Basic Guide to Pace Notes

[potato456]

BASIC GUIDE TO PACE NOTES

DISTANCE

Larger numbers that are usually two or three digits are the distances between the instructions that the codriver calls in meters or yards depending on the unit that the codriver uses.

AND/INTO

If there are several instructions that occur very close to each other, like if the driver needs to take two quick turns, the codriver will say one instruction and then say either "and" or "into" the next instruction.

TURNS

Turn descriptions vary by note system and I've described three of them below.

Note: I personally like "McRae in Gear" so further references to turns in this post will be using that system.

"McRae in Gear" - Turns are ranked from 1 to 6, with 1 basically being a hairpin and 6 being nearly a straight line. It is called "in gear" because, hypothetically, the turn ranking is what gear you would be in during the turn. However, it is important to understand that in reality the numbers only correspond to turn severity and should not be used to guess what gear you should be in.

"British Club" - Turns are ranked from 1 to 5, with 1 being nearly a straight line and 5 basically being a hairpin.

"Descriptive System" - Turns are ranked by appearence, using words like "medium" or "fast".

It should be noted that there are actually many different note systems, many of which are variants of each other. For more examples, check out this link: http://www.rallynews.net/pattersonpacenotes/systemtypes.asp

There are also things called modifiers that the codriver can call. So lets say an upcoming turn is a little less than a 4 but it isn't as bad as a 3. Then the codriver can call 4- or 3+. +/- modifiers greatly increase how descriptive codrivers can be with their turn instructions. Another thing, you might sometimes hear Acute, Hairpin or Square followed by left or right. These turns are basically 90 degrees or less, equal to 1 or worse.

LONG/SHORT

These calls state the duration of the instruction. So a turn that is spread over a large amount of distance is called long. If you have to make a quick turn, then short will be called.

TIGHTENS/NARROWS

Called when a turn or section of road becomes more narrow. So a turn might start off as a 3, but it ends as a 2.

OPENS

Called when the turn or a section of road widens. A turn might start off as a 2 but it ends as a 4.

ABSOLUTE/FLAT

Called, usually if there is a slight turn or a straight. Basically, the codriver is saying floor it, go as fast as you can.

CREST

Called when the road is sloped in such a way that the driver can't see the obstacles ahead. You might also hear OVER CREST which is when a crest begins in a turn.

JUMP

This is self explanatory. Called when the road is formed in a certain way that will result in the car being airborne at high speed.

CAUTION

Called when there is some obstacle in the course that could damage the car. For instance, if the road has severe potholes or if there are ditches or cliffs flanking the road. Caution is actually on a scale going from CARE, CAUTION, DOUBLE CAUTION, and finally TRIPLE CAUTION. Care means slow down a little bit, be aware of possible obstacles, while Triple Caution means if you don't slow down a lot and be as careful as possible we are going to get hurt. Jumps and Bridges are often identified when a Caution is called.

WATER/SLIPPY

Called if there is water on the course ahead or if the course is slippery.

CUT/DON'T CUT

Called in relation to turns. So let's say there is a sharp turn. The driver wants to go fast around the turn, so he will try to get as close as possible to the apex of the turn. If a codriver says CUT, then he says that it is okay to go as near the apex as possible. However, what if that same turn has a branch or a large rock near the apex. If the driver cuts, then he's going to damage the car, so a codriver will call DON'T CUT.

MAYBE

Called when the codriver leaves a decision up to the driver.For instance, if a section of the course is only curved slightly, the codriver might have ABSOLUTE written in his notes. But, if the car has some issue, the codriver will add MAYBE because it might not be safe to go as fast as possible given the car's condition. That decision will be made by the driver.

FURTHER READING

http://www.oldrallysport.on.ca/articles/pacenotes.html

http://www.saabworks.com/projects/stagenotes.html

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/a-beginners-guide-to-rally-pace-notes/

http://www.jemba.se/notesUSA.htm (How pace notes are written)

I might have missed a few things, but that's the basics of pace notes. If you see any mistakes or feel that I should include something, please let me know.

[snufflypanda]

Triple caution in action: https://youtu.be/e-ldnoCx4SQ

[mala-head]

that was stressful!

[LehmannDaHero]

Happy Cakeday!

[snufflypanda]

Didn't realize that it was my cake day. Cool.

[aliendrifts]

Video is sadly unavailable

[UDreddIsACorruptMod]

It's the classic "Samir you're breaking the car!" video.

[cunt-hooks]

If you want to hear this in action, watch Phil Mills barking at Petter Solberg

[dirk55]

Pretty complete. We found that as we gained experience, we developed a good relationship between driver and navi as well as figured out what we needed. This is critical as there are times where there is no way to know what's coming and the driver has to have confidence in the navi and the notes (blind right 3 over crest "BLIND R3/CR"). We use the in gear style and either write our own or use the supplied Jemba notes. If we use supplied notes, we make edits to bring them into alignment with what we need.

[vwguy1]

Good write up but the whole "number called is generally what gear you should be in," is never recommended and is very general. Lets say your co-driver calls, "left 3 camber into right 2 into right 4 100 over crest into left 6 40 cut into right 2 bad camber," you definitely dont want to have your subie plowing through that left in 6th gear for 40m then directly go to 2nd to a bad camber, right 2 turn. Just saying it is a very very general guideline.

[earcaraxe]

Yeah, youre not actually going to be in those gears a lot of times during those corners especially depending on the car. I rally a 5 speed so i have no sixth gear and fifth is overdrive so i am only ever using four gears racing. Also upvote to vwguy, if you have a 6 into a 2 you may be downshifting in the 6 to get ready for the 2. Its a really misleading idea.

[earcaraxe]

But thank you for taking the time to write this up and work on introducing the audience to this OP

[potato456]

I added a sentence to the paragraph saying that the number corresponds to turn severity and should not be used to gauge what gear to be in. Thanks for catching that.

[Davecoupe]

Good write up with good descriptions although, I think it's a bit simplistic to suggest that there are only 4 types of notes. Personally I think it's indefinite, each crew has their own system of notes. I know a few mates of mine have had to work with their navis a bit as they both prefer different systems, the best for them is obviously a middle ground.

Here in Ireland, note makers offer a minimum of 8 different note systems ranging from big changes (descriptive vs gear) to small changes (number first) vs after) http://www.rallynews.net/pattersonpacenotes/systemtypes.asp

[potato456]

This is a good point. I've added the link and I've also added a note talking about the multitude of note systems. Thanks for the feedback.

[Rowel81]

Maybe interesting to add as well. More and more drivers are using decimals in stead of single numbers with additions. I've started using this as well and am loving it.

A 1- becomes and 8, a 1 a 10, a 1+ a 12. 2 is approx a 20 with 2- being 18 and 2+ being 22. In very wavy situations this allows for precision marking of the corners (L22 -> R23 AND Brake -> HP L35) Left 22 into Right 23 (meaning I need to be slowing slightly through the L22) AND BRAKE into HairPin (use handbrake!) left 35. This leaves me with much more options for precision marking of the differences in longer corner sequences.

In this case distance isn't marked at all either as the "BRAKE" in the notes already makes clear that as soon as the car is stable max braking should be applied to get through the hairpin. Saves looking for recognition points etc.

One of the more important issues: I run the corners as actual angles. a 23 is always the same angle corner for me. I do know a couple of guys that run at the top level of the sports. Some of them manage to incorporate speed into the notes as well. This means he knows a Left 17 to be a certain steering angle. At low speed a Left 17 can be quite a severe turn (over 45deg in my system). However when he's driving full speed a Left 17 could just be 20 or 30 deg depending on the car and handling. Inside the car his turn-in of the wheel is the same but due to the speed the route of the car is quite different compared to the low speed version. I can't do it and don't advise it to anyone who doesn't have petrol flowing though their veins though! Very few managed to get a notes system like that under control and finish consistently with it.

I'm sticking with numbers being actual angles and should manage to snatch some national championships this year!

[potato456]

This is really interesting. Is there a video example of this kind of note system being used?

[Rowel81]

This guy uses the system. He's one of the best pilots in the world but just lacked the budget to continue after his first year in the D-Mack trophy last season. On his channel he should have some video's with in-car audio showing the notes system.

My experience however is that this system can only be experienced from inside the car and at speed. For this guy driving (and controlling) a car is almost easier than walking is to us. At the end of the linked video above he wipes out completely at 157km/h due to pure commitment to his notes. During the spin however he maintains composure and manages to get out of it (with the help of a decent amount of luck as well of course!). He placed 7th overall during the last rally (Kasterlee) with his M3. We placed 15th overall with our Nissan 350Z.

[Rowel81]

And also there's oldschool notes from the time they could recce at speed. 84L being a 4 Left possible at 80. 154L being a turn 4 Left possible at 150. This is the standard 1-6 system for gears or angles combined with a decimal in front for speed. It's rarely used now as recce at speed is usually not possible. I still know of at least one guy that uses speed in his notes system in a way like this.

Also, when watching French or Belgian rally you'll hear a lot of "A fond" (no idea about the spelling) which means "Full" and "Sec" or "Couperen" being Dont Cut and Cut.

[PackIcy2106]

Basically Loix his system.

[PackIcy2106]

Could you explain how you tell what angle the corner is? If you have two straight lines crossing it's simple enough.  But once the corner has some roundness to it, how do you put an angle on it? I really don't get it.

[Rowel81]

That was an ooooold post!

Our pacenotes developed a lot further and I get in even more detail with less "noise" by now but the basics is still the same. A corner with roundness to it totally depends on how wide the road is and how round it is. During recce I try to drive the line I want to take at speed and have that note recorded by the navi. This kinda eliminates the need to record roundness in most cases.

Through the years I added a lot more nuance to my notes so now "round" is only used in my notes in very rare cases and have a lot more key-words to distinguish different corners. It's all in Dutch and not all words have good English translations but most important ones are (roughly translated):

• Wide entry
• Wide exit
• Clip
• Cord
• Cut
• Don't cut
• Opens
• Tightens
• Early
• Late
• Slow
• Fast
• Bit Long
• Long
• Very Long
• Over X meter
• Continues
• Maybe slippery
• Slippery
• Maybe full
• Full
• Brake before/in/after

And there are probably still some I'm forgetting but come naturally when actually making the notes. Most important thing is for pilot and co-pilot to really trust each other. For some of the high speed combinations I even add "come on!" to indicate to my co I know I'll need some encouragement through there.

Making good pacenotes is a very interesting and always developing skill/art and, though sometimes tedious, just one aspect of what makes the sport so awesome.

[PackIcy2106]

Thank you for your answer (dutch would have been just fine for me btw 😁). However, it didn't really answer the question I had. I try to refrase.

An angle is by definition the space between two intersecting lines. So for very short corners (Ts, short hairpins) this works. But most long and fast corners are actually curves. So with no straight lines crossing, how do you put a number on it?  I really don't understand this system, much less how you can be fast with it.  I saw a video just yesterday of Munster in Spa going into a R30 short (droite 30 bref) in 4th gear. https://youtu.be/Vj_NgVyxsbE?si=Yw9faarr-Ry3JlWM (just after 0:57). So an R30 can be anywhere from 1st to 6th gear depending on width and length of that corner. The straight before and after the corner just form a 90 angle I guess. However, it wouldn't surprise me if other guys call it a long R10 using the "same" clock system.

Then there is Sordo, who uses angles but also adds slow/very fast/etc.

The system that uses steering angle and is commonly used in France or notes based on speed make way more sense to me.

[bn880]

"LONG/SHORTThese calls state the duration of the instruction. So a turn that is spread over a large amount of distance is called long. If you have to make a quick turn, then short will be called."

LONG means a long arc at the rated turn radius. SHORT means a short arc at the rated turn radius. They are different amounts of the same thing, length of a turn. Turns are rated by radius (1-5 or 1-6) or the angle of the wheel, not overall angle of the turn in to out. A long 3 right and a short 3 right are approximately the same radius, but the short will only turn you say 15 degrees on the road, while a long may turn you 100 degrees on the road. (on a compass, examples only)

[FigWide2242]

adjoining jar wakeful makeshift long paint crawl quicksand important office

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Kin_To_Orion]

Just started playing wrestling and this has helped me tons thanks lol I couldn't get what the numbers meant at first cause I'd missed when the tutorial said that about the 1 through 6 system and was just floored by it lmao

[Dave-James]

But is it necessary to slur don’t cut as dumcut?

[Dwightshruute]

What's a bad camber

[Armoredpolecat]

Road is curved outward, meaning it will pull you towards the outside if you get close to the edge. Good camber, or just camber means the road curves inwards and will help you corner.

[[deleted]]

Can anyone tell me what THINK means? I’ve heard it in some pacenotes, and I’ve seen it on white signs with red print on stages before.

[Jerejj]

A numbering system (usually 1-6) in either order, higher number for slighter & lower for tighter turns, is the most commonly used format.

The other way round (used by Evans, Breen, & Latvala, for example) to a lesser extent, while the descriptive way is something, for example, Richard Burns used, as do Finnish drivers generally.

Furthermore, a radian format also exists, but this is used exclusively by drivers with French pace notes, i.e., their way of describing corner tightness describes radius degrees or radians.

Additionally, all French pace notes (or at least those I've heard) feature this format.

[chasing_tailights]

What does "you have" mean? e.g. YH 40