Pace notes: Understand your codriver

Right Five Tightens Three Over Crest One Fifty Over Bumps Dip. If you don't understand these words, I suggest you read this guide before going into rally.

Updates

2017

18/06: Fixed some random mistakes.
20/06: Added more details on Special Corners, Added more details on Road Description.
07/07: Updated the In Development section; Removed the calls that are not in Dirt 4.
08/08: Updated the What are pace notes? section.

Updates are paused until I get to play this game with a proper force feedback. I can't play it and make the videos I would like to if I don't enjoy the driving. Dirt Rally was the same but I found a mod that corrects it. Dirt 4 has no such mod yet.

Why am I doing this guide?

Because although pace notes are the heart of the Dirt series there is little good information about them. I’m just a normal player but I decided to make this guide to help people get into this game in a easier a.k.a. less frustating way.

What are pace notes?

Rally is done on hundreds of random kilometers of road. You just can’t memorize them like in Formula 1 where every driver knows every corner, every bump and every kurb. To overcome this situation, rally drivers use pace notes which are notes that describe the road so they can push and drive at the limit even without knowing the road.

Imagine you are in a maze and there is a friend on the phone calling you which direction you have to go in order to get to the exit. He says "100 meters" and you walk 100 meters. He says "Left" and you go left. He says "Right" and you go right. Got it? He is guiding you in the same way that a codriver in rally does.

There are different systems for pace notes. The Dirt series uses the 1-6 system (1 to 6 refers to corner severity), popularized by the legend Colin McRae. There are many others and variations that a driver-codriver of a system because of the driver's preference.

Stage notes x Pace notes

There is a difference between pace notes and stage notes, but I won’t go into details because there is no point in it. I just want to show you Dirt 4's system. I will just use pace notes because most people use it.

In development

This guide, although it contains all (or 98%) of Dirt 4 calls, is still under development. I want to put videos and examples of every call, but this will take some time.

Edit: It will take longer to make those videos because I am playing Dirt Rally now instead of Dirt 4. Reason? Force feedback. The default on DR is as bad as D4's but there is a mod that fixes it. D4 is quite young and there are no real mods yet.

Direction of the corner

Left or Right

It describes where the next turn is going. This is the core of pace notes.

Radius of the corner

1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6

Used to describe the radius of the corner. It is always preceded by a left/right. The higher the number, the wider is the turn. Using the same analogy, the lower the number, the tighter the turn.

Another great image to explain. Hairpins, Acute and Square will be explained later.

Duration of the corner

Long

If the turn does not follow the standard length of a corner, a Long note will be called, which means that the corner is longer than the usual. Apparently there is no Short call in Dirt 4.

Other corner terms

Opens or Tightens

If there are two corners mixed and its radius can’t be described with 1/2/3/4/5/6, your codriver will say Tightens or Opens. Let me create a scenario.

There are two corners mixed. If you could split them, the first one would be a Right 6 and the second one a Right 3. Because middle corner the radius DECREASES, the note is Right 6 TIGHTENS 3. On a simple language it is like he is saying Right 6 then it turns into a Right 3. Other examples: Left 5 tightens 4, Left 3 tightens 1.

If it was otherwise and the first corner was a Right 3 and the second one a Right 6, the note would be Right 3 OPENS 6. In this case middle corner the radius INCREASES. Again, it is like Right 3 then turns into a Right 6. More examples: Left 1 opens 3, Right 4 opens 6.

Sometimes they can be used without saying another corner, like Left 3 Opens. This means the corner opens but not enough to be a Left 4. With Left 3 Tightens the corner tightens but not enough to be a Left 2.

They can even be used together as well.

Late

Late means that the apex of the corner is later than the usual.

Don’t cut

To be faster, you most of the time cut the corners. But sometimes there are rocks or posts or even people where you would usually cut, so the codriver say DON’T CUT. Seriously, do not cut.

Junction

It is a junction that you pass but you do not turn. It is used to prevent you from driving into it.

Turn

A turn is a junction that you do turn. The codriver will tell where you have to turn, like Turn Square Right.

Special corners

Square Left or Square Right

A square is a 90° corner, like the vertex of a square. If there was a Left/Right 0, it would be a Square, because of how close in sharpness is a Left/Right 1 and a Square.

Depending on your and skill with weight management, a handbrake is always a viable option to drive corners like this.

Hairpin Left or Hairpin Right

A hairpin is like a arc. I like to think that it is a semicircle corner because of its almost constant radius. Here is where you will put in practice your scandinavian flick/pendulum abilities.

Acute Left or Acute Right

A acute is a tighter hairpin. It is the most sudden change of direction you can have in a rally except if you crash.

Again, you are most likely to use a handbrake here.

Distance between notes

###, where # is a number

For you to know how much long is each instruction that your codriver says, a distance is used. For example, Left Two One hundred Left 1. Here there is a 100 meters long road separating the Left 2 and 1. There is a slight pause after he says the distance for you to recognize that he is meaning a distance. Not only in this case, but also for straight sections, like Two hundred, which means a 200 meters straight road.

Advices

Care or Caution

This means that you should drive with care, or you will damage your vehicle. The danger can be a cliff, a big rock, etc. Care and Caution are very similar. So similar that I have yet to understand the difference between them.

Slowing or Braking

You should brake sooner than you would usually do. This was named Brake in Dirt Rally.

Stay Middle or Stay Left or Stay Right

Used for you to position your car in the safer part of the road. There may be a lot of rocks on the left side of the road, so you codriver will say Stay Right (or stay middle).

Road description

Water splash

There is water on the road and you will splash into it. Enjoy your frames dropping.

Into

Used between two notes to say that it is one briefly followed by another. Example: Left 5 into Left 3. In this case, there is a Left 5, a very very short distance and then a Left 3.

And

And is a "Into wannabe". Whereas on Into the notes are connected, a And is a short distance between the notes, something like 40-50 meters.

OBS: Into and And are very similiar. Don't worry, just know that they are a very short distance.

Crest

It means that you can’t see the road beyond, so drive with more care.

Deceptive

What you are seeing may not be the actual path to go. If you hear a deceptive from your codriver listen very carefully to the note, or you may go to the wrong way.

Over

Used when the next note starts but the note before did not end. It is usually used along Crest. For example, Left 5 over crest means that the Left 5 continues over the crest. Another example: Left 6 over bump, the bump is on the Left 6 corner.

Bump(s)

A bump that will destabilize your car. Not much to say.

Jump Maybe or Big Jump

A jump maybe means that your cay MAY leave the ground, while a Big Jump means that your car WILL leave the ground. The problems here is that it depends on your speed and car. Your fast car will jump on a jump maybe, while your slow car may.

Bridge

Well, there is a bridge.

Dip(s)

It means that there is a depression. Or more.

Through

Usually used along things like gate, bridge or dip. It just means that you will pass through it along the note before. For instance, Right 3 through dip means that the dip is on the corner.

Uphill or Downhill

Uphill when the road ahead is going up and Downhill when it is going down. Pretty simple.

Narrows

Used when the road ahead is narrower than the normal, so you will have less space to work your car with.

Conclusion

That's it. A special thanks to this site http://www.saabworks.com/projects/stagenotes.html, which was the best site for pace notes that I have found and inspired me to do this guide.

English is not my tongue language, so please be merciful. :)

[GLЭCK_228]

Appreciate the guide

[Klitchie]

Actually 3R means there is a 10% chance of there being a perpendicular wall instead, because the co-driver is sometimes braindead :D

[vT3O]

Very nice, thanks bro

[Musa do Verao]

@TaikaJamppa

That is an interesting take but I dont think it holds true. Taking this video as an example https://youtu.be/phC8tvKCYqU

At 0:46 there is a Care because there is a bank on the outside of the 2 Right that if you slip into you wil easily get your car stuck there.

At 2:26 there is a Caution because in the middle of the 2 Right, at least in my opinion because it is not very clear, the Caution is there because suddenly the road dips downwards and if you ignore that dip you will hit the fence on the outside.

In theory both hazards are OFF the track, although I remember some cautions about things on track.

[TaikaJamppa]

I have a question about Care and Caution notes: At least how I see it on your pictures, I take it one is ON the track and the other is OFF the track? Say, there's a stalled car (Caution) on the track, or a big rock just off (Care)? Any thoughts, fellas?

[Duendi]

Thanks! Had mooore or less understood it all. Crest annoyed me most b/c road or side of road (yes rally noob), but a sudden from flat sides of the road to one or both sides would be nice, as the sides are the ones to avoid, when they can not be seen. I have seen many complain this is much worse than previous DiRT verions when checking the Store, BUT 2, which I think has best reviews, does not have full controller support by Steam's listing at least, this has. Extra plus is it is Linux Native, which I see DiRT 5 is not (yet), but see even more complaining in reviews there. And thre previous, some are, some not, but Proton does it if not.

[Liam]

This is good guide! I finally found out what "deceptive" means in the game! Thanks so much for making this! Bc you are cool B)

[MariusKillerB]

Thank you for explaining this

[genosse carrot]

thank you!

[tompsf1]

Excellent!