Graphic: Backfire Racing.
In stage rally, the driver is only half of the equation. Sitting beside them, the co-driver plays a role that is just as critical to a fast, clean run through a stage.
Reading Pace Notes at Speed
Co-drivers read pace notes aloud in real time, calling out the severity and direction of upcoming corners, jumps, and hazards moments before the driver reaches them. These notes are built during a recce, or reconnaissance pass, before the event, as explained in Rally Racing 101, and are refined into a shorthand language unique to each crew.
Timing and Precision
Because rally stages are run against the clock on closed roads the crew has typically driven only once or twice in advance, the co-driver’s call has to arrive with split-second timing. A note read even half a second late can mean the difference between a driver braking in time or sliding off the road entirely.
Navigation Between Stages
Beyond in-stage notes, co-drivers also handle road-section navigation between stages, manage timecards at control points, and keep the crew on schedule so they don’t incur penalties for early or late arrival. This administrative side of the job is just as unforgiving as the in-stage calls, since a missed control can cost as much time as a driving error.
A True Partnership
The best driver-co-driver pairings develop a shorthand built over years of stages together, similar to how young talents like the ones featured in Lia Block’s rise through national rally build trust with their navigators as they climb the sport’s ladder. Swapping in a new co-driver, even a highly experienced one, often costs a crew time simply because the calling rhythm has to be rebuilt.
Why It’s Often Overlooked
Because the driver is the one visibly wrestling the car, co-drivers rarely get the same spotlight, but ask any top rally driver and they’ll say a great co-driver is just as responsible for a stage win as the person behind the wheel.
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