Recce notes

[Rallynavigator]

looking at the DVD for a rally I found it quite difficult to follow as in places there was a alot of snow. How difficult is it to read the stage with snow , do you get a feel for the corners and what lies below  How do you determine cautions?

[expat]

Be prepared for big changes between the DVD and actual conditions.
- in the UK snow doesn't usually hang around for too long; snow during the recce may melt before the rally.
- earlier cars may churn up the snow so that you will be driving on the underlying gravel or whatever.
- the snow cover is very likely to change before your second run through any stage you use twice.

Tyre choice could be critical. What do you plan to use? Normal gravel tyres are often poor on snow & ice. A winter road tyre could be a better bet especially if you can get tyres intended for a van - the side walls are stronger.

I don't understand your questions about reading the stage, and cautions. Can you rephrase the questions?

What will be your strategy? Softly softly and pick up places when other people fall off? Or push hard to take advantage of other people pussy footing round?

If conditions mean speeds are very much reduced, check if the event timing changes. Especially keep an eye on stage maximums; there is no point pushing hard if you will get a maximum anyway, so if you reach that point tell your driver to slow down and avoid all risk.

[Rallynavigator]

I don't understand your questions about reading the stage, and cautions. Can you rephrase the questions?

Sorry what I meant was if there is snow on the stage at the time of the DVD being made it will be difficult to judge the inside of bends / grip levels / ditches etc in respect of your Pacenotes . They will always Eire on the side of caution I know when making these as not to implicate there selves . I suppose with us being in the middle of the pack the line will have been made already. 

[expat]

I don't really see that the presence of snow changes things very much in that respect. The DVD/notes are just advisory, and it is up to the crew to judge things for themselves.

The only thing is you may want to be a bit more cautious than usual. Remember that the snow can make it harder for you to judge corners, spot ditches, potholes etc, but can also make it harder for whoever made the notes. So even if all the snow melts before the rally, its presence during the recce can still cause discrepancies between the notes and what you see on the stage. You have to be prepared for that anyway when using someone else's notes, so just think about what you are doing.

One thing to consider is that snow and/or ice can cause grip levels to change significantly in places you wouldn't normally expect. Like when moving between sunny and shaded areas, or between exposed and sheltered areas. Or crossing bridges. Make sure your driver appreciates that before driving the stages, but that is about all you, as co-driver, can do.