The guy with the notebook is the "codriver" and plays the job of being the driver's navigator through the event; he feeds the driver the pace notes they've taken previously to running the stages on race. As for safety, don't worry, these cars are unbelievably durable and safe, you wouldn't believe how well they handle and take the hit, also the crews wear the HANS device (Head And Neck Safety) that protects you from wiplash, so they are safe on that regard too. However it's a motorsport discipline, maybe the most dangerous on the 4 wheel side, so though it's gotten crazy safer it still has its hazards and risks. Update: Better late than never. A few months ago the sport showed its ugliest face with the passing of Craig Breen during the Rally Croatia testing and 2 Spanish rally drivers and 1 of the codrivers in different races, what can only be remembered as a dark moment for rally racing in particular and motorsports in general. These events are utterly heartbreaking, but luckily stand as oddities, incredibly unlikely to happen. Thanks to the care paid to mandatory safety components in rally cars, hardly anything can pose a true threat to the crew's lifes, only being left vulnerable in the worst of scenarios, such us something making it through the car or the absolute hardest and nastiest of crashes. Such case was that of Craig Breen, in wich a pole or element alike pierced his side window and into his body, killing him instantly. Other even more unbelieveable death was that of a female Spanish rally driver last year, twisting the roll-cage by crashing into a tree at flat out speed, what caused the harnesses to thighten with force enough to suffocate her to death. Though not rally related, recently we've mourn the death of 18 year old Dilano Van't Hoff, racing the FRECA series at Spa, in an eeriely similar accident as that of Antoine Hubert in F2 just a few years ago. Motorsport has come a long, long way in safety measures and equipment on and off the car, and on and off the tracks the racing is done. However, racing will always be dangerous, and freek events will continue taking the lives of passionate people thag love their sport, to death. Luckily, with each passing year we see this happening less and less often, a trend I hope to be continued on. 2023 will forever be remembered as a dark year in the history of motorsport, and arguibly the second worst for rally racing. Be safe.

In a few words, this is the REAL driving.

Of course they are "street legal". They are safer than most standard production cars.

4:23 - yes, WRC cars are road legal. WRC regulations require that all participating vehicles are road legal and registered for use on public roads; simply because usually the cars drive themselves from one stage to the other, on - you guess it - public roads.

Finland was the best place to watch your first rally highlights flying through Finland's Forests

Welcome to Finland to watch the world's fastest gravel rally with plenty of jumps. The guy next to him is reading sheet music so that the driver has time to react, so there are no memorized bits. Hyndai, Ford and Toyota.

2:41 him saying " I don't want nobody to get hurt" while showing Craig Breen. That one hit hard, not gonna lie...

The guy "taking notes" is reading notes he previously took in order to inform the driver the next moves he has to make and how to do it, for example he says in 200 meters, right turn, not too difficult, you can cut it in fourth gear, or say in 150 meters, close left corner, do not cut it, be aware of rock in the inside, second gear, inmediatly after that, easy straight full attack for 400 meters. He is the navigator and he is a really important part of the team, he is the eyes of the driver. Sometimes the driver could not see whats coming for example in a climb, and if the navigator says, it goes straight,. go full attack, he reach that blind spot at may be 130 mph in a dirt road.

Exoskeleton? Not so much: since it is installed inside the vehicle, "endoskeleton" would be more accurate. Nevertheless, the construction we are talking about is actually called a roll cage - and after having seen a car crash and continuing racing afterwards, I think the name is pretty much selfexplainatory. ;)

1995 winner (Colin McRae) had a saying "when In doubt, go flat out" and that's how to win in the WRC

The person in the passenger seat is a co-driver, a couple of days before the rally takes place the driver and co-driver will do what is called a recce, during this they have that notebook you see which has the basic Corning (example 5L meaning 5 left, 5 being the severity of the corner normally it ranges from 1-6 with 1 being very tight and slow and 6 being just a slight bend which you can take full speed), the co driver also takes notes as he goes along on the stage as the stage is often run twice during a day, the speeds are immense often pushing 160mph on flat straights. The cars are fully road legal to get them between stages and into the service areas, accidents do happen and after the roll over you see on the video it's the same car in following scenes where you can see there's no windscreen and damage to the vehicle. Also most of the modern rally cars have quick shift sequential gearbox's with most having a gear box where you just shift up and down to change gears, there is also a large handbrake to the side that helps aid in cornering sharp corners. On the Finnish rally there's a jump called Colin's crest where the furthest distance jumped wins an award, it's named after the legendary rally driver Colin McRae and I would highly recommend you watch some of the footage from his career.

Pls, keep these coming! There are so much to see and learn about this amazing Motorsport, which are driven in every Continent in the World. (exc. North America and that wery cold place). Best Regards from Finland!!

He's the navigator, telling the driver what turns are coming up and in what gear to take them,

what makes rallying so unique is that they are racing the clock, fastest winning but each stage will have different driving conditions, from mud, gravel, tarmac, dust, rocks, water crossings. most rallies have super stages where they do a lap so that fans can watch them racing. Rally NZ this acrtually designed a stage so that fans could see the whole track.

Say thank you to all your subs answering these „questions“ so patiently. Kudos to the people in here!

Okay let's be honest, Rally driver's are THE ELITE of racing 🫡🏁

The guy in the book was studying doctors and lawyers stuffs. It's very natural in Wrc environment

"i like to be on a passenger seat" . no you won't, Car shaking, jumping all the way, and measuring turning point while reading the pace notes is hell of a ride. 🤣🤣

In different countries all around the world The WRC race on roads from muddy tracks to dusty trails. The race is so fast and complex the Co driver has to have a list of all the corners (Left or Right and what angle) on the track and read them to the Driver. 😀🎈

you never heard of 8 years old rally driver from finland? there is video of him.. thought he is the youngest EVER WRC champion in 2022.. he is from finland and his name is Kalle Rovanperä!!

I like your reaction to this you should look more into WRC and even the history of B group rally cars! cheers from finland!

Toyota and hyundai has been developing their WRC cars here in FInland :)

"They must have some good tyres" - you hit a nail there. I remember an interview years ago where driver was asked that what is the biggest difference between rally car and regular car it's based on. He answered tyres. He explained that "racing tyres don't even really start to work when regular tyres would already have been destroyed". Great reaction, I like these things when people find out something completely new to them.

Love watching americans exploring the rest of the world on the internet

Love the energy 🤣 Plenty more of these videos on our channel!

finland is pretty famous about rally!

I was used to work before, as a Sport Marshall at Hungary, at the racering, as F1, or on Rally races. Is just impossible to explain that adrenalin, and the joy what you can feel when the cars are passing you. And many places ar full of peoples, without any cordon or safety thing. I so miss that days... 😏

07:54 Hynudai driver is Estonian . I am estonian too. Ott Tänak and co driver Martin Järveoja.

Actually, it is like the "Isle of Man", only with 4 wheels! Never thought of it like that before! LoL 😃

the co-pilot with the notebook has the role to guide the driver trough the couse, he tells him how will the next turn be, how agressive, what speed is optimal to take it, where are the straightaways, jumps, etc.

Dude, i went to the stage Condor Copina-WRC Argentina. Its insane to see in person. Thousands of people camp over night and party to see it. Its an amazing experience.

You would shit your pants in those cars. I know I would 😂. But I would go anytime.

The skill of the guys driving these cars (and the nuts on the other guy) is something else. No other kind of racing on four wheels comes close to this stuff, at least I don't think so. Sure there's some insane shit happening on race tracks as well, but the surface and the environment in wrc adds so much more excitement and insanity🙂

He is not writing, he is READING his own pre-made notes !

the cars have to be street legal for them to drive between the stages of the rally. also the jumps you dont feel them so much because the travel of the suspension and it is fast you dont have the time to think about it when you are jumping.

3:55 Aside from "exoskeleton" meaning external skeleton, so it cannot be inside by definition, Yes, like just about any professional racing series, WRC rally cars have roll cages, and they are among the stronger roll cages in racing.

To answer your question, they are technically street legal. They have license plates, functional tail lights and head lights, improved safety features, and so on. Traditionally the rally cars are driven between stages (unless is a long distance. If so i think they are taken on a truck).

They are street legal. They drive on normal roads from stage to stage. Where i live, there are 2 rally stages nearby, in the day prior to the event you can see all of the race cars driving on the road heading to the next stage.

those cars.. well, depends on country if they would be street legal, but in finland you can have "move-around" license so you can use that in rally also but also you can use that in traffic if you just pay for it lol.. thought, i found it funny i was in between 2 of those WRC cars last summer with my -83 Corolla DX (which has a lot of noice lol) driving between them to gas station and people in side of the road was just laughing and clapping like hell XDD

Loved your video and take on this...I think KZfaq recommended this video because I watch a lot of rallycross You're video and reactions were awesome!

The guy ain't writing he's navigating...!

for anyone wondering no they dont know the track, they get piece of paper and copilot is the one who says where to go and how muhc corner is, obsticles etc :D basically driver going blind full speed and his eyes is his copilot

Your lock at Groupe B, that's crazy

Plenty of trees and snow.... That's why Finland produced some of the craziest drivers of all time... Just like natural selection

that's how I drive right before the liquor store closes 😂🤣😂

If you really want to feel scared, check out the Sweden Rally where they race at night!

that is something, but if you really wanna be AMAZED you should check Group B rally the pinacle of rally racing

Thats the co-driver or navigator, the paper is notes on each turn on the course, the driver doesn't know the route so he's reading what's coming up ahead.

loved your reactions mate epic😃

Real Cars.., Real Drivers !!!!! Finland.. the fastest of them ALL....

interstingly one of the developments for safety is they actually moved the seats sideways further into the car so that when they crash they have more space if they impact something.

"I would love to do this". Bro most F1 drivers are terrified of doing this, if you wanted to be doing this you'd already be doing it. Rallying is scary to even half sane people, you have to be utterly fearless to do it.

They are street legal to some extend, as they use normal roads to connect stages going with normal traffic. I've been driving next to them on the German Autobahn. Damaged cars may be even stopped by the police, such that they miss service windows and have to retire.

Rugby is the fore runner of American football but changed a few thing ie pads incase someone got hurt , rugby is brilliant

5:21 if this is close, take a look to Gruop B rally videos. People is literally on the streets and the move just a few seconds before the car arrives

It's a piece of road legally reserved for the competition but you bet people drive like that when no one is watching.

The past few years Hyundai and Toyota are dominating, before that it was Citroen, Seat and VW with Ogier, Loeb and Latvala. Long when I was young it was Audi, Lancia, Alfa battle. Probably one of the most insane couple of seasons. The cars have to be from upgraded from street legal series made cars with at least 500 sold. That is why in Europe and Japan you see those small hot hatches with 200 HP engines on sale. Just the Rally variant has some major upgrades done to it.

My man thinks the codriver is writting an essay during stage 🤣🤣🤣 and, oh it has an exoskeleton inside 🤣🤣🤣🤣

„Rally of the thousand jumps“😊

Hyundai's rally program is a huge part of how they've been able to rebrand over the last 5ish years from being a car for dorks to a "cool" manufacturer.

If you look close at those WRC cars you'll notice they have official license plates. They have to drive from one stage to another amidst the common traffic. So legally they're allowed to be driven on normal roads; the sold version of them is usually a beast but not as much as the competition version but if you have enough money to pay for an used WRC (and enough money to fix it as after a full Rally they end nearly destroyed) you can drive it on any road legally.

I have watched wrc finland irl its so crazy the videos cant even give you a grasp of what it actually looks and feels like

yea the guy on the lright is actually just making notes of how the racing driver takes the turns and gives points for the best drifts

This guys makes all from 180-220 km/h straight, curves all from 190-210 km/h so you wana try it, all i can say is, GL with it, this guy have 10-30 years of experiences doing rally, what you got?

Only one thing: No there is no Exoskeleton on a WRC car. Because Exoskeleton means outside Skeleton, and while they have a cage inside the car there is nothing like an outside cage on this cars, except maybe a bullcatcher on special rallys (Safari, Ivory Coast) BTW: The big stick that you see is the handbreak. For shifting these cars have pedals on the sterring wheel.

I think it is the most spectacular motor sport! Driving at 125 mph on a twisty dirt or rock road requires almost superhuman reflexes !

34+ ”Bro” ”Exoskelleton inside …” ”Whooplash”

The funniest thing is, that this Hyundai is a so normal, innocent car in this street legal version xD

These are absolutely street legal! They are usually modified from normal factory made models, just beefed up little bit with added safety frame inside. And they are speed capped at 180km/h, so little over 100mph. On top of that the "rally tracks" are normal rural Finnish dirt roads 😃 I drive on one of those roads seen on video to my cabin 😁

It's one thing watching but being in the car is something else 💯 I grew up around the rally lifestyle, my dad owned the Scottish forest rally school with my uncle and they used to take me out all the time. My uncle was a subaru man and my dad was into ford escorts, he had the mk1, mk2 and mk3. My personal favourite to be in was the mk2 it was literally fucking insane 😂 I grew up and got more into motorcycles so I'm a biker now but rally still holds a big place in my heart. RIP dad 💙 and no he didn't die in a crash we lost him to leukemia. He rallied for decades 💪 I remember the old cosworths too

You need to watch the Swedish rally. They do the same thing but on snow and ice...

Come to Portugal this year, we would welcome you so you could expirience the true essence of the WRC on this great country 💪

They sometimes have to drive them through the streets to different stages. Super cool

All these cars are fully road legal, in fact they have to drive from one stage to the next on public roads. What's more these roads you see are public road that have only been closed to the public for the rally to take place. It's a bit like formula one, in the sense that it is a championship with many locations around the world. The teams and cars to from one country for one round to another for the next. They get differing amounts of points for the position they finish in each round and at the end of the year, or end of the championship, which ever has the most points wins. Unlike formula one it's time trial rather than straight up racing , so fastest time wins

Eyyyyyy. This is WRC it’s the fastest Rallye and if you didn’t know what the peace of paper is. On the paper are information of the track ahead of them so they know where to drive

The guy with the note book is reading pace notes ie distance to next corner and to go either left or right And if a crest on the road

Would you Americans believe me if I told you all rally cars are 4cylinder 2litre turbo engines and they produce about 450bhp.

3:38 Yeah, it's a Hyundai. The Hyundai i20 N Rally1, to be exact.

rally drivers are the most skilled drivers in the world

they have to be street legally

”I would love to do this” No, you wouldn’t. 😂

If you think this is crazy. Go watch some B-class rally from the 80’s era. Now THOSE cars, and drivers, are insane!

It's not an exoskeleton it's called a Roll Cage, and their gear is a fireproof suit with a neck brace and helmet.

they have limited regestration, usually so many km on the roads so you can't drive one as a daily driver. (i know one who did with a an evo x and his neighbours all complained his exhaust was waking them up at at 5 am so he had to put his fuill exhaust on then take it off for the rally lol.

According to WRC rules all rally cars must be street legal cause they are racing on public roads and they drive between stages on public roads

The most fun you can have with your pants on

yeah the good old " 5 right into two left minus"^^ ahh rally is good stuff^^

exosceleton - Rollcage .... writing notes - READING out notes

RIP Craig Breen 😢😢😢❤❤❤

the guy with the piece of paper is the Codriver. he is just reading notes on every single turn, crest, dip, jump and water splash there is on the stage. everything the driver does is done much faster thanks to the codriver.

Tanak crash in 2020 monte Carlo will make you appreciate these cars

01:39 no time look GPS and this co-drivers who say notes ho far is next curve and what direction must turn ,how deep and long it curve is , have jump / hils and down hils ,narrow bridges and "no cut" turns on sude stone wall or deep ditch , tunnel etc.

the navigator gets to see the course in advance....takes notes for the driver, who does'nt.

You should watch Ken Block's journey through Rally America in 2022. It's of the same caliber and Kenny drives just like this. Rest in peace Ken Block.

Wrc is brilliant, there are even officially licenced games made for consoles

Hi. If you think that's crazy then watch the 80 guys driving. They were called group B. Now those guys were real men with balls made from titanium and the size of lady liberty.

Surprisingly they are street legal. While they do close off many miles of public roads for the races, every team often just lines up in traffic on the way to the course.

06:02 not flat tire. Tire sizes wht they use is 205 / 65 R16 T 108 open gravel tries. B cat soft tires.

WRC stands for World Rally Championship. Hyundai is not pronounce "Hunday" America, it's "High un die", Hy un dai with a silent 'a'.

No way is this the first time you’ve ever seen world rally cross(WRC) you’ve seriously never even played Colin McRae?