That’s right, only my second time competing and I helped our team reach podium for in class and overall. This was huge for me. My uncle was the driver, and I was the co-driver. These key players are what gets you to the finish line. One cannot comete without the other. Last year was my very first time competing and my aunt was the driver. We were probably 3rd from last, but honestly, I didn’t care and neither did she because we were just so excited to compete together. In Sandblast, there are two events. Afterdark and then the “real” event the next day. We utilized Afterdark as a way to dial in how we work together. I adjusted the speed I needed to read the notes, and she adjusted to hearing me read the notes instead of my uncle. This was the same for this year, except my uncle is probably 10x faster than she is LOL. They also rebuilt the entire car. They took the engine, transmission and rear differential out of his race car and put it into my aunt’s, which is the stage rally car. So my uncle and having a brand new car helped us get closer to the podium as well. But this post is about co-driving. Afterdark this year was a little messy. I was calling notes too late; I wasn’t loud enough when calling the notes (all of this was because I was used to my aunt) and that definitely costed us minutes. But, from what I learned these two races is: always call 1 to 2 turns ahead, definitely get seat time with your driver beforehand, study the time cards and most importantly ask questions. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially in stage rally. My next stage rally is SOFR, so stay tuned!!

Ais