There is the shortest distance rally where a team tries to visit a given number of locations while traveling the least number of miles. There is the hare and hounds rally where the lead car goes out and drops a flour bag or other marker before each intersection and again after making the turn. Again, lowest mileage usually wins. There are pie plate rallies where the rally master places pie plates on stakes along the intended route. Some pie plates have information for scoring and others have information for course following.
Luck can beat skill.
TSD Rally TSD is the form of rallying that many people in SCCA think of when you mention rally. In a TSD rally, the route instructions give assigned speeds in addition to information to keep a team on course. These speeds are always legal and usually below the posted speed limit. A TSD rally is a competition of precision driving it is NOT a race. The perfect team would be on course, on time, all the time.