NAVIGATORS: WHAT'S THE STORY?

Catching air at over 60mph in boats weighing the same as a small hatchback, the Powerboat P1 Superstock Championship is a thrilling spectacle for crowds and an acid test of a team's ability to complete a race distance in record time.

The nature of Superstock, bringing the action closer to the crowd, puts it in line with traditional two and four-wheeled circuit racing where a single driver bears the responsibility of translating thousands of man hours and investment into race wins.

So, why do the drivers fighting in P1's SuperStock Championship have a navigator when they are lapping for around 40 minutes? Formula One drivers never seem to lose their way racing for over an hour and a half around tracks up to 4.4 miles.

Andy Wilby, navigator for RoughCut Racing, points out that the title is not technically accurate. Faced with the challenge of what Premier Cru's John Wilson calls "a continuously moving race track," the main role of the "co-driver" is to paint a picture of the battlefield for the driver rather than merely telling him or her which way to turn.

"Co-drivers are constantly looking out to see where everything is around them and feeding this information to the driver. Especially with new drivers, experienced co-drivers will offer feedback on how to approach the corner and advise on tactics to get the most of out the boat," said Wilby.

The co-driver is integral to a team's competitiveness and, for Wilby, a "critical" player in ensuring that safety remains the top priority while out on the water.

"Without a co-driver, the driver would be distracted from what is happening on the water. I do not think competitors would be as quick and as safe around the course, and the action would not be as exciting for the people watching," he added.

Formula One then is a bad example. Rallying is the more appropriate comparison to make in that co-drivers similarly do half the work. Like P1 SuperStock, drivers rely on their co-pilots to warn of the dangers that lie ahead while helping them to be as competitive as possible. 

"Without a navigator, there would be no point in doing the rally because there is too much information to take in. You might have the most accurate pace notes in the world but if you do not have someone feeding you that information, you are unlikely to be competitive," said Max Utting, MWRT co-driver and racer in the British Rally Championship (BRC).

Co-drivers are the eyes and ears of their drivers. FIA World Rally Championship's Jarmo Lehtinen, co-driver for Mikko Hirvonen, recently revealed Hirvonen sometimes ignores him because he is so focused on the road ahead.

P1 drivers similarly have this tunnel vision and concentrate only on the 50 feet in front of them. In many cases, a co-driver will be looking in the opposite direction to the driver, telling him where to brake while a rally co-pilot calls out the corner speed, severity and any hazards along the way.

It is because of this that Wilby and double BRC champion Rory Kennedy both feel that co-drivers are generally under-represented and under-appreciated in motorsport. In such comparable conditions, you cannot have one without the other.

"Although co-drivers are well recognised in domestic championship such as the BRC, I think the decision of the FIA to take co-drivers' names off the car in the WRC so to not confuse spectators is insulting. Co-drivers are sitting in the same car and taking the same risks as the driver," said Kennedy.

These men take their role very seriously and rightly so for they have no control over their fate and literally put their lives in their driver's hands. At the same time, the driver relies on the co-driver's input to ensure he can steer away from danger and ultimately into the record books.

"Like rallying, powerboating is a team sport and the roles of the driver and navigator are equally as important. When you see six powerboats converging at exhilarating speeds into turn one, the nerve of the driver and clear calm communication from the navigator cannot be underestimated," said Wilby.