New Zealand’s rising rally star Ari Pettigrew is taking the skill of calling and writing his own pace notes very seriously, and this weekend’s International Rally of Whangarei provides him with a unique opportunity.
And he even has a special vehicle to do that job.
The International Rally of Whangarei allows the crews to drive over the roads to be used for the special stages twice, allowing the drivers to make more accurate pace notes by checking them on a second pass. New Zealand championship rallies only permit a one-pass reconnaissance.
Making pace notes requires the driver to call a description of the road while driving to legal speed limits that is then called back to him by the co-driver when they are racing over the closed road in an attempt to record the fastest possible time.
Pettigrew is looking forward to the two-pass recce opportunity, which New Zealand championship drivers only get to do two times a year, the Northland event being the first of these this season.
While this is only Pettigrew’s second rally event writing his own pace notes, he and co-driver David Calder have put in six months of homework to get Ari to this to stage of his pace note development. That has already paid dividends when Pettigrew was significantly faster than his rivals at Rally Otago, before his Stadium Cars Ford Fiesta was sidelined with an overheating engine.
“Even though we only got one pass [over the roads] at Otago, I was happy with our pace notes for the first time. The speed felt good and I think because of the descriptive parts in my notes, the placing of the car was always right.” said Pettigrew.
“The concentration level has to be really high when we only get one pass, so having two at [International Rally of] Whangarei is going to be really good,” he said.
The Stadium Cars Ford Fiesta ST rally car is a left-hand drive model as used in Europe and imported so that Pettigrew can get used to driving from the left side of the car. All top international and World Rally Cars, like Kiwi WRC driver Hayden Paddon competes in, are left-hand drive models.
To make sure his notes are as accurate as possible, Pettigrew sought out a left-hand drive road car to use for reconnaissance. He found a Peugeot 106 and this has been set up specifically to help with the making of his pace notes.
“Sitting on the left-hand side keeps it the same as when we’re in the Fiesta competing, plus shifting [the gears] with the right hand all the time is a big help as well.”
The commitment to developing and perfecting pace notes was a major factor in Pettigrew seeking a co-driver with the right experience.
Calder, who’s regular driver for the past few years, Nathan Quinn, is currently leading the Australian Rally Championship, is now focusing on helping the 18-year-old fellow Cantabrian develop the skills he needs to aim for an international career.
“I’m impressed with the detail Ari is picking up to put to paper in a single pass. He’s making a big effort as he it’s a critical factor in what makes a fast rally driver really fast,” said Calder.
Reconnaissance for International Rally Whangarei will be held on Thursday before competition on Saturday and Sunday over roads in Northland.
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