Rally pace notes are spoken aloud during a stage. But before they're spoken, they're written — in a compact, symbol-heavy shorthand that packs an entire road's character onto a few pages of a spiral-bound notebook.

If you've ever seen a co-driver's pace note book — covered in arrows, numbers, slashes, and cryptic abbreviations — and wondered what any of it means, this is the guide that decodes it.

The short answer: Pace note symbols are a handwritten shorthand system where arrows represent corner direction, numbers represent severity (1-6), and a vocabulary of abbreviations covers modifiers, distances, and hazards. Every co-driver develops a personal style, but the core symbols are remarkably consistent across crews worldwide.

How Pace Note Books Work

A pace note book is a spiral-bound notebook — typically A5 or slightly smaller — with each page divided into columns. Each column represents a sequence of corners and features, read top to bottom, left to right across the page.

The co-driver reads one column at a time, following the sequence down the page. When they reach the bottom, they move to the next column. When they reach the last column, they turn the page. The physical layout is designed for rapid, sequential reading under extreme conditions — vibration, noise, G-forces, and limited time to glance down.

Modern crews increasingly use tablets and digital pace note systems, but paper remains common, especially in national-level and amateur rally. The symbols are the same regardless of medium.

Page Layout

A typical pace note page looks like this:

Column 1       Column 2       Column 3
---------      ---------      ---------
R 3            L 4 >          R 5
  80             50             100
L 2 !!         R 3 Lg         L 4 /cr
  30             into           60
Hp R           L 3             R 3 <
  60             80              |
L 4            R 2 dc          finish

Each line is a feature. Numbers between features are distances. Symbols and abbreviations modify the corner calls. The entire page represents perhaps 60-90 seconds of flat-out driving.

Corner Direction Symbols

The most fundamental pace note symbol is the arrow indicating which way the road turns.

Arrow Styles

Different co-drivers use different arrow styles, but the common approaches are:

Most professional co-drivers use L and R — they're the fastest to write during recce and the clearest to read under stage conditions. Curved arrows are more common among amateur crews who find them more intuitive.

Corner Severity Notation

The number (1-6) appears directly after the direction symbol. The combination of direction + number is the core unit of pace notes.

Some co-drivers circle the number for emphasis — a circled 2 means "this corner is serious, don't underestimate it." Others use underlining for the same purpose.

Special Corner Notations

Modifier Symbols

Modifiers are where personal shorthand style diverges most between co-drivers. Here are the most common conventions:

Shape Modifiers

The "tightens" symbol is arguably the most important symbol in any pace note book. A circled, underlined, or red-highlighted tightening arrow is the co-driver's way of screaming: this corner will bite if you don't respect it.

Hazard Modifier Symbols

Road Feature Symbols

Distance Notation

Distances are written as plain numbers between corner calls, representing meters to the next feature.

Some co-drivers use a vertical line (|) between entries to separate corner calls from distance numbers, keeping the columns clean.

Colour Coding and Emphasis

Many co-drivers use colour to add a layer of information that text can't convey at reading speed:

• Red — Danger. Used for "don't cut," serious hazards, caution zones, or any feature that has caused trouble in the past.
• Yellow or orange — Warning. Slippery sections, deceptive corners, or unusual features.
• Green — Safe or positive. "Cut" (inside is safe), good surface, "opens" (corner eases).
• Blue — Information. Junctions, landmarks, or navigation notes.
• Circled or boxed entries — Extra emphasis. A circled "2" means "this corner is serious." A boxed "don't cut" means "this has caught people out."
• Underlined numbers — Double emphasis on severity.

The colour system is entirely personal. No two co-drivers use identical colour codes. What matters is that the co-driver can scan the page at a glance and instantly see where the danger spots are — colour makes that possible in a way that monochrome text cannot.

Personal Shorthand: How Co-Drivers Develop Their Style

The fascinating thing about pace note symbols is that while the system is standardized, the notation is personal. Every co-driver develops their own handwriting style over years of competition.

Some tendencies:

• Experienced co-drivers use shorter abbreviations. A veteran might write a single character where a beginner writes a full word.
• Some co-drivers use diagrams — a small sketch of a tricky corner combination that words can't adequately describe.
• High-speed sections get less notation (the road is straightforward). Technical sections get dense, detailed notation.
• Danger spots accumulate marks over time — if a corner catches the crew out, it gets highlighted, circled, and annotated for the next time they encounter that stage.

The pace note book is a living document. Crews revise their notes between stages, between rallies, and between seasons. A note that said "R 3" two years ago might now say "R 3- > dc !" after experience revealed the corner is tighter and more hazardous than initially assessed.

Digital Pace Note Systems

While paper remains common, digital pace note systems are increasingly used, particularly at professional levels:

• Tablets replace paper books, with scrolling displays synced to GPS position
• Standardized fonts and layouts replace handwriting, improving legibility
• GPS timing can auto-scroll the notes so the co-driver doesn't need to track position manually
• Audio recording integration lets crews record their recce calls and play them back for review

The symbols and abbreviations are the same in digital systems — the medium changes, the language doesn't.

Apps like Rods take this further by eliminating the notation process entirely. Instead of writing pace notes during recce, Rods generates them automatically from road geometry data. The corner calls use the same 1-6 rally scale and the same modifier language — but no handwritten symbols are needed. For drivers exploring public roads, this means getting the benefit of pace notes without ever writing a single symbol.

For a deeper look at how co-driver calls work as a spoken system — the words behind the symbols — that reference guide covers every term.

FAQ: Pace Note Symbols

What symbols do rally co-drivers use? Co-drivers use letters or arrows for corner direction (L/R or curved arrows), numbers for severity (1-6), and abbreviations for modifiers (Lg = long, dc = don't cut, /cr = crest). Colour coding adds emphasis — red for danger, green for safe features. The core system is standardized but every co-driver develops a personal shorthand style.

Why do co-drivers still use paper pace notes? Paper is reliable, requires no battery, works in any condition, and is fast to reference. Many co-drivers also prefer the tactile feedback of turning pages and the spatial memory of knowing where on the page a critical corner appears. Digital systems are growing but paper remains common, especially at national and amateur levels.

How long does it take to learn pace note symbols? The core system — direction, number, basic modifiers — can be learned in an afternoon. Reading notes fluently under pressure takes months of practice. Developing a personal shorthand style that works at stage speed takes years. Co-drivers often say their pace note handwriting is completely different from their normal handwriting.

Can I create my own pace notes for public roads? Yes, but it is time-consuming. You would need to drive the road at cautious speed, noting each corner's direction, severity, and modifiers, then transcribe and organize the notes before a second pass. Apps like Rods automate this process by generating real-time pace notes from road geometry data for any road in the world.