r/rally • u/sci_zephyr • 1d ago

How to attend WRC event

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I have been lucky enough to attend races from series such as F1 and WEC. Until now I've never attended a rally, but I would like to go to WRC Sweden next year. I am wondering about how the access to the stages is done. Should everyone pass through a gate/area to gain access to the stage? What tips do you have to find the most exciting places to watch the stages?

Thanks all in advance!

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u/112233445566778899JB 1d ago

In my experience, what I learned was that if you’re planning on going for several days, rent a motorhome.

It might have changed since I haven’t been since 2019 (kids), but access to the stages used to open the night before and you’re given a GPS location to the ticket area. Once you’ve passed through this, you’re basically inside the stage car park. Feel free to park up, have a beer, nice dinner, chat to other people there and then (if it’s one of the earlier stages of the day) get an early night. In the morning, breakfast at your leisure, walk to the stage which you are already in the car park of then either go to a designated fan zone which tend to be on hairpins/complexes of corners near the car park or go off a way into the stage if you want. The marshals are pretty chill if I’m honest, unless you’re being a complete idiot.

If you want to switch stages in the day, then obviously getting out of the car park, driving there and then parking up and finding a parking spot is a hassle, but setting up a motorhome-base in the car park of a stage is the main downside to my suggestion.

When I went to WRC events, I stayed in hotels in the surrounding areas. They’re overpriced as everywhere is booked up, you end up spending quite a lot of each day travelling to and from the stages and you inevitably end up having to get up early to account for traffic/parking at the stages which is by no means easy or guaranteed, especially the later in the day that it gets.