Rallit sõidetakse tavaliikluseks suletud teelõikudel (lisakatsetel), mille pikkus on tavaliselt 10-30 kilomeetrit.
Eesti meistrivõistluste rallid kestavad võistlejate jaoks tavaliselt kolm päeva, millest esimesed kaks kuluvad võistlusrajaga tutvumisele ehk kiiruslegendi kirjutamisele.
A Rally consists either of a single itinerary which must be followed by all cars, or of several itineraries converging on a same rallying‐point fixed beforehand and followed or not by a common itinerary. The route may include one or several special stages, i.e. events organised on roads closed to normal traffic, and which together determine the general classification of the Rally.
Most WRC rallies follow the same basic itinerary: two days of reconnaissance on Tuesday and Wednesday, to enable the driver and co-driver to check the route, and ‘shakedown’ - in effect practice - on Thursday, followed by the competition itself on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
