Four Stages, No Spare Minutes: The Co-Driver’s Tour de Forest Workflow

Hero: Tour de Forest rally car on a Washington forest stage. Photo: American Rally Association event archive; photographer not identified on the source page. Used editorially with source credit.

A compact stage rally puts unusual pressure on the co-driver. There may be only a handful of competitive stages, little time to recover from an early timing mistake and a short service window between loops. The driver still has to place the car, but the co-driver carries the schedule, controls, route book and pace-note rhythm that allow the crew to reach each start prepared.

Tour de Forest is a useful example. The official American Rally Association event page describes a West Region event on gravel roads near Shelton, Washington. The 2025 running used a four-stage, one-day format, while the 2026 listing again placed the event in Shelton on October 3. The exact schedule and rules can change, so competitors should work from the current supplemental regulations and organizer documents—not an old blog post.

Build the day around controls, not just stage starts

A rally schedule is more than the first competitive start time. The crew needs a working timeline for registration, scrutineering, recce, service, time controls and transits. The co-driver should mark the official time source, the method used to record controls and the point at which a late arrival becomes a penalty under the event rules.

Before the rally, copy the required times into one clean working sheet. Keep the official document available, but do not make yourself hunt through multiple PDFs while strapped into the car. Include enough margin for fueling, tire checks, route questions and an unexpected line at a control. A compact event is not automatically a relaxed event; it simply compresses the decisions.

Make the route book easy to use in motion

The route book should be prepared for the way it will be handled in the car. Confirm page order, mark the start of each section and identify instructions that could be confused with nearby junctions. If a page must be turned during a busy section, plan the turn. If a tulip or distance is unclear, raise the question before the car leaves service.

Do not add so much highlighting that every line looks urgent. Use a consistent system for time controls, cautions, fuel, service and passage controls. The point is to reduce interpretation when vibration, dust and noise are working against you.

Pace notes need a shared language

The best note system is the one the crew understands at speed and has practiced together. Agree on corner scale, distance calls, cautions, crests, junctions and features before competition. During recce, record what the driver needs to commit to the road, not a novel about every object beside it.

After recce, the driver and co-driver should review unusual calls out loud. Confirm any shorthand that could be heard two ways through an intercom. Decide how early the driver wants major cautions repeated. If a note is changed, make the change clearly in every copy that might be used.

Service communication starts before arrival

The co-driver can make service more effective by delivering a short, ordered report. Start with safety-critical issues, then anything that affects finishing the next loop, then setup observations. “Right-front impact, steering wheel off-center, no fluid warning, two stages remaining” gives the crew a better starting point than a long retelling of the stage.

Carry a written service priority list. Tires, wheel fasteners, visible leaks, fluid levels, underbody damage, lights, intercom power and required paperwork can be assigned before the car arrives. That leaves the available minutes for inspection and repair instead of deciding who checks what.

Reset after every control

Once a control is complete, confirm the next target time, distance and instruction. Do not let frustration over a missed call consume the next transit. Note the issue, stabilize the schedule and discuss it when the car is stopped in an appropriate place.

The practical takeaway is simple: the co-driver’s work should make the day predictable. A clean timeline, readable route book, practiced note language and disciplined service report create space for the driver to focus on the road. In a short regional rally, that organization can be worth more than one spectacular corner.

Sources: American Rally Association Tour de Forest event page, ARA 2025 Tour de Forest recap, and the 2026 USAC event listing. Verify the current supplemental regulations before competing.