What Does a Rally Co-Driver Do? A View From the Right Seat

Cindi Carlson joined Rally Real Estate Group this month as our Digital Content Manager. She also competes in stage rally as a co-driver, which is the person in the right seat reading the road out loud to the driver at speed, on gravel, on roads neither of them has ever raced.

We asked her to explain the job. This ran first in The Garage Report, our newsletter for people who take garage/car culture seriously. We're publishing it here because it deserves more than one week.

Cindi co-driving at this year's Rally Colorado

What Stage Rally Actually Is

I suppose the best place to start is by defining what, exactly, I do. In the US, rally is not as common as it is in Europe, so while you may have an idea of what this motorsport is, here is the gist for anyone who does not. Stage rally is a unique motorsport where modified, street-legal cars race individually against the clock on closed roads.

Those roads might be dirt, gravel, tarmac, mountain passes, or snow, rather than a traditional circular track where cars race wheel-to-wheel. The driver may be racing on roads they have never raced before, navigating blind corners, crests, jumps, and whatever else the road throws at them.

It is a magical beast that will lure you in with the promise of speed and glory, only to break your heart, beat you down, exhaust you completely, and somehow leave you asking, "How soon can I get back in a car?"

Choosing the Right Seat

So, what do I do? Well, I chose the path of the co-driver.

A co-driver is essentially the navigator, but that description does not begin to cover the job. My most obvious responsibility is reading pace notes to the driver during the rally. Those notes describe the road ahead, including the direction and severity of corners, crests, jumps, and hazards, often telling the driver what is coming before they can physically see it.

I might call something like, "Caution! Three right tightens two into two left and three right 30," which sounds like complete nonsense to anyone outside of rally but gives my driver very specific information about what is coming next.

Cindi's own pace notes. Written by hand, read aloud at speed.

The Part Nobody Sees

The job does not stop when the stage ends. Between timed stages, I navigate using the official road book, keep us on the correct route, manage time controls and deadlines, communicate with the crew, and make sure everyone knows what is happening next. If something goes wrong on stage, the co-driver also has safety responsibilities, which can include communicating with officials, placing safety equipment, and alerting other competitors. And if the car breaks down or gets a flat tire, both the driver and co-driver become mechanics. Basically, I spend a lot of time making very detailed checklists and then hoping the universe has the decency to follow them. I love it. I love having something in my life that makes me feel accomplished, strong, and capable outside of work. People who do not understand rally may think I am crazy, reckless, or an adrenaline junkie, but honestly, I hate adrenaline rushes. What I love is the sense of accomplishment at the end of an event, the community, the checklists, the opportunity to use my brain, and the incredible responsibility that comes with the job. I have always loved organizing things, and rally gives me plenty of opportunities to put that particular skill to work. It is incredibly mentally demanding. I have to stay focused while running on very little sleep, communicate clearly, manage information, keep track of time, and remain calm when things do not go according to plan. There is a lot of pressure in knowing that my driver is trusting me to tell them what is coming next.

"When you are going more than 100 mph through the trees, there is not much room for hesitation."

And yes, it can be scary. If I give myself enough time to stop and think about what we are actually doing, I wonder what possessed me to get into this car in the first place. So I try not to think about it. But that fear is part of what makes the accomplishment at the end so meaningful. Rally has given me countless opportunities to prove to myself that I can do hard things.

Photo by Peng Du

The Community

It is difficult as an adult to make new friends. It is especially difficult to walk into something new and intimidating on your own, admit you have no idea what you are doing, and say you need help. That is what this anxious little ball of nerves loves about rally: I have never felt like I was on the outside.

My rally journey started out rough, which is a story for another time, but the rally community, many of whom I had just met, jumped right in and made me feel like family. I have joined forces with women in motorsport and made lifelong friends because of them. There is something incredibly special about women supporting women in an environment that can feel intimidating, and I am grateful for every person who has encouraged me to keep going and has walked alongside me.

When I needed to work through some trauma and figure out how to get back in a helmet and race car, DirtFish and Oz Rally Pro were right there, letting me vent my feelings while also teaching me how to use that experience for good and to make myself stronger.

Rally is not possible without support. I have had support from my husband, my drivers, my crew, other teams' crews, and people who have stepped in to help me get back out there when I thought I was done. Rally may look like a driver and co-driver sitting in a car, but there is an entire community behind every team that makes it possible to get to the start line.

So, why do I co-drive? Why do I keep doing this incredibly taxing thing?

Because I have something in my life that is specifically mine. Something I can improve at, something I can feel proud of, and something I can look back on and be genuinely shocked by what I was capable of accomplishing. Rally has given me a place where I can be nervous and still be brave, where I can be exhausted and still keep going, and where I can discover that I am capable of much more than I sometimes give myself credit for.

And yes, going 100-plus mph through the trees is scary. But so is doing a lot of things that are worthwhile.

At the end of the day, I take off my helmet, look at what we just accomplished as a team, and think, “I just did that.” That feeling is why I keep coming back.

Cindi Carlson is Digital Content Manager at Rally Real Estate Group and competes in stage rally as a co-driver. She writes about car culture, the people in it, and the spaces they build for their machines.

The Garage Report

Rallying requires both a driver and a navigator. One person focuses on driving while the other provides crucial information about the road ahead, and if you get it wrong, the consequences can be severe. Fortunately, the odds of dying in a real estate transaction are very low. But with all the emotional and financial considerations that go into finding the right space for a collection, we'd encourage you to work with someone who knows what they're doing and has your best interest in mind.

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