Co-driver, not passenger: what the job really covers, how pace notes, call timing and the time card work, and why it is the cheapest route into a rally cockpit.
A co-driver is not a passenger but the second competitor: they write the pace notes during the recce, call them at the right moment in competition and manage the time card — no crew reaches the start of a stage without one. And the honest answer to the question you are probably asking: the right-hand seat is usually the cheaper and faster route into a rally cockpit. You need no car of your own — just a licence and a driver who takes you along [3].
The job has three building blocks. First the pace notes (in German "Aufschrieb" — the road notes): during the recce the driver dictates what he sees and you write down every corner as a short code of severity, direction and distance [1][2]. Second the call in competition — early enough that the driver can still act, late enough that he does not forget it. Third time management: the time card is your responsibility, your watch runs on official rally time, and an error of a single minute at a time control already costs a penalty [4].
Straight talk: anyone who thinks the co-driver just sits there has never held a time card. And it is hard work — at a world championship event the crew's peak heart rate hit 166 beats per minute instead of 111 during the calm recce, and the cockpit reached well over 30 degrees Celsius [6]. That is football-match heart rate while seated, wearing a helmet.
You are navigator, timekeeper and calm centre in one. On the stage you read the notes; between stages you get the crew through the road sections in normal traffic and on time to the next time control [4]. In service you sort the notes for the next day. The driver sells the result, the co-driver stops there from being none.
On the recce you drive the stage at road speed in a normal car [4]. The driver says what he sees, you write it down: severity, direction, distance — "right 3, 80, left 5 long" [1][2]. Then you run the stage a second time and read your own text out loud. Anything that feels odd on the second pass gets fixed right there — not in competition.
This is the real craft. Practical rule of thumb: the call lands when the driver cannot see the corner yet but is about to. Too early and he forgets it; too late and he is already in it. At high speed you call further ahead, in tight sections shorter. You are not reading out letters, you are setting the rhythm — you are the crew's metronome.
The time card is your document: at every time control a marshal enters the time, so your watch must run exactly on official rally time [4]. Checking in early is just as wrong as checking in late. Rallies are not only lost on the stage, they are lost on the clock.
Start deliberately below your limit. Only when the driver understands your voice without thinking, and you know his reaction, do you turn the pace up. Trust is trained repetition, not a question of character.
In an emergency the co-driver is the first responder: you operate the extinguisher and the emergency kit, you report the retirement, you hold the crew together. That is exactly why the theory course is mandatory in entry series such as the German club sport rally sprint cup, for driver and co-driver [2]. This guide explains and motivates — it never replaces the licence course, the briefing at your club and real safety training.
Two realistic topics: motion sickness mostly hits co-drivers on the recce. In a study of rally co-drivers, 15.3 percent reported nausea during reconnaissance but only 2.3 percent on the competitive stage [5] — because there your gaze is locked on the notes and your brain anticipates the accelerations. The main triggers: stress (63 percent), smells in the car (46.5 percent) and heat (43 percent) [5]. And the body: a pulse of 166 and over 33 degrees in the cockpit mean you have to drink and eat before the start [6].
Record your own calling and play it at home over an onboard video of a car you have never seen. You hear immediately where you rush, mumble or arrive late — and you train the calling separately from the driving. Master the language dry and you have your head free in the car for the only thing that then matters: on time, calm, correct.
In most cases yes. You need no competition car of your own and no expensive build — just an entry licence or race card (around 55.50 to 94.50 euros, or around 29 euros per event), safety gear and a team that takes you along [3]. Many crews even split the running costs across both seats.
You drive the stage at road speed in a normal car. The driver dictates what he sees, the co-driver writes down every corner as a short code of severity, direction and distance [1][2]. On the second pass the co-driver reads the notes out loud and you fix anything unclear. Only then are the notes fit for competition.
Less often than you think — and not where you expect. Among rally co-drivers, nausea occurred in 15.3 percent during the recce but only 2.3 percent on the stage [5]. The main triggers are stress, smells and heat inside the car [5]. The good news: the body habituates with repetition.
That is set by your national body and the series. The German club sport rally sprint cup, for example, is aimed at 15 to 29 year olds and supplies the cars, but requires a theory course from driver and co-driver alike [2]. A road licence is not mandatory for the right-hand seat in every series — the supplementary regulations of your chosen event are the binding answer.
Licence & Format: Entry Licence, Race Card and How a Rally Works Step by Step