Stage notes are pre-written notes provided to competitors by the event organizers. These notes are written as objectively and consistently as possible and will give a generic description of the stage that will be seen by all competitors. Because of this, often times the first section of pages in the book will be descriptions of how their notes should be read. Diagrams, drawings and examples will be listed in this portion to help each team better understand the process in which the notes were made. There are two typical ways that stage notes are made, Jemba and human measured.

Jemba Notes

Jemba notes are currently the standard in North America, used by Rally America, NASA and CARS in a number of their rallies. Because the notes are generated by a computer and hard data, they will have a consistent and more accurate feel that will be common at any event they are being used. The system generates notes with an accelerometer wired to a special odometer inside a car that then runs the stages to record corners, crests and dips with length and grade. There is also user input of camber, junctions, bridges and other obstacles.

Human Measured Notes

Human measured notes are similar to Jemba notes in the sense that all competitors get the same set, but the difference is that the notes are created before the event by an experienced group of drivers and co-drivers. Typically the positive outlook to these types of notes is that they are being written by a human who is seeing the variables of the stage firsthand. This can bring a more "human" feel to the notes that may make them easier to understand. The downside is that these types of notes are rarely created by the same people at each event. This means that each event will possibly have different meanings for their notes and teams will need to spend more time making sure they understand how the notes should be read.

Handling Stage Notes

Both Jemba and human measured notes make it easier for event organizers and new rally teams to prepare for an event. Unfortunately there are downsides to stage notes and how they are handled by a team can make or break their chances of a finish. Here are a few things to take into consideration when using stage notes...

1. Read the Introduction. Books will begin with a passage from the note authors describing their experience writing the notes and provide specific details about the stages.

2. When were the notes created? Notes will have a date on them to inform teams of when they were written. This can come in handy as the notes may have been created before a change occurred on a stage. Weather changes can also change a set of notes. A dry streambed may become a wet one if there was a large downpour the weekend before the event.

3. Can you mark your stage notes? Depending on who is running an event, teams are sometimes allowed to review and markup their stage notes. This is a great way to personalize the notes and make a stage run more smoothly. Marking up cautions, hairpins and bridges are a great start while experienced teams will remove short distances, combine variables and develop distinct code for certain instructions.

4. Will you get a familiarization pass? Some events allow teams to pass through stages at safe speed to better understand the vocabulary and structure of the notes. This is also a great time to markup your notes if it is allowed in the rules.

Lastly, here are a couple examples of what you would see in stage notes:

So that would be the basics of stage notes. The notes system I am trying to create would also be listed as stage notes. Next week I will be explaining pace notes and how they differ.