Saxony rally racing Opel Kadett GSI 16V 33 (aka)

A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of

pacenotes In rallying, pacenotes are a commonly used method of accurately describing a rallying route to be driven in extreme detail. As well as dictating the general route to be taken, in terms of turnings, junctions, etc., all notable features of the rout ...

to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity of the turn, and what obstacles to look out for). Some competitions require map interpretation. In stage rallying communication is often over a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

headset, due to the high level of noise in the car. The co-driver also tells the driver about any incidents or accidents that may have occurred further ahead in the stage."Rallying : What about the co-driver?"
, motorsportads.com, no date This role is particularly critical in high-end rally competitions such as WRC. Co-drivers are also often called on to perform maintenance on the car during road sections and special stages, such as changing a wheel.

Notable co-drivers

Björn Cederberg Björn Cederberg (born July 23, 1937), nicknamed "Kapten" (engl. Captain, due to his rank in the Swedish Army), was a notable Swedish rally co-driver. His most famous and successful partnership was with Stig Blomqvist, in a Saab 99 Turbo, with wh ...

Sergio Cresto Sergio Cresto (USA) (January 19, 1956 – May 2, 1986) was the co-driver of Henri Toivonen at the Lancia Martini team for the 1986 World Rally Championship season. He was also a former co-driver for fellow Lancia employee Attilio Bettega, who die ...

* Mike Doughty *

Daniel Elena Daniel Elena (born 26 October 1972) also known as "Danos" is a Monégasque rally co-driver working most notably with Sébastien Loeb. Between them the pair have won the World Rally Championship (WRC) nine times with Citroën, later competing wit ...

Ola Fløene Ola Fløene (born February 1, 1969) is a Norwegian rally co-driver in the World Rally Championship. He is currently contesting WRC2 alongside long-time colleague Andreas Mikkelsen with Toksport WRT. In the past Ola has co-driven with a number of ...

* Fred Gallagher *

Isabelle Galmiche Isabelle Galmiche (''Gal-MEE-sh''; born 19 November 1971) is a French rally co-driver and mathematics teacher. As of January 2022, she is the co-driver for nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, driving for M-Sport Ford in the World ...

* Christian Geistdörfer * Ana Goñi * Nicky Grist *

Seppo Harjanne Seppo Harjanne (born 20 February 1948) is a Finnish former rally co-driver. He is best known for co-driving for Timo Salonen from 1979 to 1988 and for Tommi Mäkinen from 1990 to 1997. With Salonen, Harjanne took ten World Rally Championship vic ...

* Arne Hertz * Julien Ingrassia * Denis Jenkinson *

Jarmo Lehtinen Jarmo Lehtinen (born 3 January 1969) is a rally co-driver from Finland. He was the co-driver to former World Rally Championship driver Mikko Hirvonen and have scored 15 WRC wins competing under Ford World Rally Team and Citroën Total. As of ...

Lee McKenzie Lee McKenzie (born 1 December 1977) is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports ...

Gino Macaluso Luigi Macaluso, also known as ''Gino'' (Turin, 9 June 1948 – La Chaux-de-Fonds, 27 October 2010) was an Italian rally navigator and manager. Together with Raffaele Pinto, he won the European Rally Championship in 1972 and the Italian Rally Ch ...

Risto Mannisenmäki Risto Mannisenmäki (born on 28 May 1959) is a former rally co-driver and two-times world champion with driver Tommi Mäkinen. Career Mannisenmäki begun his career in 1982 and was co-driving for various drivers such as Tommi Mäkinen, Sebasti ...

* Tony Mason *

Phil Mills Phil Mills (born 30 August 1963) is a Welsh rally racing co-driver. He was winner of the 2003 World Rally Championship (WRC), as co-driver to Petter Solberg. Mills was born in Trefeglwys, Powys. He has a place in the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame ...

Luis Moya Luis Rodríguez Moya, better known as Luis Moya (born 23 September 1960) is a now-retired Spanish rally co-driver, synonymous with driver Carlos Sainz. He is the third most successful co-driver in the history of the World Rally Championship (W ...

* Michael Park *

Maurizio Perissinot Maurizio Perissinot (1 February 1951 – 12 December 2004) was an Italian rally co-driver, mainly for Attilio Bettega. He survived the accident at the 1985 Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica ...

Fabrizia Pons Fabrizia Pons (born 26 June 1955) is an Italian rally co-driver best known for her partnership with Michèle Mouton. Biography The pair won four rallies with the Rallye Sanremo in 1981 and a further three to finish second in the 1982 championship ...

* Timo Rautiainen * Robert Reid *

Nathalie Richard Nathalie Richard (born 6 January 1963) is a French actress. Richard was born in Paris, France. She received the Prix Michel Simon film prize for most promising actress/actor for her role in the 1988 Jacques Rivette film ''Gang of Four''. Fi ...

* David Richards *

Derek Ringer Derek Ringer (born 11 October 1956) is a Scottish rally co-driver. He is most closely associated with Colin McRae, with whom he won the 1995 World Rally Championship. Although their partnership extended back to the 1980s when McRae was a teen ...

* Tiziano Siviero *

Tina Thörner Maria Christina Thörner (born in Säffle, Sweden on February 24, 1966) is a Swedish rally co-driver. Tina Thörner's career in motor sports started in 1990. Since then, she has won three FIA Ladies' World Rally Championship titles, a third and a ...

* Jean Todt * Martin Järveoja

References

{{Reflist Rally racing Motorsport terminology

Notable co-drivers

See also

References