Watch onboard footage from any top rally and you will hear the co-driver talking almost without pause. Numbers, directions and short words come in a rhythm that sounds like a foreign language. That stream of information is the pace notes, and it is one of the main reasons rallying is possible at all. Crews race at very high speed on roads they have only seen a couple of times, and the notes are what bridge the gap.
What pace notes describe
At their core, pace notes describe three things: the direction and severity of each corner, the distance between features, and anything that changes how the car should be driven. A typical note might sound like “left four, 100, right three tightens over crest.” Each element tells the driver something specific.
- Direction: left or right.
- Severity: usually a number. Many crews use a scale where lower numbers mean slower, tighter corners and higher numbers mean faster, more open ones. Others work the other way round, or use words such as “hairpin,” “square” or “flat.”
- Distance: the gap to the next note, often in meters, such as “50,” “100” or “200.”
- Modifiers: words that refine the corner, such as “tightens,” “opens,” “long,” “don’t cut,” “caution” or “over crest.”
Different systems, same purpose
There is no single universal pace note system. Crews use whatever works best for them. One common approach rates corners by gear, so a “three” is a corner taken in third. Another rates them by angle or by speed on an abstract scale. British, French, Finnish and American crews have each developed their own habits, and many drivers adapt a system over years until it fits the way they think.
What matters is consistency. If a “five right” means one thing on Friday morning, it has to mean exactly the same thing on Sunday afternoon in the rain. A good set of notes is a contract between two people about how the road will be described.
Writing the notes during recce
At most professional events, crews write their own notes during reconnaissance. They drive each stage at legal, controlled speeds in a road car, normally with a limit on the number of passes. On the first pass the driver calls each feature as they see it and the co-driver writes it down in shorthand. On the second pass they check and adjust: a corner might deserve a lower number, a distance might be shorter than it looked, or a rock on the inside might need a “don’t cut” warning.
Many crews also film the recce so they can review the footage that evening and tidy the notes. Teams sometimes send a “gravel crew” through stages shortly before competition to report changes such as fresh mud, ice or new ruts, which the co-driver then marks in the book.
Organizer route notes
Not every rally lets crews make their own notes. Some national and regional events, including many in North America, supply official route notes written by the organizer. Every crew reads the same description of the road. This keeps costs down, saves time and helps less experienced competitors. Crews often personalize these notes with their own marks, but the base information is shared.
Reading the notes at speed
Writing good notes is only half the job. During a stage the co-driver has to deliver them at exactly the right moment. If a note comes too early, the driver may forget it before the corner. If it comes too late, there is no time to react. Experienced co-drivers read slightly ahead of the car, adjusting their pace to the speed and to the driver’s rhythm. They keep track of their place in the book by feel, by the car’s movements and by glancing up at the road.
Tone of voice matters too. Many co-drivers raise their voice or stretch a word for a dangerous feature so the warning stands out from routine calls. Some drivers want a calm, steady delivery. Others prefer more energy. Over time, a crew develops a shared rhythm that is almost musical.
When notes go wrong
Mistakes in the notes can be costly. A corner noted as faster than it really is can send a car off the road. A missed caution can lead to a puncture or a broken suspension arm. For this reason many crews treat note-writing as a craft that takes years to master. After an incident, the first question in the service park is often whether the car was right, the driver was right, or the note was right.
If the co-driver loses their place, perhaps after a spin, a quick reset is vital. Co-drivers often call key landmarks and junction numbers so they can find their place again quickly.
Learning pace notes yourself
You do not need a rally car to practice. Many aspiring co-drivers start by writing notes from onboard videos, then reading them back over the footage to test their timing. Others navigate on road rallies or volunteer at events to learn how stages are run. Rally schools teach both sides of the partnership, and many national-level crews began as friends who simply swapped seats and tried it.
Once you understand pace notes, onboard footage stops sounding like noise. You start to hear a driver and co-driver working as one, building a picture of the road a few seconds before the car gets there.
