This is not the usual interview. This time we will be presenting with a full feature interview with one world class co-driver, about co-driving techniques and the difference in pace notes between one driver and the other. Giovanni Bernacchini as everybody knows is Nasser Al-Attiyah’s co-driver, but has also driven with many top level drivers including Italian Gigi Gali and Lebanese rally champion Roger Feghali.
Giovanni it’s an honor to have you here.
Thank you it’s my pleasure.
To start with can we call pace notes, an art?
Yes we can say that. Actually to start people don’t know that every driver has his own pace notes. Of course we have a universal understanding about pace notes between drivers but everyone has his own specialty. The things which are common are the corners and the way they are perceived. These days’ drivers use numbers…
So what’s the difference between using numbers and angles?
I think that numbers are much easier to catch and say, especially on the high speeds we have when we are rallying. Some drivers use numbers in a very similar way that the angles are used. 90% of the drivers use numbers from 1 to 6 in order to define the corners.
So what does something like “6 right” means?
Most of the drivers in the world and especially in Italy use numbers from 1 to 6 as follows. 1 means that the corner is very slow like a hairpin. Then we progress. 3 mean a 90% angle like a junction. 4, 5, and 6 are the faster corners.
For instance though, not all drivers follow this way. Nasser for example uses number in the reverse order. So with Nasser 6 means a slow corner and so on…
So every driver has his personal pace notes. 1 of the difficult things for the co-driver is to say the notes for the driver at the exact timing needed. It is also difficult to feel the notes just as the driver wants them. It is very tricky. You cannot say in advance and you cannot be late. It is like a melody or a song you should have the right rhythm and help the driver go faster or slower or what so ever.
Sebastian Loeb and Daniel Elena use angles sometimes, why is that?
This is typical for French pace notes, some use numbers and others use angles like Loeb sometimes does.
For instance when my father was a co-driver, in the 70s and 80s, they used to use wording like “Medium corner” or “Slow corner” and so on. This means that everything is changing. In my point of view I find that numbers are faster to say and are easier for the driver to grasp, since we are driving on very fast speeds. WRC cars are very fast and we need to give him simple notes. If you give him complicated notes he might do some mistakes. Imagine that you are arriving at the speeds of 150 or 180 KM per hour and you come and tell the driver 10 words, it’s difficult to work with. Number in the English pace notes are very easy. You give the driver 3 details and he will be fine especially on high speeds as we said. It is my 3rd year using English pace notes.
So you read to Nasser in English?
Yes, All in English.
You drove with many world class drivers in the world, tell us what the difference is?
For 15 year I co-drove with Italian drivers so I used Italian pace notes. I used English pace notes for the first time with Roger Feghali in 2008.
How was the experience with Roger in 2008?
It was great because it was the first time for me in the Middle East. It was also the first time in Lebanon and the first time with English pace notes. I was quite lucky and it was easy for me since Roger knew the stages very well. I was scared to do a mistake in English but Roger helped and it was quite good. After 4 rallies with Roger I started driving with Nasser and continued driving in English.
So what pace notes did you use with Gigi Gali?
With Gigi who is like 99 % of the Italians, we used numbers from 1 to 6 where 1 is the slow corner and 6 is the fast one. We also used some small details like 1+ and 1- to determine the severity of the angle. Gigi used easy pace notes because with the world rally car as we mentioned above you need easy pace notes.
After finishing our conversation on the art of pace notes and the way they differ from driver to another we moved to talk about ROL 2011.
We see you here preparing for ROL 2011, how is it going and are you ready to challenge for victory?
We did an official test and we did a great job I hope. We worked on the setup, since the stages are tricky and bumpy and we need the right compromise. For us, it’s very important to win here especially for the MERC championship since we are leading it and we want to clinch the title. In addition to this Nasser wants to win this rally for sure, because it is the only one he didn’t win in the Middle East. It is a very big challenge for him. For me it’s going to be a bit difficult to make him concentrate not only for the win in the rally but not to forget the MERC championship.
Roger is not entering the MERC championship so his finishing position doesn’t affect our championship hopes, but we are rally drivers and we always want to win.
Honestly this year we have a good chance, since we don’t have the same car as Roger. We have an S2000 car and Roger has an R4, but we will have to wait and see. It will be a very good fight.
Tell us about your relationship with Nasser on the personal level?
Nasser is a very good person as you see. We have a really good feeling in the car for our work. As you can see him on TV he is a very a good person, he is always smiling and he never gives up. I can say he is like my friend. He is friendly with everybody and I am very happy to stay with him.
Is it true the Petter Solberg approached you for a drive with him in WRC?
Yes for sure, Petter called me last year and told me he would like us to drive together in WRC. I told him yes you never know in the future we can do it. He said well I need you to be with me in the next rally in Bulgaria after 10 days. The problem was that it was in the middle of the season and I was with Nasser and it’s not fair for me to leave him. I told him I appreciated the opportunity and I was proud of it but I cannot leave Nasser.
I know it was a very good opportunity, but I am happy with my choice. I am here with Nasser and we are competing in WRC and MERC. I think next year we will be competing in WRC too and I am happy with my choice.
We all know that Petter is a world champion but you never know what the future holds for Nasser. In addition to this I have the right feeling in the car with Nasser. This may not happen with Petter so I don’t want to take the risk.
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