Let’s analyze how co-driver and driver communications take place inside a rally car
Both during the pre-race reconnaissance, during which the crew has the opportunity to write notes for the rallies, and in the special stage, communications between the driver and co-drivers play a fundamental role. Let’s see how they happen and the contents.
Communications during reconnaissance (recces)
The recces (abbreviation for reconnaissance) are a fundamental phase of a rally during which the crew, on board a road car, has the opportunity to travel at street-legal code speeds, the special stages that they will travel during the race. Each rally crew has a limited number of runs available (2 or 3) to write the pace notes for all the special stages of a Rally.
Who writes down the pace notes for the special stage?
It is the driver, with his eye and his vision of the road, who dictates to the co-driver the pace notes that describe the geometry of the road in detail. In this phase the codriver finds himself writing the notes dictated by his driver in his notebook. During the second and third reconnaissance passes, the navigator will re-read the written notes to the driver, so that they can be verified and possibly corrected.
During our rally courses we teach how to read the road and describe it using the correct rally pace notes.
Communications during Rally in a special stage between driver and codriver
However, when the crew is racing in a special stage, it is the codrvier who reads, in rhythm and with precision, the pace notes that were prepared during the reconnaissance. The co-driver’s task is fundamental: he must read with the right pace and advance, he must underline the critical points with the correct tone of voice, he helps the driver to maintain a high and constant level of concentration. Even the drvier, during a special stage, may need to speak, for example communicating to his crewmate, corrections that may be useful for the next step on the same special stage.
The technology that allows communication in a rally car between driver and co-driver
The interior of a rally car is an inhospitable, hot and above all noisy environment. The sound-absorbing panels have in fact been removed to save weight. The vibrations echo between the sheet metal and, as in the case of a gravel rally, the stones hitting the body are perceptible one by one. It is for these reasons that technology comes to help and allows us to improve the possibility of speaking and listening in the passenger compartment.
The intercom system of a rally car
The intercom is the tool that allows correct and clear communication inside a rally car. It is a system made up of a control unit, a wiring that connects the crew’s helmets (innovated systems also allow wireless communication), inside which we find microphones and headphones. Thanks to the possibility of adjusting individual volumes and the active noise cancellation present in the most advanced models, communication between driver and codrvier can take place clearly, allowing the information fundamental for performance to be correctly sent and received.
