In rallying, what are timed competitive road sections called?

In rallying, timed competitive road sections are called special stages.

A special stage is a section of road closed to normal traffic so crews can race against the clock. Cars usually start at intervals, and the winner is the crew with the lowest combined time across all stages. Rally routes also include transport sections, where competitors must obey road laws and reach time controls on schedule.

World Rally Championship events typically contain roughly 15–30 special stages, run on gravel, asphalt, snow or ice. Individual stages can range from very short spectator-friendly tests to more than 50 kilometres. A super special stage is a related format that may use a short circuit, head-to-head starts or a surface different from the main rally.

A common mix-up is treating every part of a rally route as a special stage. Recce, service parks and road sections support the competition, but only the closed, timed tests determine the crews’ stage times.