Rally Tulip Diagrams Explained
How Roadbook Tulips Show Every Junction
A tulip diagram is the small drawing at each waypoint of a rally roadbook that shows how to navigate a junction. The name comes from the flower-like shape: a dot marks where you enter the junction, and an arrow shows the road to take out of it. Tulips are the universal language of rally navigation — readable at speed, in any country, in any language.
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How to Read a Tulip Diagram
- The dot marks your position entering the junction — always read the tulip from the dot.
- The arrow (often a ball-and-arrow, or "bolletje pijltje") shows the road you must take out.
- The lines are the other roads and tracks at the junction, drawn to match the real angles.
- Icons & notes add hazards, surface changes, danger levels and landmarks around the tulip.
- Distances & CAP heading sit beside the tulip: the partial to the next waypoint and the total, plus the compass bearing.
How Rally Navigator Draws Tulips for You
You don't draw tulips by hand. As you build your route on the map, Rally Navigator draws the route arrow at every waypoint from your track. You add the side roads and shape them to match the junction exactly, drag and drop FIA / Dakar navigation icons, and add text notes. Pro users can let Tulip Assist draft the side roads and no-go lines from the map. The result prints straight into a clean, FIA-compliant roadbook PDF.
Download Rally Navigator and Draw Your First Tulips Free
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Drawing a lot of tulips? Tulip Assist drafts each tulip's roads and no-go lines from the map for you to review and approve. It's one of the features a Pro Rally licence unlocks. See every Pro Rally feature →
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