Road rally in Mexico Friday

How to watch a road rally

In a Performance Rally, the rally cars are started at one-minute intervals with the fastest cars first and the slowest cars last. (The top several cars usually start with a two-minute interval.) To insure that you see the top drivers in action, you should make sure you arrive at your spectating area early and give yourself plenty of time to park and walk to the viewing location.

Want to find out who is fastest? You can time the cars to your location; pick a place where you can time each car as it passes, and read the seconds off your watch. Remember that all cars leave at the top of the minute, so if the first car arrives at 21 seconds, the next at 28 seconds and the next at 25, then the first car is 4 seconds faster than the third, and 7 seconds faster than the second.

A word of warning to you when you are spectating – Stay behind the yellow banner tape. The yellow banner tape has been placed by the rally organizers and reviewed by safety officials. Behind the yellow banner is as safe as you can get to spectate. Do not position yourself behind red banner tape. Those areas are extremely dangerous.

How to spectate safely

Safety at the forest spectator points is all-important, especially with the large crowds expected this year. It really is just a matter of common sense, but for those who have never watched a rally before, here are a few helpful tips:

• Remember that the cars are at their limit. A mechanical or driver error may cause it to go out of control.

• Please follow the Spectator Marshals’ directions at each spectator point. While Spectating is free, we do have control over these areas. Please stay behind the yellow banner tape.

• Do not spectate at a location that does not have a Spectator Marshal and Yellow tape banners. You should be in sight of a marshal while cars are on the course. Spectators in unauthorized areas will cause the rally to shut down.

• Pick your vantage point carefully. High on a hill or behind the tree line is best. Rally drivers are at the limits of control and they make creative use of the whole road. Leave yourself an escape route if one is needed. Again listen to the marshals. They know the safe locations. You must remain behind the yellow banner tape at all times.

• Be wary and alert at all times, particularly at the daylight spectator points. Be ready to move if a car is out of control, don’t sit down. Do not turn your back to rally traffic unless you have a buddy spotting for you. Also, some cars will catch others on stage and their sound will be masked by the car in front of them.

• Please follow the marshals directions when parking your car at the spectator areas. We must keep a clear access on one side of these narrow roads for emergency vehicles. All cars should park on the same side of the road and be heading in the proper direction to leave the area. If you follow the next rule you shouldn’t have to walk too far. When you get to the end of the line of parked cars, park. You won’t be able to park or turn around to drive back out.

REGION -- The New England Forest Rally (NEFR) returns to western Maine and northern New Hampshire on Fridayand Saturday to conclude the 2011 Rally America National Championship and crown a new Series champion.

As many as 42 top-level rally teams will make their way to NEFR headquarters at Sunday River resort in Newry to compete on some of the most difficult gravel and forest roads in the country for top honors at this always-popular rally event. The New England Forest Rally is the last chance for teams to make a final push for Championship points.

The NEFR will be contested over two days and 100-plus miles of gravel and forest stages by both National and Regional competitors, but in two separate single-day Regional rally events run simultaneously with the National rally.

The Mexico Regional Rally, presented by the Mt. Washington Auto Road, begins Friday morning at Sunday River Resort after a 10-11:30 a.m. "Parc Exposé" (an area where all competing cars are parked together and put on display for fans to enjoy up close) with the half-mile long Sunday River Super Special.

The racing then continues at a second "Super Special" in Mexico at the Mexico Recreation Park located just off Route 17. Spectators will have the opportunity to watch their favorite rally team complete an entire gravel rally stage that includes a jump. This stage will be run twice from start to finish for maximum spectating. The first pass will be at 12:41 p.m. with the second pass at 1:20 p.m.

From 1:35 to 2:20 p.m., fans will also have the chance to get drivers' and co-drivers' autographs as well as an up-close look at the service crews as they tend to their rally cars at the Service Park, which will also be based at the Mexico Recreation Park.

The park's snack shack will be open with all kinds of food and refreshments available to the public.

At 5 p.m., a spectator bus will depart from the rec park for Concord Pond, which will take them to viewing areas along the Concord Pond stage.

On Saturday, the rally action moves slightly north and west to the area surrounding Errol, NH for the L.L. Cote Regional Rally, presented by the Mt. Washington Auto Road, where rally teams will compete in a new Super Special stage at the JML Trucking gravel pit. Here fans will be treated to watching racers negotiate tight turns and a loose gravel surface while looking down into the pit. Late morning and early afternoon racing continues about a 30-minute drive away on logging roads in Lincoln.

In addition to the exciting, fast-paced race watching opportunities at the stages, fans will have an opportunity to mix and mingle with racers at a variety of other planned events. These include a Wednesday night (5:30-7:30 p.m.) meet-and-greet and autograph session with driver Verena Mei and Tim O'Neil of Team O'Neil Rally School at Mrs. B's Village Store on Main Street in Peru; a Thursday night barbecue and autograph session with racers at the Phoenix House & Well; the Friday night Mexico Regional Rally Awards Banquet at the Phoenix House & Well (tickets available at the door); and the Saturday night Champagne Spray & Awards Ceremony, held slopeside at the South Ridge Base Lodge at Sunday River Resort at the conclusion of the race. The awards will be followed by a party under the stars that will offer fans a barbecue, live music, and more.

Celebrating its 20th year running, this year's rally will host a large contingent of Regional rally teams from across the Northeast U.S. and eastern Canada. Teams include Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins of Mid-Wales, U.K., the current Rally America Championship points leader and recent record-breaker of the Climb to the Clouds speed on Mt. Washington Auto Road; Antoine L'Estage of Sur-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, the 2010 Rally America Champion and winner of the 2010 New England Forest Rally; and local drivers Wyatt Knox of Franconia, NH, the current 2WD National Championship points leader, and Chris Duplessis of Mason Township, driving the country's first Ford Fiesta R2 and a consistent top-10 finisher.

All stage viewing is free to spectators. More details on the NEFR schedule for stage times, spectator information, awards ceremonies, race contacts and more can be found at www.newenglandforestrally.com.

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Road rally in Mexico Friday