Recce

The term Pace Notes really applies to the old days when recce was unlimited.

In those days you were able to cover the stages as many times as you felt like, 3 or 4 times to get the notes right and then 3 or 10 times to PRACTICE them!

These days you only get 2 passes in ARC and 2 in WRC!

Even the top factory drivers have difficulty with so few runs and find themselves not competitive unless they have done the rally before.

It is impossible for them to compete at the same level as the people who have done the event before and have already developed a good set of notes and seen the stages many times.

The same now applies to Australian Rallies, 2 runs is NOT enough to make good notes for the experienced people, so the learners really do need to be very careful about how they approach the task.

Things to remember

Some things to remember when you go out to recce your first couple of events.

Where the recce is limited to certain hours, endeavour to travel to the stages outside of these times, therefore maximising the time on the stages themselves.

Try to ensure you are able to make the most of the time allowed.

It is a good idea to make some general comments about each stage as you are going through or at the end of your first run,  just to remind you of what the stage was like, after a number of stages they will all seem the same and run into one another in your head.  

Also this is a good opportunity to plan your tyre requirements for each stage.

That is of course if you have any choice in tyres.

Make sure the recce schedule as advised by the event is thoroughly checked, study the map so that you have some idea where you will be going.

Make some notes as to what order you have to do the stages in and what time is allowed.

Mostly these days the event organisers will have a pretty tight schedule already planned, which the competitors have to abide by.

This has come about largely due to the availability of people to man the stages during recce. Which in turn has been brought about due to the increased number of rules and regulations that have been forced on the sport for all sorts of reasons -:)

I usually allow approximately 60 minutes to note a 30k stage for the first time if I have not seen it before. Break this time down evenly for lesser distances and add to it for longer stages.

Novice crews may find, depending on the difficulty of the stage and the conditions that it will take longer!

Take into account the weather! If it is fine there will be dust, this means that you may have to take more time to complete a stage than you had imagined.

Remember that you do actually want to see where the road goes in order to pace note it!

The day you start your recce you are in the RALLY you do not want to have to worry about anything else.

Your whole concentration should be on your pace noting.

Develop a RHYTHM

The first run should be at a pace that the driver can call the notes out as if he/she were reading a book.

During recce if the driver can successfully maintain a nice "RHYTHM" they should be able to call the notes to the co-driver virtually with the same timing that the co-driver needs to actually call them back. Except at a slower pace.

In other words the driver is providing the co-driver with the TIMING that he/she will need on the rally.

This does depend on the way the crew interacts with each other and is a subject that should be discussed PRIOR to recce.

If the co-driver can get the calls out at the right TIME - not too much information at once and not to soon or too late, then it all makes for a better rhythm and faster stage times!

Timing is everything when calling notes!

Try to go as smoothly as possible at an even speed and a pace that the co-driver is comfortable writing at.

"REMEMBER RHYTHM"

The co-driver must slow or stop the driver if they have a problem keeping up.

It is no use trying to continue as things get messy and missed!

The first run is so important to get as much information down as possible, so it is wise to go much slower than you would think!

However still trying to maintain a rhythm as much as possible.

The second run

The second run try to go at a speed which gives the co-driver the chance to actually look at the road, remember they have not seen it before and need to be able to relate what is written with the actual road.

The co-driver must see and understand what the driver sees if not then it needs to be discussed. If necessary pull OFF the road and sort it out.

What the co-driver does not see or understand will cause problems in the rally.

Most likely they will fall off the notes.

The second run may also be the only time they get a chance to add cautions, and all the other stuff YOU want in the notes.

This means that the co-driver will still be writing and rather than stop all the time just going at a slower pace nice and even and RHYTHMIC makes all the difference.