The perfect relationship between Keaton Williams and 2023 ARA Champion Brandon Semenuk

MARQUETTE, Michigan - Relationships are built on trust. This is never truer than in life and death situations and at all levels and in all forms of auto racing, there is an ever-present risk. Drivers put their lives on the line, but they have control of their fate by lifting a little earlier or taking a different line through the corners.

In rally racing, there is an equally important role to be played by the co-driver, who is not holding the steering wheel or mashing the accelerator. Keaton Willams relishes this role.

Brandon Semenuk wrapped up the 2023 American Rally Association (ARA) with room to spare. He had enough points simply by lining up to start the New England Forest Rally in the sixth round of the eight-race season to make the final two rounds into a test session for 2024.

That was Semenuk's second straight ARA championship. It was also Williams' second, who spent the last two seasons sitting in the navigator's seat, orchestrating the race from a set of pace notes.

Williams has been a co-driver for 10 years, the last three of which have been at the professional level after he got his big break riding with Takamoto Katsuta in the World Rally Championship.

But his greatest success has come recently after the union with Semenuk on the powerhouse Subaru Motorsports team.

Williams describes the bond with Semenuk as one akin to a marriage.

"We got on like a house on fire from the first hour we met, and we jibed from there," Williams told NBC Sports as the team gathered in a forest Michigan's Upper Peninsula. "The first time I sat with him was on snow on studded tires I could see his talent and I could see his car control. That put a lot of belief into me because I know what his capabilities are behind the wheel.

"And the same for him. He had to make sure I was saying the right things and (trust my) timing – my decisions if we have a problem. He has to have the same trust in me. The best way I can describe it is that it’s like a marriage. It’s a special relationship but it’s one that’s needed to be a successful co-driver."

It Starts with a Good Set of Notes

Before the rally begins, drivers need to know the course.

This is not a closed course with concrete barriers lining the side of the track. Any mistake can send the car and drivers into thick forests, unforgiving boulders or off an embankment. Unlike closed course racing, the drivers do not have the benefit of running multiple laps at speed to find the limit.

They get a couple of passes through the stages in a recce car going about 35 miles per hour. For the 2023 championship team, Semenuk will call out his impressions of the course on the first pass. As they take a second ride through the stage, Williams reads the notes back and any adjustments needed are made. Then it's a case of translating from lower-speed notes into the sped-up conditions of race day with speeds that are up to four times as great.

Notes are made with aids like duct tape on the wheel showing the severity of corners. Williams compiles these notes on a lapboard with a phone holder attached to it.

Once the race begins, these aids are dispensed with. Williams prefers to use only paper notes. After all, a notepad has never glitched at a critical moment.

Every co-driver is different. Some read their notes in a near-monotone. Williams has learned that works best for Semenuk is to modulate his tone to the situation, emphasizing some instructions to convey the intensity of that portion of the track.

During a testing session for the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) speeds approached 125 miles per hour on the few straightaways included in that section of road.

"You have to read the road as if you were at your speed of driving," Williams said. "You can’t just jump into rally and expect to be on the pace we are right away. You come in at your own pace in a lower-standard car, (like the recce vehicle), and you make a good base set of notes.

"Then the drivers make their own pass from there. Some like to use experience driver’s notes with key words and descriptive phrases stuff chucked in there, but you literally just build it up while you’re running. There’s no real right or wrong with notes."

Willams, who hails from a rallying mecca in Shropshire, England, and Semenuk's first rally together was at the start of the 2022 season.

"It comes with trust," Williams said. "We’re putting our lives at risk. There’s a lot of responsibility when it comes to championships and if you don’t have the trust in each other, it’s probably not the relationship for you. When you define the depths of driver and co-driver, it says to everyone how important it is. It’s the biggest thing that needs to be in the car."

Not for the Faint of Heart

In this relationship, one partner is in control of the steering wheel. The other has an equally important responsibility to insure the speed and safety of the car.

The weekend they clinched the championship was marred by a tragic accident. In the final stage of Day 1 on Friday, Erin Kelly lost her life when the car driven TJ Pullen crashed. She was a co-driver with more than 20 years of rally experience.

The navigator's seat is a little lower in the car than the driver to help distribute the center of gravity. It can feel a little claustrophobic at times. Williams has learned to compensate for the lessened visibility compared to Semenuk.

"I feel where we are on the road with every movement of the car, every bump, every braking point, every throttle input," Williams said. "And I translate that into my timing for the next pace note.

"Sometimes you will be on a section with a load of fast corners and a square right turn and you’re naturally busy. I have information he needs to describe the road that’s best for him. It’s not something you can go out and buy. You learn from your mistakes and you take that and move on."

When Williams feels something isn't right, he scribbles on his notepad. At the end of the stage, driver and co-driver discuss what happened in that corner to make adjustments going forward.

It may be something as simple as rearranging the order of words from "care three left instead of three left care" to change the pacing and cadence.

“It’s a brilliant feeling when it’s going right and it can quite challenging when it’s not going right.”

After the first day of racing in the Lake Superior Performance Rally, the talents of William and Semenuk prevailed. With one day remaining, they lead over Patrick Gruszka and co-driver Florian Barral by a little under six seconds.