The finish of a Special Stage is made up of two inter-related components, namely the Flying Finish and Stop Line.

As it's name suggests the competitors pass the Flying Finish at competitive speeds, then slow down and come to rest at the Stop Line.

The time entered on the competitors Time Card is the time they crossed the Flying Finish point, relayed to the Stop Line, rather than the time they reach at the Stop Line.

Working the Flying Finish can be one of the most difficult jobs on a stage.

• Usually the Flying Finish is staffed by two people sitting in line with the Flying Finish point, but as safely as possible back from the actual stage.

• They will be equipped with a Rally Clock, Check Sheet and some means of communication with the Stop Line (whilst a simple buzzer will suffice to alert the Stop Line when a car crosses the Flying Finish, two way voice communication via a field telephone arrangement is normal).

• As competitors pass the Flying Finish the marshal with the Clock 'freezes' the display, notes the car number and time on their Check Sheet and relays the details to the Stop Line (Whilst the clock is 'frozen' the actual time actually keeps ticking away and once 'un-frozen' is displayed ready for repeating when the next competitor crosses the Flying Finish point)

New Timing Beam systems, triggered by competitors breaking a light beam are being used on International and some National rallies, this allows events to be timed to fractions of a second.

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