by Rena Sandou

Created on: December 18, 2009

Rallying is one of the most exciting and thrilling sports all around the world. Thousands of fans watch the annual championships praying for their favorite pilot to finish first. Even though drivers are the ones getting all the credits, the true winners are the co-drivers. Without them providing all the necessary directions and hints, the driver would be helpless making the race a real drive to hell.

Rally co-drivers are widely known as navigators and that is exactly what they do. Six months prior to the big event, co-drivers start gathering all the essential information such as the schedule for the event, the start and finish line, the service areas and the team’s command center. Moreover, co-drivers are obliged to be fully informed of the time and penalty system as well as of the official rules for the upcoming event. If the driver does not meet the time regulations when entering a stage, then proper penalties are applied minimizing the changes for a good race time. Once everything is set, the co-driver will start informing the driver making sure everybody will be the right time at the right place.

Additionally, the co-driver has to update the driver with the race’s details such as the number and length of stages, the weather forecast for the specific day, the total length of the entire track and the possibility of special tracks and challenges. The co-driver must also brief the driver about the condition and type of the rallying surface making sure that the proper tires will be applied.

The co-driver is also responsible for the car itself. He is the one that needs to ensure that the car is in perfect condition for the race. The car must not only look good but also be good. For that reason, engine and performance tests need to be taken prior to the race in ordered to be categorized and approved for the race.

Furthermore, the navigator must fully organize the rest of the crew. At some point during the race, the car will definitely need to enter the service park. The service crew must be thoroughly informed of the time this will take place and of course, of the designated service areas. The co-driver must also be able to predict the time needed for the service to be fulfilled and notify the service team accordingly.

The first time you watched a rally race, you probably did not understand a single word of what the co-driver kept saying. A typical sample of direction given from the navigator includes expressions such as ‘two hundred, short turn, small jump then cut, easy 6 left’ and so on. In rallying, co-drivers use a coded system to describe what follows next. Specifically, from 1 to 6, are the gears used in each specific moment, easy, medium and sharp are the type of turns that follow, plus and minus are used to approximately describe the angle of the turns and numbers such as 30, 50, 70 are in fact the distance meters from one point to another. To co-driver must familiarize the driver with these codes before the race. This is probably the most crucial part of the preparation as the directions given are essential for a safe and speedy course.

Conclusively, the most vital part of the team is by far the co-driver. Without the co-driver, the driver is literally ‘blind’.  As the navigator gains experience after each race, he can literally boost the team’s performance and lead it to victory. Rephrasing a known motto is what describes a co-driver best: ‘behind every successful driver, there is always a magnificent co-driver’.

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