by Pauline Abreu

Created on: December 13, 2009   Last Updated: January 18, 2010

Watching a rally is a lot of fun, but being part of it is even better.  A co-driver makes his job look easy, however there is actually a lot more to it than just giving the rally driver directions.  In a small team the co-driver will be expected to organize the whole team, as well as doing everything that is required for the rally.  The co-driver must understand the rules and regulations, make sure the car keeps up with the time schedule, navigate the special stages, and read the map or pace-notes. 

All the information will be provided to the co-driver about 6 months before the race.  Any forms that need to be filled out will be done and the rules and regulations will be studied at this point.  1 month before the rally the co-driver will be briefed by the driver on the type of race track that will be used for the race, length and number of stages.   The co-driver will also have to send out advertisements in regards to the event, with details of achievements.  The final paperwork and instructions will be sent out by the organizers.  It is the co-driver's responsibility to ensure all the paperwork received is correct.

Any additional supplementary regulations will be told to the team.  The co-driver will have to make sure the whole team knows everything pertaining to the car, the co-driver, and any information about the rally.  A road book and service book will have been issued to the co-driver, these must be studied before the rally and any changes and important facts should be highlighted.  Route cards showing  location's and time, distance between each control, and route maps will all be included in the road map.  The distance and time between service areas and service location will be contained within the service book.

The co-driver will have pace-notes, this is the map of the rally in shorthand.  During the rally the co-driver will read these notes to the driver.  These notes are prepared by the crew, and include, corners, speed of approach, distance, and any other relevant information, such as, bumps and junctions.  The co-driver should have a list of service schedules and service documents.  The service schedule is important as this will show the crew where they are supposed to be and at what specific time they are required to be at that place.  Contact information is included on the list in case a crew member has difficulty getting to the event. 

All in all the role of a co-driver involves a lot of paperwork and planning.  They do a lot of organizing before a rally event to ensure the driver, car, and themselves are prepared for the rally race.  Being a co-driver can be a difficult task, but when you know what you're doing it is a lot of fun.  The more races you take part in, the better you will become at being a co-driver. A co-driver has a lot of work to do before and after a rally, the preparation is just as important as the in-car commentary.  As you can see the co-driver has a lot to do with the organization process of the rally.

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