American Off-Road Racing Championship Course Marking Guide
The American Off-Road Racing Championship will adopt Best in the Desert course marking procedures for the 2026 race season and beyond.
The purpose of this page is to explain the course markings racers will encounter on race day and how to interpret them.
There are nine (9) primary course markings racers will encounter on race day. While most dangers marked on the ground will also be shown in the official race course file provided to racers, physical course markings on the ground shall always take precedence over any information contained in the race file.
Directional Course Markings:
- Directional Arrows (Yellow) – Straight arrows used to indicate upcoming straightaways, gentle direction changes, and general left or right directional movements.
- Turn Ahead (White) - A warning arrow used to indicate that a more significant turn is approaching ahead on the course. This marker provides advance notice prior to the placement of a green turn arrow.
- Turn Arrows (Green) – Left and right arrows used specifically to indicate hard or abrupt left and right turns that require increased driver attention.
- Race Mile Markers (White) – Race mile markers will be placed at one-mile intervals along the course. In multi-day events, there may be two separate sets of mile markers — one for motorcycles and one for car/truck/UTV classes. Racers should always reference the markers applicable to their class.
Danger / Notice Markings:
- Danger Ahead (Orange) - A downward-pointing arrow indicating an upcoming danger. This marker is placed approximately XXX feet before the actual hazard.
- DANGER (Orange) - A danger marking placed at the location of the actual hazard. This indicates an immediate condition requiring increased driver awareness.
- Danger Rocks (Orange) - A danger marking used specifically to call out rock hazards on or immediately adjacent to the race course.
- Wrong Way (White) - Indicates that the vehicle is traveling in the incorrect direction on the race course and must immediately correct course.
