PSRG Educational Meeting
March 14th 2026
�“RALLY HAMS!”
Presenter:
Devin Hamilton
‘Chief of Comms’
N7IQZ
What You Will Learn Today:
Bonus:
1986 Olympus Rally, the final WRC appearance, in USA
Olympus Rally ‘86 marked the final year the event was part of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
Held in Washington State, featuring fast Pacific Northwest forest gravel stages.
Organized by the Olympus Rally Committee and SCCA Pro Rally. Was known as a favorite event for race teams.
1986 was the last season of the legendary Group B era in WRC.
Wild Group B cars produced 500+ horsepower, extremely light weight, with minimal safety restrictions.
Olympus Rally 1986 – 40 Year Anniversary!
Competition & Vehicles
Dominant manufacturers of the time included:
These cars represented the peak of rally engineering and performance.
Olympus Rally provided North American exposure to top-tier WRC teams and technology featuring a mix of international factory teams and leading U.S. rally drivers.
The event became famous for its technical gravel stages and challenging weather conditions in the forests and hills of Western Washington.
Remembering the WRC Era
Olympus Rally 1986!
Event Facts
Round 13 of the 1986 FIA World Rally Championship (season finale).
Held Dec 4–7, 1986 across the Olympic Peninsula forests of Washington State.
Based around Tacoma and Tumwater, with stages stretching to coastal Washington.
39 rally stages and ~326 miles of competitive gravel.
Podium Finishers
1st – Markku Alén / Ilkka Kivimäki – Lancia Delta S4 (Group B)
2nd – Juha Kankkunen / Juha Piironen – Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
3rd – John Buffum / Neil Wilson – Audi Sport Quattro (top American finisher)
After the 1986 season, Group B was banned due to safety concerns.
Olympus never returned as a WRC championship round after 1986.
WRC- End of an Era
Olympus Rally continues as a major U.S. national event and remains a cornerstone of Pacific Northwest rallying today maintaining notoriety amongst competition teams as some of the best and most challenging rally stages in North America!
Olympus Rally Organization
Olympus Rally Association (ORA) – nonprofit volunteer organization responsible for organizing and operating the event.
Works in partnership with the American Rally Association (ARA), the national sanctioning body for stage rally in the United States.
Promotes stage rally motorsport in the Pacific Northwest across multiple events.
Delivers safe, professionally run rally events for competitors, volunteers, and spectators.
Preserves the legacy of the historic Olympus Rally.
Olympus Rally Organization
Operational Scope / Partnership
Organizes multi-day rally competitions on closed gravel & forest roads.
Coordinates hundreds of volunteers including marshals, radio operators, timing crews, safety professionals, service and logistics teams.
Manages stage safety, route design, permits, and land-use coordination as well as hired medical and emergency responder professionals.
Liaises with American Rally Association (ARA) – championship sanctioning and sporting regulations.
Local governments and law enforcement – Shelton and Mason County support and coordination.
Olympus Rally Organization
Community Impact
Olympus Rally extends sincere appreciation to Green Diamond Resource Company for granting access to their working timberlands. Their partnership enables the fast, technical forest stages that define rallying in the Pacific Northwest!
Bringing national-level motorsport tourism to the region, Olympus generates economic activity for Shelton and surrounding communities.
Building a strong volunteer culture, including many HAM radio operators supporting rally communications & operations, Olympus Rally held annually in Capitol Forest near Shelton, remains one of the premier rallies in the American Rally Association championship.
Olympus Rally Organization
Celebrating the 1986 WRC Legacy Historic Anniversary
2026 event celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 1986 World Rally Championship round held at Olympus Rally.
Honors the final season of the legendary Group B era in world rallying.
Expected field of ~100 rally teams from across North America and abroad!
One of the largest rally entries in the United States with 3 days of competition across the forests of Washington State.
Event includes multiple service parks, recce, and parc exposé activities for teams and spectators.
Olympus Rally 2026
Olympus Rally 2026 – Cool Factor = HIGH
Olympus Rally 2026
Stage Characteristics:
Several night stages
Testing driver skill and endurance, night racing adds dramatic visuals and increased technical challenge!
Historic Roads Return
Olympus will re-awaken classic rally stages not used since the 1960s and 1970s!
This celebrates the deep heritage of stage rallying in the Olympic Peninsula region!
What are HAMS to Rally?
STAGE CAPTAIN
Leader of Volunteers on a Rally Stage
ROAD Marshal
Securing side roads
SERVICE TEAM
Keeping Service Crews Organized
COURSE SETUP
Signage & Safety setup for the Rally
ARRIVAL TIME CONTROL
Welcomes the competitors to the Rally Stage
START CONTROL
Departure Control for competitors
SPECTATOR CONTROL
Crowd Control for Fan safety
COMMUNICATIONS
HAM Radio Operators in numerous roles
FLYING FINISH
Marking time on FULL SPEED cars!
STOP CONTROL
Time logging competitors after cooldown
Available Rally Volunteer Roles
HAMS!
HAMS!
HAMS!
HAMS!
HAMS!
HAMS!
Basic Requirements for Rally Comms Volunteers
Core Kit for Rally Support:
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Specialty Equipment Opportunities
Advanced Kit for Rally Support:
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For Olympus Rally, Tour De Forest and other regionals, we deploy stages in foothill dynamic-terrain areas of Green Diamond land in and around Shelton WA.
The hills and valleys often make simplex comms difficult from Start to Finish, or require relay to Net Control repeater. Specialty equipment such as above help us deploy “Anchor HAMS” into tough to reach areas or mountaintops for relay work.
Please pick up garbage and leave no trace that we were there!
This is a high-speed event
Rally cars drive stage roads fast because they are assured the course is clear of any other traffic or obstruction. Volunteers and safety officials make that possible!
Be alert, be prepared, and communicate safety issues.
The stage is HOT until its NOT!
There may be pauses in race car traffic at times but, ONLY the Green Light Sweep Vehicle signals that the stage course is cold.
Fundamental Rules & Safety Mindset
HAM Radio Communications Overview
HAM radio operators are the safety net for the Rally and are placed at key points to ensure good communication over the whole of each stage. They may be called upon to provide critical information in an emergency and relay important instructions to other volunteers or competitors.
Net Control is on a dedicated frequency and is the main control for the Rally.
Stage Communication Points consist of a Captain, Start HAM, Course Marshal HAMs mid-stage, and a Finish HAM.
HAM Radio Communications Protocols
HAM radio operators are the safety net for the Rally and are placed at key points to ensure good communication over the whole of each stage. They may be called upon to provide critical information in an emergency and relay important instructions to other volunteers or competitors.
Stage HAM Protocols:
Fundamental Rules : Communications
How to handle non-rally traffic:
Road Marshals are a mix of volunteers, some with HAM radios placed at strategic locations as determined by the Clerk of the Course working with Safety Delegates and Stage Captains. Road Marshals are there to intervene or report issues or safety concerns immediately as they are observed. The chief goal being to enable a SAFE, fun and competitive race with minimal risk to driver teams, spectators and volunteers.
HAM radio operators will track offending persons or vehicles to see if/where they exit the stage.
The rally organization has full permission to use the land for the event, including blocking off roads and trails for safety.
Stay in safe locations and keep others safe:
Working as a Road Marshal
Media and Photographers: Orange or blue vest - Full access vests. They know what they are doing so can go anywhere on stage. Any problems with media, note vest number and report to officials
Media vest colors:
Orange= Unrestricted
Blue = Unrestricted
Red = Restricted
Stand behind banner guard, when appropriate, and enjoy the race!
Park your cars to act as a visual roadblock at an angle if it’s a large side-road.
Park far enough away from the stage road to not get hit by flying rocks.
Cracked windshield = no fun.
Working as a Road Marshal
ADVANCE
ADVANCE B
TRIPLE ZERO CAR
SAFETY DELEGATE CAR
DOUBLE ZERO CAR
ZERO CAR
Course Opening Car Teams (example)
Driver and or Co-Driver in all Safety Vehicles are HAMS
Rally Stage Comms Deployment Example
RALLY STAGE RACE ROUTE ( imaging curves and hills ;-)
STOP
A-Blocker
B-Blocker
A-Blocker
B-Blocker
A-Blocker
B-Blocker
Stage Start
FINISH
HAM
START�HAM
RELAY
HAM
Mtn-Top
2-track
trail
2-track
trail
Farmer
Field
Road
Main
Road
Forest
Service
Road
Logging
Road
HAM
Required
HAM
Required
HAM
Required
HAM
Safety
Margin
HAM
Safety
Margin
HAM
Safety
Margin
NET CONTROL
SERVICE AREA
REPEATER USE
(Overwatch for whole Rally)
How a Stage Rally is Run
Overview
2024
Example Rally
HAM
Plan
HAM Radio Communications
How to HAM Log
Logging Competition Cars is both useful to the Rally and adds to the fun of the race.
You will be provided with HAM Logs similar to this example. The log collects your stage, location, time, and facilitates organized tracking of all cars on stage from start, passed your location, to finish.
All Mid-Point and Finish HAMs will monitor the Start-HAM and log all cars on course. This includes Course Opening Cars / Safety / “Zero Cars”
MOST IMPORTANT: In the event a car does not pass your position within THREE cars of its starting sequence, get this information to the Stage Captain, who may initiate search procedures. For this reason, Sweep Teams may ask you for additional details for stopped or missing cars on stage from your log.
These ham logs do not get turned into scoring, they are a convenient method for you to track activity on your stage and be aware of potential problems needing report.
For cars stopped on course, information needed is: car number, and if the OK sign is out? Stage Captains will work with you over radio to determine car location, if they are clear of course and on what side of the road.
At Right:
(Stop Control)
Kami, KJ7RAB
Robert, KJ7JXM
Jen, KK7QKA
The goal of this talk is both to inspire interest in Stage Rally Volunteering and answer questions for any HAM that may have wondered;
"What else can I do with my license?" & "What is this rally thing I hear about on PSRG Nets every spring and fall??
How I got into Stage Rally Volunteering
( a big thanks to Dale, K7BAX )
Above: Comms Relay Position, Dayton Peak,
Shelton WA - 1,056’ ASL, “Comms Jeep Floki”
Where to start – How do I get involved?
Most HAMs new to Stage Rally will start out as Road Marshalls. This is a blast, and a front row seat to the action.
What Else? Questions?
Rally day! Meet at Your Rendezvous Location
How to Register to Volunteer
Volunteer Signup & Waiver
Go to https://www.rallydata2.com/
Create a login, and fill in your details including HAM status, equipment, vehicle info.
Then complete ‘USAC Speed waiver’ that will be sent as a link to text or email.
Look for a text link to the speed waiver.
If you have lost the link you can re-execute the waiver by logging into usac.speedwaiver.com.
A paper waiver version is available if you do not have a smartphone to complete the Speed Waiver.