Stamp control
Also: Stamp check
At a stamp control you get a stamp on your time card. It proves you were at that point on the route.
A stamp control is a check where your time card gets stamped. The stamp proves you passed that exact point on the route.
Where you meet them
Stamp controls are a type of passage control. They show up at classic car rallies and are especially common in orientation rallies. Sometimes a marshal stands by the road with the stamp. At other events the stamp hangs on a box or post and the co-driver stamps the card.
What to watch out for
- Each stamp control has its own box on the time card. Put the stamp in the right one.
- Order can matter. Depending on the regulations, a stamp in the wrong place counts as badly as a missing one.
- Keep the card within reach so you do not hold up the cars behind you.
A missing stamp costs, depending on the regulations, a lot of penalty points. Some organisers place decoy stamps on roads you should not take. So a stamp only helps you if it was on the correct route.