You’ll only hear me speak highly of the Gelsominos.
And not at the ‘yeah, they’re good people’ level, but at the ‘Rhianon saved my brother’s life’ and ‘Alex will never quit’ and ‘they’re my family’ level.
You know what it is? Pressure – it drives them.
They’ve managed to understand the art of co-driving so deeply, so clearly, so masterfully, that they know exactly what to do.
And it is some form of art. Watch them at the next rally – you think Alex is just sitting there at parc exposé? No, he’s watching. The time, the space, any obstacles that may get in the way of leaving on time. He’s already prepped the car. Meticulously.
You think Rhianon is ignoring her driver when they’re signing autographs? No, she’s looking at exactly how many people are left in that line so that she knows the perfect moment to pull them back to the car, to still allow enough time for buckling in without being rushed.
I was lucky enough to have Rhianon in the car with me as I competed my first ever stage rally. We were ready for recce. We had the car, the pacenote books, the pens and, of course, the snacks. We’d made a plan and were ready to act on it.
Then, recce was canceled. Suddenly, none of our prep mattered. But do you know what Rhianon and Alex said? “It doesn’t matter. We have video. Let’s get to work.”
And we did. We sat at the dining table for hours, watching, rewatching and rewatching the videos some more. Rhianon gave me every single opportunity to figure it out for myself. She let me call every note the way I saw it. Then we talked about it.
It turns out… Every corner is NOT a five! We did it again. And again.
She guided me, but she let me learn for myself. That’s where the confidence comes from; the knowledge that I can figure it out.
And that’s the space where learning is safe. Because every time I did call the wrong note (which was often), both Alex and Rhianon talked me through it until I understood for myself. Until I could shift my lens. Until Rhianon’s words settled in my brain: “Remember, you’ll be at the top of fifth gear here – you probably want a warning note.”
They completely shifted my mentality.
And I was terrified of pacenotes.
I still am, to be honest.
But once again, I’m incredibly lucky. I have Michelle Miller in the car with me next week for Olympus Rally, and she’s right there with Alex and Rhianon – making co-driving an art.
The beauty of this?
They can teach you. They all taught me.
When you arrive to DirtFish for an OZRally Co-Driving Program, you won’t just learn how to write the notes or what time to enter time control.
You’ll learn how to manage the entire rally, you’ll learn how to read the road, how to match the energy of your driver, how to time your call for the exact right moment, and at the end? You’ll be passenger in a real rally car, with a real rally driver, and you’ll call notes. At speed.
Co-driving is one of the hardest things to teach. That’s why you’ll always catch me sitting in the back of the classroom, observing the OZRally Pro training, with my eyebrows raised, wondering how on earth they make it seem so possible.
Wondering how on earth they can wrap all of the energy and nerves and excitement and technique required to fly through the woods in one bundle, into two days, and help build a co-driver from scratch.
There’s no other program like this.
It’s making us better, it’s making the entire rally community better.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so.
“Having gone through the class twice I can truly say that nothing you do to the car is going to make you as fast as the Gelsomino training,” said Brad Morris. “I have learned so much and improved my speed because of their knowledge. Thank you Rhiannon and Alex.”
Abigail Black added: “I first walked up and shook Rhianon Gelsomino’s hand at Oregon Trail Rally in 2022 and to be honest she was too focused to really comprehend how nervous I was but I respected how seriously she took her job and how dedicated she is to the sport.
“Then when I came home and saw that they put on a co-driver course I ran to my husband and begged to be a part of it and of course he said ‘hell yes!’ and it was one of the best experiences I had ever had.
“To be trained by Rhi and Alex is like being trained by George Foreman and Muhamid Ali – they are the best of the best and so down to earth. They make you feel like you’ve known them forever and they take every moment to push you and make you see your true potential.
“About three weeks after the class I was able to be a part of my first stage rally and I felt a million times more prepared having gone through their class. They teach you the basics and get you to a performance level all with in two days. It’s an amazing experience!”
And Glen Ray said: “If you also talk with the rally car rental companies, those with OZRally Pro training return the car with scratched bumpers and champagne stains. Those without training have had major damage, or complete vehicle loss, including deposit costs and all the other costs included.
“Long story short, if you want to go fast, save money and have the best chance of getting on the podium, get training with OZRally Pro and hire one of their graduate co-drivers.”
You heard it here first. You can book a place on the May 27/28 class below!
