical time-wasting:
unnecessary stopping or waiting;
Within the Red Zone, competitors must not drive below 30 km/h, except where traffic conditions, safety considerations or technical problems make this unavoidable.
The organizers continuously monitor traffic conditions and any other circumstances affecting travel within the Red Zone. Traffic congestion, roadworks, accidents or other legitimate delays will not in themselves result in a penalty.
If a competitor is unable to maintain the required speed within the Red Zone due to verified traffic, safety or technical reasons, this must be reported to the Race Office at the end of the race day.
During the protest review on the following day, at the designated time, competitors may present photographs or any other supporting documentation as evidence.
13. Within the Red Zone, leaving the designated race route results in a deduction of 1 point per kilometre, even if the competitor later returns to the official route without omitting any mandatory section. Penalties are calculated solely on the distance travelled outside the designated route within the Red Zone.
14. During each of the six race days, competitors must take one Instax photograph at the designated daily photo location. All photographs must be pasted into the official Rally Album received at the Opening Ceremony. A deduction of 5 points will be applied for every missing photograph or for any photograph that was not taken at the designated location.
15. Protests are handled on a daily basis. At the end of each race day, competitors receive their daily penalty points. Any protest must be submitted in writing on the same day by handing in a completed Protest Card at the Race Office before the daily protest deadline. The organizers will communicate their decision on the protest during the following race day.
Throughout the rally, competitors must fully comply with the laws of every country through which the event passes, as well as all applicable traffic regulations.