Notes written and called correctly are worth 3 seconds a kilometer or so they say.
Certainly good notes make a huge difference.
The more experienced you get on notes the more difference they make.
If there is a call that neither of you are happy with then all you can do is mark your notes so that the question can be raised as you approach in the rally.
Now that there are only two runs it becomes more difficult trying to picture yourselves in the rally car - in the stage - going as fast as you can....
But this is what you must try and do both of you!
It's all about psychology, most sports people, spend a lot of time visualising what it is they want to do.
It is very effective and quite amazing just how right you can be.
This all helps the co-driver with the timing of the calls, if you can get a good rhythm flowing in recce and can visualise being in the rally car it is far easier to just up the pace a bit in the rally.
Calling pace notes is all about TIMING!
When constructing your notes, try to get used to only using the words that are NEEDED!
For example an instruction like this...
"L5 very long over 50 meters opens then tightens to L3"
Could be said like this...
"L5 very long, over 50, opens, tightens L3"
This cuts out "THREE" words.
Using a pause in the appropriate places. While it is one instruction, it still needs to be called with the correct timing!
It is no good simply just reading it.
If you analyse the instruction and what is before and after then you can see how much distance is involved, with a call like I have mentioned above there may very well be quite some distance in a L5 very long, plus the 50 meters etc so if it is read out all at once chances are that the driver will have forgotten what he has been told before he gets there!
That instruction contains 13 words! Which is a lot to remember, if two or more words can be cut out all the easier for the co-driver to get the call out and also get the timing of the call right, plus the driver has more chance of comprehending and remembering what he has been told.
The same principle applies to any long instruction.
You may have a call like...
" 100 TL3+ into !R2 over bridge rough/slippy"
Here while it may be difficult to cut out any words, the main thing is that it is NOT simply said all at once.
The calls may all be close together BUT if analysed correctly by the co-driver he has 100 meters prior to the call to begin to get it out and once the driver has begun to brake for the Turn Left 3 the rest of the call can progressively be said. so you need...
"100 TL3+,,,into, !R2 over bridge,,,rough/slippy. The comas being breaths or pauses
A good way to help the co-driver get the timing right is if they use their breathing for the breaks in what they are saying, one breath for a short break, like "50 (breath)TL3 (breath)into R4+ 100 (three breaths) R5 (breath)L5 150 (three breaths) TL4 etc etc"
The Driver is of course responsible for the initial construction of the call and as he is negotiating the hazard he may well put in extraneous words that he is using simply to describe what he is seeing....the co-driver has to pull out all words that are not NEEDED.
After a few events even the driver will begin to only use the words that are needed to describe each situation.
As mentioned before, it is very important for the driver to visualise the SPEED at which he/she will be going in the rally car whilst they are constructing their notes.
As you look down the road you need to be thinking...
What speed am I going to be approaching this at ??
If for instance you will be traveling 200 meters until you come to a crest - then once over the crest, you have to turn hard right!
You must make sure that you will be slowing yourself down sufficiently in order to make the turn.
This is one situation where I would probably use a call like...
"200, !! TR2 over crest"
The "double caution" because I am coming off a 200 meter straight and the "over" because the corner is immediately over or after the crest.
If on the other hand the corner is a short distance over the crest I would then say...
"200, !! Crest into TR2"
However you need to ascertain as well, how BIG the crest actually is and whether or not it may get the car airborne!
In which case this needs to be called as "jump maybe"
Sometimes I will just have "200, !! Crest AIR? into TR2"
This then tells me that the car may leave the ground.
When you can only go over the stages twice in recce, you will not have the chance to go fast enough to really get an idea of whether or not the car will leave the ground.
When in doubt always add the "AIR"
Another difficult thing to describe is a very long corner.
Most simply say, "L5 long" or "L5 very long" Some will have "L5 over 50" or what ever distance you think it is. If the corner is not completely consistent in it's radius you may then be able to have L5 long opens then tightens etc.
It is very easy to fall off the notes if there are a number of long bends in a row , which while they are there and must be noted, do not give a great deal of feel for the co-driver.
High speed is usually involved in these circumstances so this sort of road is a good example of where a co-driver should be on the lookout for a marker of some sort to help him recognize "which" long L5 he is actually on.
When picking out a marker don't use things like ribbon tied around trees because when you get there on the rally it may have gone! Try to pick something that is more likely to be a permanent fixture and very close to the edge of the road, so that your eyes do not have to wonder too far off line to find it.
It is also very useful for the driver to use the odd marker or two as well. For instance there may be a long straight which has a sharp turn or some such other hazard at the end. Very often you find it difficult to actually pick the hazard up until you are on it!
So looking for a marker of some sort allows you to judge your braking distance.
The call would go something like "200 TL3..big stump left"
The stump being the marker on left. I will often use "unseen" for hard to see junctions/hazards.
Sometimes you have a situation whereby you have a bend after you have gone over more than one crest very close together.
Here you can try something like...
"R4 over second crest"
The driver gets the call and can count the crests to himself and the co-driver even though they may not see both crests because they have put their head down to read the next call should always be able to feel the car negotiate the right four.
If the road bends "ON" top of a crest then make sure that you say "ON"
It is very important to distinguish between "ON" and "OVER"
In route chart events any situation with crests is almost always described as over...great...but often it is "ON" in this situation you can only drive on what you can "SEE" Whereas the pace note tells you correctly what the road is doing.
Crests versus Brows. My theory is, a crest is something that you can't see over until you are over!
Whereas a brow is something you maybe can't see over momentarily for that instant but then it disappears real quick.
More people come unstuck on crests than almost anywhere else!
Any time there is a hazard like a crest, sharp bend or turn after a straight or fast piece of road you MUST slow yourself down for it.
It is far better to err on the conservative side to start with. Until you have done a few rallies on notes and have worked out what system you are going to use and know that it works for you!
There is sometimes a piece of road that is almost straight but winds a little and is near enough too hard to describe.
You can however pretty well see most of it but if you don't put a call in you find that next time over you are suddenly off the notes.
In that case I may use something like "50 ST R4" The ST means "straight to" which may sound strange but basically I am telling myself that the road does wind a bit but there are no significant bends until the R4.
People make up all sorts of things to describe this situation some say wiggles for 50 etc. However it does not matter how you describe it so long as you DO.
Some times when you are going along a track it just winds left then right for a long distance, so you find yourself with repeated calls "L4 R4 L4 R4" etc I usually try to break these up by changing the calls a bit. I may start with "L4 R4 into LE R4" etc breaking up the monotony.
If you are looking very carefully down the road you can usually find a slight variation between the bends enough to have some slightly different calls.
In other words try to avoid a number of calls together that are all the same.