Getting Started Rally Racing

[Dan]

Heres a question that's been bugging me. Is the CO driver the only one on the team that is able to study each stage in a rally before hand. I'm mean it's his responsibility to tell the driver whats coming up and to make sure the car stays on pace right?. I'm just trying to figure out the CO drivers importance in rally racing, couldn't the driver just study each up coming stage?.

[Caen Fred]

hell no!!!

Even if today races stages are a lot shorter than before, I don’t think you can remember all the curves of a rally stage. It is not about improvisation, it's about team work and trust on your pace note/navigator ability!

Amazingly, one of the best navigator in rallying is today in charge of Ferrari F1 team, it's Jean Todt, and guess what he did ? he was the navigator on the Monte-Carlo 240Z WORKS rally the year they had the best result #3! Look at this guy, he is meticulous, stubborn, and as fun as a wrench but he was one of the most appreciate navigator of that time.

If everybody raced alone, that would not be important, but if you bring along one of those reading ahead human machine you have not a chance.

My 2 cents of euro

Fred

[Mike]

Mike,

did you look at vintagerally.com ? I have the feeling that SCCA is starting something on rallying and you can become an "early bird" when things go on. Looking at the post to "Events there is some encouraging reply from the US. You are entering the business !

Rolf

Thanks Rolf!!

[Doehring]

Hi,

the C-driver is the chief-organisator outside and on board.

At first it is his job to study the regulations that sometimes are slightly different at each event. He has to know all the signals at the start of the stages and at their ends.He also has to look after the stop watches to be in time on time controls. If there are average speed sections the co-driver has to compare the driven distance to the time you spent for that distance and than he has to give advice to slow down or to speed up until the drive is in time. For classic rallies this can be done by using time/distance tables or one of the now very rare Halda speedpilots. I modern rallye cars we use computerised digital equipments.

The so called "prayer book" is done by the driver and the co-driver together. When a special stage is known before the event it is possible to have training there, sometimes only at limited speeds, sometimes flat out. I the first run the co- driver writesn down the curves and their character and the exact distance between them. The driver adds his estimated speed or the gear to use: " 660m flat out hairpin right 2nd gear opens into straight

200m bump 3rd gear (take right side of the road) 120 m slight left 4th gear 50 m into 90 degree right 3rd gear , from outside !!!

mud inside take middle of the road ....130m tar changing into gravel ..." and so on. Sections between special stage s are normally descipt in the road book by distances between crossings and where to go there. Normally the road book also gives advice how much time you have for that section. Just as a hint the co-driver transforms that into an average speed to have a better feeling in between. If the section is descipt on or as a map, the co-driver has to lead the driver by that map and in time.

That's a little more detailed extract of the co-drivers job. It is up to the driver to trust in his co. That's as Fred said team work. The best teams are able to go a 10 miles twisty gravel road up and down the hills at night and in dense fog nearly exactly as fast as at a clear day ! It's amazing how very few accidents happen at this extreme motorsport.

Rolf

[Dan]

Thanks Rolf that makes sense.

[Doehring]

Dan,

I'm happy I could give you some useful infos. If you want to know more, don't hesitate to ask us. I still love that sport. I started with 16 as Co and finished at about 30 when my boss asked me to stop dangerous sports. In between I stayed in contact with the scene and started collecting 1:43 model cars that took part at World Rallye Championship + Paris-Dakar cars +Z/ZX in all scales. Must be about 1500 now. My garage will become a museum one day when I'm retiered.

As sport I started sailing, but I also took some advanced driving lessons called " security training". When I became 50 a friend from the old days asked me to be Co at a classic event , the Alpin Rallye (Rallye ds Alpes) in Switzerland and France in his Ferrari 250 SWB.

I couldn't resist and we finished 5th out of about 100. I got infected again but I wanted to drive myself together with my wife that drove rallies herself in those early days. For about 25 years I drive Z and ZXs and I already restored a 280 ZX 2+2 that I gave to my wife as a birthday present. So what else to choose but a classic Z ?! It#s really a great car for classic rallye events. It's fast, durable, has a n acceptable handling even being a "nose bear" (= understeering) and it's quite rare here. Did you see mine at sportZmagazine or in my gallery here ? At the moment I'm working on my 2nd Z.

Rolf.

[Zedrally]

Hi all,

I can only echo these sentiments exactly.

In our events the co-driver is more commonly known as the Navigator.

Essentially needed as the following will give you some of the conditions that we encounter in Aussie Events. This excerpt from the up and coming JMMET.

[Jim Maude Memorial Experts Trial], thanks to Jodi for the descriptions:.....

""After spending all day in the car on Saturday, I now have the new and

improved definitions for roads according to "expert's", they are:

Road Fairly distinguishable, tracks can been seen, expect quite a

few potholes!

Track Barely distinguishable, tracks can hardly been seen - expect

holes, the odd stump or two and lots of close growing shrubs

Grotty What track???? Looks like a goat track, complete with holes,

trees, stumps and the odd rock or two!!

What tha? You want me to go there???????????

All I can say is that the "boobmeter" (my expert and fairly accurate device

for measuring the severity of a "road") was well and truly put to the test,

I'll leave the rest up to you imagination.....""

Needless to say but you can't do these events by yourself, teamwork is essential as is a crystal ball!

[Zvoiture]

The 'BOOBMETER'?????

WHAT??????

Laughing to tears,

steve (learned to drive on logging roads in an Toyota Corolla)77

[Doehring]

Mike

is a boobmeter what we here call "Popometer". This means the driver has to have the feeling what the car is starting to do ( to understeer, to slip or to turn or ...) in his back.

Todays professional WRC drivers say that's already too late. When you feel it, it's over. The cars are too fast nowadays and you have to think far ahead. You have to know the car and you have to have an excellent co-driver withj an even better "prayer book".

Bur: In a 30 years old 240 Z the "popmeter" still is a good thing

Rolf

[Zedrally]

Popometer?

Good God, what next!!!!!!

[Zvoiture]

If my grasp of foreign languages is correct, I'm guessing your 'popometer' goes off a split second before you yell, "OH SHEEEEET!"

steve77

[Doehring]

Zvoiture, you are right and as I said in todays fast cars crash and "oh ****" get together. But in the 240 you normally have time to react or you had been absolutely beyond your limits - exept the **** comes from outside of your possibilities like a tractor coming out a side way: Brake ..... "oh ****"..bang.

Rolf