Learning to navigate the Mount Baw Baw Sprint

Understanding stage notes is akin to learning a whole new language, or even hieroglyphics; especially for the beginner. This vital connection between navigator and driver is difficult to learn, and takes years to finesse. But believe me: getting it right makes the world of difference.

So when a mate of mine said he was keen to take-on the challenge, I set about finding a professional instructor to show him the ropes – hopefully before the green flag drops on the next round of the Australian Tarmac Rally Championship (ATRC).

The call was answered by Bernie Webb at Smoothline Stage Notes.

Bernie and his business partner Steve Glenney boast decades of experience from both sides of the cockpit. Their attention to detail in evaluating surface changes, corner progressions and terrain changes in the stage notes they compose is second-to-none, and has helped novice and professional teams alike to rallying success.

“Understanding how things play-out at speed, and being able to present this information in an accurate and consistent manner forms the basis of what we’re known for,” explains Bernie.

“We understand that including information that’s important, and leaving out what’s not, reduces the need to process excess information – and that’s critical to making decisions at speed. It’s about helping teams develop their own knowledge and hone their abilities.”

I’ve participated in a number of ‘called’ rallies over the years and know how valuable good stage notes can be. In events like the Australasian Safari and Targa Tasmania it’s imperative the driver understands what lies ahead. Good notes – and a good navigator – will ensure he or she does.

And while stage note methodologies differ the world over, the fundamentals are basically the same. The navigator calls the distance between various landmarks or features, the radius and severity of corners, and even obstacles or changes in surface. The driver responds accordingly. The accuracy and cadence of calling instructions is critical to speed and safety.

Getting it wrong can be disastrous.

We all have to start somewhere, right? And if the interest – and let’s face it, stomach for it – is there, then half the battle is already won.

The ‘baptism’ for my budding navigator was the ATRC Mount Baw Baw Sprint. It’s an event I’ve participated in previously and one that I know to be well run. What’s more, the event brings a broad variety of experience to a relatively compact arena; meaning there’s plenty of scope to learn from those around you.

Fortunately for us, the Mount Baw Baw round of the ARTC offers a Touring category run at lower speeds. Petitioning novice entrants from the event’s professional competitors creates an environment conducive to erudition. Navigating and driving skills can be honed at a pace more forgiving of error, a point Bernie reiterates several times in the course of his briefing.

“To do his or her job efficiently, a navigator needs the right tools,” Bernie emphasises.

“That’s why we give equal attention to the use of intuitive terms, symbols and timing cues when constructing our stage notes. Every line and page break is chosen carefully, making smooth, timely delivery of notes achievable.”

Bernie explains that using the tools available to the navigator include the Rally Safe device fitted to each car at the Mount Baw Baw Sprint. This GPS-based device – similar in size and appearance to a windscreen-mounted sat-nav – provides two-way communications with race control, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, and advance timing, tracking and safety features.

It has largely replaced the Targa Timing used previously.

“Frequent ‘cumulative distance’ measurements are recorded in the notes along with visual landmarks,” Bernie adds.

“These measurements give the co-driver confidence they are calling the correct notes and help minimise any time spent ‘off notes’. Tarmac rally events have the potential to be dangerous, so we make every effort to ensure you have the resources and training to minimise that risk.”

With Smoothline’s detailed stage notes in hand – and an afternoon of training fresh in mind – we set to grasping the ins and outs of Medallion-style stage notes during the following morning’s ‘shake down’.

Having first driven the road at slower speeds (often known as a ‘recce’, or reconnaissance) we were now ready to combine a little pace with the comprehensive observations from our road book.

As is customary in Touring stages of events like these, participants’ speed is managed by a lead (or pace) car – and doubly monitored by race control via the Rally Safe unit in our car. We’re capped at a maximum speed of 130km/h under the regulations of the event. But in a road car with road-car levels of safety – not to mention a course lined with innumerable trees and sheer drop-offs – it’s a rate that feels fast enough.

“Six left into danger three right. Err, shit. Sorry!” Tim stammers as he goes ‘off notes’ in the jittering opening stage.

“This is really difficult! Err, four left becomes three, narrows over crest.”

It takes a little while for Tim to decipher the shorthand and symbols used in the road book. In a moving vehicle, and referencing the road book, the Rally Safe and the features and landmarks outside the moving car simultaneously he is quick to appreciate the skill of experienced navigators.

“It’s hard remembering all the symbols and timing cues,” Tim adds, fumbling for his place on the page.

As we’re not in a timed (or competitive) division of the Sprint it’s not really an issue. Learning the basics of all that a navigator must do is a hard-ask for a ‘newbie’. It’s a role that requires a head for numbers, an eye for landmarks, an ear for communication – and cast-iron guts. Fortunately, Bernie’s training shines through.

“That was much harder than I thought it’d be; you just have to constantly remind yourself of everything Bernie said – which is a lot!” Tim laughs as we cross the end of stage.

“There’s so much going on, and you, you’re going really fast!”

He’s actually sweating!

As the day rolls on, Tim gets the opportunity to hone his skills over eight more stages. Increasingly, his ability to quickly decode the squiggles and abbreviations used in the road book become more fluid.

Readily understanding the shorthand without referring to the legend reduces the time between ‘calls’. The instructions become more regular and better coordinated.

It helps me settle, as well. When the spoken instructions from your navigator counter what your eyes are telling you there’s a tendency to roll off the pace – and make abrupt manoeuvres. With a harmony beginning to form between the notes in the road book, the navigator, the driver and the road itself we start to really hustle.

“Watch your speed!” Tim says, moments before the Rally Safe flickers yellow.

He’s clearly getting the hang of it.

Having the navigator, driver, car and road function as a unified entity is exactly what stage notes aim to achieve. The ‘calls’ are now in step with the rhythm of the tarmac’s twists and turns. The MX-5 is singing. Everything’s working – and it feels just right.

By the time the first day ends, Tim is calling the notes just as Bernie had instructed. There’s less time spent focussed on the minutiae of each call and more on getting critical information delivered in a timely manner. The difference from my side of the cabin is clear: we’re smoother, faster and more relaxed. We’ve been moved up the ranks and behind the Tour leader.

The idea of the stage notes helping ‘team MX-5’ hone its abilities is evident (at last!).

With the day’s events behind us it’s time for a once-over of the Mazda, and a few beers with our fellow competitors. Traditionally, the Saturday night of ATRC rounds is an excuse to get together over a meal, a drink or two, and enjoy the tales of a guest speaker.

Last year it was ARC champ Brendan Reeves, but in 2020 it was Albury-based entertainer – and fellow competitor – Steve Bowen.

Steve spends his time on stage detailing his trials and tribulations as a rookie Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteer. His photos and candid account of the Green Valley blaze at Jingellic late last year bring home the realities of volunteer fire fighting in country not unlike that at Mount Baw Baw.

The firestorm created from the “freakish weather conditions” experienced that day took the life of 28-year-old volunteer fire fighter Samuel McPaul. It’s obvious the incident is still raw for Steve.

“He was doing everything right,” Steve reinforces tearfully to a now-silent audience.

“We had no phone coverage out there, and because I was deployed until quite late that evening, the word had spread to my own family that someone had lost their life. It wasn’t until I got home that they knew I was safe.

“Sadly for Sam’s wife Megan and their unborn child due in May… well, they won’t get to experience that feeling ever again.”

Steve’s account of what was only his second fire attended as a volunteer – and the accompanying images – resonated with the entrants and crew at Mount Baw Baw. There were tears in the room as the realities of fighting one of the worst fires in recent history hit home.

The roads we enjoy as part of the Sprint simply couldn’t be used in the manner they are without the support of communities like those affected by the recent fires. Knowing the generosity of spirit demonstrated by people in these parts makes it an even harder truth to accept.

Unfortunately for Steve, the weekend was about to get worse.

Sunday began as any second-day at the ATRC does. Everyone is breathalysed as last-minute preparations are made and cars are refuelled. Then, the cloud lifts over the summit and we commence our descent to the start point at Two Bridges.

Strapped in tight, and with the course now somewhat familiar to Tim and I, we set off for the first in Sunday’s longer ‘double stages’ to Tanjil Bren and Porcupine Creek. The stage notes are coming with the intonation and care of a seasoned pro.

“Left six opens into left nine, care into right four,” Tim is clearly in the zone.

We’re barely a 1.5km from the end of the morning’s second stage when the pace of our Tour leader drops dramatically. From the corner of the windscreen the Rally Safe’ screen flickers with a warning to stop and at the next timing point we’re summoned into a makeshift layaway.

There’s been a crash.

Considering the proximity of the end of stage to our own the details are painfully limited. Radio communications are contained only to coordinating medical and fire services vital to the scene. The silence of the competition’s vehicles adds to the tension.

Like any competitive event there’s a camaraderie that forms between those involved. The gentle creak of the eucalyptus branches above us interrupts the stillness of a dozen teams straining to hear an update over the two-way radio. Emergency vehicles whizz past our makeshift car park and the suspense of those gathered by the tour leader’s radio is palpable.

Soon instruction comes that we’re to turnaround and head back to the top of the mountain. We learn that car 222 piloted by Steven Bowen and navigator Cheryl Dominguez have hit a tree. The details are thin, and we’re all on edge. A police car passes at speed toward the crash as we crawl in convoy back to the summit.

The hour-long wait for details on Steve and Cheryl’s condition is agony. Just last night the amiable entertainer helped us to bond over his account of grief among comrades. We hoped it was an emotion we wouldn’t have to share.

Word finally circulates that Steve and Cheryl have been taken to hospital with compression injuries. When a human stops suddenly from considerable speed the force exerted on the parts of the body restrained by the harness causes sudden and significant pressure to occur. From 120km/h (as we later discovered) that pressure is substantial.

It’s a far better situation than the alternative of course, but one that creates significant injury all the same.

For now it’s all the information we have. The course is clear and the event resumes. We head back down the hill and recommence the afternoon’s stages. The rest of the day proceeds without disruption and finish the event with the customary spray of champagne.

“You guys have won the Tour,” says a beaming Ursula Domzalski from Mountain Motorsport as she presents us with a plaque.

“The Tour leader was impressed with your pace. In fact, we think you’re ready to step-up to the main event. We hope to see you at Lake Mountain!”

It’s a fantastic high on which to finish the weekend, and as we shoot the breeze with our fellow competitors the news comes through that Steve has been discharged from hospital. Cheryl is expected to follow in the next day or two.

Events like the Australian Tarmac Rally Championship don’t just happen. In fact, they wouldn’t happen at all without the energy and enthusiasm of Peter Washington, Ursula Domzalski and Mel Cook, the crew from Mountain Motorsports, and the tireless team of vigilant volunteers. These guys and girls are a credit to the sport and bring a vibrant and inclusive sense of community to tarmac rallying that keeps people coming back year after year.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to Pedders Suspension, Reece Motor Sport and Walhalla’s Star Hotel for their support in getting my MX-5 to this event. Big props also go out to the MX-5 Club of Victoria and Tasmania, and Motorsport Safety and Rescue for the loan of vital safety equipment.

Club-level and tour-category rallies exist in many forms. But being part of larger rallies like the Australian Tarmac Rally Championship and Targa events give lower-budget enthusiasts a chance to mix in circles we’d otherwise enjoy from the sidelines.

As a regular participant of one form of motorsport or another I can tell you the crew behind the ATRC, Mountain Motorsport, do a terrific job of pulling this event together. The four-round series covers some of Victoria’s most exciting alpine roads, and is open to a variety of competitors across Classic, Modern, Showroom, Regularity and Tour divisions.

In the Tour category we find entrants with modest budgets or road-registered cars who are keen to get involved in the sport. It’s a ‘taste test’ of sorts, and with speeds capped at 130km/h behind a pace car is about as safe as rallying gets.

Any roadworthy car is welcome to compete in the ARTC’s Tour division but must pass scrutineering to take part. The course covers 210km of competitive driving with 380km covered in total, measuring the transport legs in between stages.

Mount Baw Baw is the third of four rounds in the 2019-20 Australian Tarmac Rally Championship series. It will be followed by the Lake Mountain Sprint (near Marysville, VIC) on March 21-22. Details on how to enter can be found at www.australiantarmacrally.com