QuestionWhy are there 2 guys in rally car events?
AnswerBasically there are two people in a rally car.
The driver has control of the wheel and pedals etc. but the passenger or the navigator as he is known is the office manager.
It is his job to manage all the paperwork in order to get the driver to the right place and at the right time.
A quote from a top navigator which was broadcast on Rally Report prior to the 1991 RAC Rally by Nicky Grist.
"I always have a time schedule to keep to. I have to be at the next control on time, otherwise I will be penalised for every minute I am late, and the penalty will actually go onto our stage time."
He goes on to talk about the road books showing evey junction used on the stages and between them and everything in his paperwork gives time schedules so he knows when and where he must be at every given time.
Being a co-driver is not just about sometimes sitting next to the best people in the world. You are in control and the driver puts his trust in you.
If you read a pacenote on a stage slightly late the driver probably will not make it round the next corner no matter how good his car control is.
Hope that has helped. Anything else then let me know and I shall try and answer it for you.
Mark
