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Raise Your Game: Why rallying?

Nicky Grist: I have to say there is no form of motor sport quite the same as rallying. You work with a variety of surfaces: sliding on gravel, rushing through forests and driving along a tarmac road. I feel a tremendous buzz when I'm rallying. There is excitement all round.

RYG: How did you start?

NG: There is a very popular road rallying culture in Wales. At 16-years-old I was a golfing professional but I went to watch a rally with a friend and caught the bug. I met other competitors and got an insight into what events were coming up. This led me to join a local motor club in Abergavenny as I wanted to get involved.

It was a cheap way of starting and from this point my career snowballed. I progressed onto road rallying and then five years later began stage rallying, involving high speed on closed roads. In 1989 I got my first paid job when I was approached by a driver for Vauxhall. That was my first semi-professional drive. In 1990 I was offered a full-time job in rally sport.

RYG: What training do you do?

NG: I believe competing is the best form of training. There is nothing like experience, especially for a co-driver. Navigation and the skill of reading a map all come with time and I learnt a lot over the years from my friends in the rallying world. At the beginning I was out every weekend building up my experience.

As a co-driver one must be slim and lightweight so I do a lot of running and cycling. Activities that are fat burning keep me in shape. I can work out for up to four hours a day and I eat sensibly. Rallying is about endurance, rather than the peak power that you find in racing, so you have to have good stamina in order to go the distance.

RYG: How do you prepare before a competitive event?

NG: This organisation and preparation before getting in the car takes about two to three days. The week before a rally I study the road map and make pace notes. This is vital. I also revise pace notes from the previous years. I will get together with my driver and collate information in preparation for the big event. All the stages of the rally must be covered. Times and distances are important in our planning, everything must be accounted for.

RYG: Rallying is a fast, high endurance sport with long hours spent in the car. What motivates you?

NG: Winning is what motivates me, and if I can't win I have to get the best result I possibly can. It's a high risk sport but that's what I am paid to do. I don't think about all the possibilities, if I did I wouldn't do it at all.

RYG: What qualities and skills do you need to be a champion rally co-driver?

NG: A good level of concentration and attention to detail are essential. Don't be afraid of hard work as there are long hours involved. You also need to be good at map reading and navigation, though these can be developed over time.

RYG: What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into motor sports or become a professional rally driver?

NG: Find out where your local motor clubs are. That is what I did. Meet up with other competitors. Start competing as soon as you can and build up lots of contacts with organisers.