The art of successful co-driving combines
a multitude of dark arts. Managing time schedules, route direction, distances,
fuel consumption, food and beverage intake and selecting the appropriate tree behind
which to pop out for a pee, or perchance something else which may or may not
require the tearing-out of the back pages from the Roadbook - hopefully soft
and absorbent!
And all this has to be managed while furnishing
his/her 'pilote de voiture' with the necessary information to make fast and
safe forward progress during each Special Stage whilst whispering gentle words
of encouragement and praise through the intercom to soothe the fevered brain
and fragile ego of the one half of the crew which has the least to do.
A good co-driver must also possess the ability and
patience to take instruction and appease the driver at all times even if that
means taking instructions with which the co-driver may be inclined to disagree -
although some crews take it to the extreme.
Overheard in the Dingwall Mart service area:
"When ah tellt ye tae get back in the caur
and get yer heid doon, that's no quite whit ah meant!"
No comments:
Post a Comment