This page has been written from the point of view of a TSD Navigator. I would love to post the point of view of a TSD Driver here if someone would care to write one. Some of this is a little tongue in cheek, although it is all relevant. Bottom line - good communication is key to a successful rally team. With practice teams learn to exchange relevant information efficiently.
So you want to become a TSD Rally Navigator.
(Dave Beddows - Navigator)
Can you answer "Yes" to the following questions?
Seriously - You must be comfortable with basic math under pressure to do this job. Navigating requires calculation of real time at any given distance based on average speeds. It isn't hard but does require practice. Many seasoned navigators have been known to freeze up and forget how to do even a simple calculation, such as 2 miles at 30 MPH takes 4 minutes, under the pressure of time constraints. I carry a cheat sheet of basic formulas with me when I rally. This has proved to save my butt a couple of times when too many things are going on at once and I doubt my ability to remember even a basic mathematical relationship. Once you understand what you are doing then it becomes second nature and the fun begins. In fact it becomes more addictive than any drug I can imagine. It is this fact that makes me a navigator instead of a driver, despite how much I enjoy driving. "Seat Of The Pants" navigation doesn't require any real math and has proved to be successful by many teams. A little on that later.
Car Sickness - This is something you should consider. Some people cannot ride with their head in the books without getting ill. Being in motion without the eyes giving the brain input to what is going on is a cause of car sickness. Unless you've tried it, you may not realize you are susceptible to it. If you rally "Seat of the Pants" this will not be a factor.
Navigators can be a competitive bunch. It is their job to keep the team as accurate as a Swiss watch. Imagine the worst backseat driver in the world and you have a TSD navigator who was tasting victory before a wrong turn was made. Many stories of navigators barking at their drivers always circulate post rally. Usually this is caused by a navigator accidentally giving the wrong information to the driver and in disgust for doing so becoming desperate to correct the error while racing the clock. In this situation as far as the navigator is concerned, the driver better perform flawlessly and efficiently until the situation has been corrected. This usually involves a little of the anxiety within the navigator being taken out on the driver, hopefully without malice.
If you are planning to rally with a spouse just keep in mind that rallying is 10 fold to getting lost on the family vacation. Because of this fact, there are some "Rally Widows" in this world. These events are fun. I challenge any "Rally Widows" who read this to team up and come join the fun. However, if you place better than expected in the final results please be careful of our male pride.
So you want to become a TSD Rally Driver.
(Dave Beddows - Navigator)
Can you answer "Yes" to the following questions?
Can you listen to directions without second guessing them?
Can you maintain a steady speed over a distance despite turns and hills?
Are you good at reading street signs as you approach them?
Can you sympathize with a stressed navigator taking out his mistakes on you?
Rally sheets are designed to mess with the minds of the teams involved. Some traps work because they use psychological warfare so to speak. A driver may see a road situation coming up that he just knows is a perfect rally trap and may at the last minute second guess the instructions given by the navigator thinking he is saving the day. This is a good cause for the navigator to shout. Another mistake commonly made by drivers is to follow the rally car in front. NEVER do this! Your own Off Courses are bad enough to swallow, let alone those awarded to you due to another team's mistake. Bottom line is the navigator has the instruction sheet. Trust what he says. That way if a mistake is made, there is no question as to it being that of the navigator.
Maintaining a steady speed is key to zero a check point that is at the end of a long leg. A good navigator can help keep you on time but if the navigator is busy correcting for an earlier mistake, he may not have time to do interim calculations. To shine here you have to be able to maintain an average speed despite slowing down for a bend, hill or stopping at an intersection. The ability to guess how long you should exceed the average speed after pausing at a stop sign to return to the correct average speed for the leg, is a valuable and easily learned skill. I have rallied with drivers that can do this to an accuracy of 15 seconds over a 10 minute leg in a vintage car. This is a must if you rally "Seat Of The Pants".
As a navigator there are times I need to be able to trust my driver to check road signs as we approach them. "ONTO" instructions are a good example of this. When doing an "ONTO" the team must check the street name at EVERY intersection. Even missing just one could make the difference between going Off Course. Communication is key. If my head is down in the calculations and my driver is approaching a complicated intersection, I want to know about it before we get to it. As navigator, I have seen what is coming up in the instructions and that knowledge is sometimes the difference in making a judgment call. The driver must be able to proceed using "forced turn" or "main road" rules with confidence. These 6 rules are easy to memorized and soon become second nature. This allows the navigator to calculate on long legs without having to advise the driver continuously.
Be prepared to have panicked contravening instructions barked at you by a flustered navigator if you have been Off Course. "Faster, no slower, oh I don't know, just drive, leave me alone while I try to figure out where we are, Stop!!!, back up, hurry up, turn! turn! turn!", are just some of the phrases I've used. Come to think of it; all at once in one case. In such time of panic it is important for the driver to be able to continue solo on the next few instructions while the navigator calculates error correction for the rest of the stage. For the driver this means being able to guess how quick they should go and for how long before returning to the average speed, to make up for the mistake. Navigators can be moody after realizing they may have just cost the rally.
This is a very effective rally style that can quite often put you in the top ten. It is the best way to rally if you don't have an accurate odometer in your car or your navigator is mathematically challenged. It involves the driver's ability to maintain an average speed using experience and guess work. The navigator can focus their attention on watching out for traps. This is the most effective way for a new team to learn how to TSD. It is less stressful and can be quite rewarding. One trick is to take the average speed and run a few MPH faster at all times. This will always make you a little fast but helps compensate for stopping at intersections etc. Providing you don't go "Off Course" it is possible to zero all Classic Rally checkpoints that are timed to the minute. If you do go "Off Course" it is important for the navigator to be able to calculate error correction for the mileages on the odometer so that the team can determine where the next rally instruction occurs.