Championship Rally is a top-down racing game. The player can choose to control real rally cars: Toyota Celica, Nissan Pulsar, Lancia Delta, and others. There are three modes in the game: time attack, high speed rally, and "adventure mode", which takes the player through a championship in Senegal. Each mode allows the player to select a car and customize its steering, gears, brakes, etc. Car controls are fairly simple, with one button assigned to accelerating and another to applying brakes.