Personal

Name:

Nathalie Richard

Age:

30

Marital status:

Single

Children:

None

Occupation:

Financial planning assistant

Place of birth:

Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Country or county where you live:

Canada now, after 3+ years in Australia

Does your spouse / partner like rallying?

As one of North America's top drivers, he likes it even more than I do!

Any other hobbies?

Love my sports... but in particular football (soccer to us Canadians) and beach volleyball

Your opinions

Favourite food:

Pizza... and crunchy apples.  Oh, and I definitely have a soft spot for candy/lollies

Favourite drink:

At the moment...Red bull and vodka

Favourite motor sport paper / magazine:

Regularly browse Autosport, AutoHebdo, RallyXS, Rally World, Pole Position

Favourite sports person (other than rallying):

Would rather give kudos to my Aussie football and beach volleyball mates than any professional athlete!

Favourite film star:

No idea.

Favourite holiday destination:

Sun, surf, sand... and rally

Which TV sports programmes do you watch?

No fail... WRC coverage

Starting out

How did you start out?

I spectated a 1999 rally of my brother's (Pat Richard) and was immediately hooked

First driver you sat with: 

My brother

First event:

2000 Ojibwe Forest Rally, Minnesota, USA

Rallying background

Type of licence held:

Canadian National Co-driver

Which motor club do you belong to?

CASDI near Montreal, Quebec

Do you contribute towards your rallying?

Financially, very very little.  Effort-wise, I try, although living about 6000 km from the rest of my team doesn't facilitate things... I do what I can on the organizational side.

Have you ever driven on a rally?

No... I think it would be good fun... but for now I'll be sticking to the co-driver's seat.

Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?

I've only marshaled one event in BC, Canada in 2000.

How many events do you get to watch? (e.g. per year)

Depends on the year, 2003 I saw 3 WRC events, but usually none.

How many rallies do you take part in? (e.g. per year)

Approximately 16 national events per year

Have you competed abroad? Where and when?

Other than Canada and US, just Australia in 2001, 2002, 2003

Your opinions (rallying)

Favourite rally car:

I'm very partial to Subaru but wouldn't have a problem becoming another factory's team!  J

Favourite rally driver:

WRC? Growing up in Canada and not in a family that was already involved in the sport, I didn't even know what rallying was before 5 years ago... I guess I'd have to go with Petter Solberg.  Not only for his Subaru and his speed, but also his determination and exuberance.

Favourite rally co-driver:

Mr. Mills

Favourite bit of road or forest:

Anything with lots of snow

Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?

Pace notes

Things you dislike about rallying?

Silly politics, long drives to and from either end of this continent... and having to take my suit off to pee

Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2005?

Currently (post NZ) very tight battle... would be silly not to go for Loeb or Solberg... but I'll stick with Petter.

Rallying history

Drivers you have sat with:

Pat Richard (first and current driver), Jon Nichols, Mathieu Durand, Chris Judson, Stewart Reid, Dave Anton

Best driver you have ever sat with? 

PAT RICHARD - and it's not just sisterly bias

Best result:

We've won 7 national events in the past year ... all were great ... don't know if I can distinguish one as being better than another, although Baie des Chaleurs 2004 was a great battle at the end after we lost 4 min on stage.

Worst result:

DNF Rally of Melbourne 2001

Championships contested:

Canadian, American, and North American

Best Championship result:

2004 champions of all of the above

Best rally memory:

Subaru Rally Team Canada family.  Can't say enough about them.

Strangest incident on a rally:

DNFd not far from a farm house where my driver and I went to take shelter from the cold... ended up having to stay for HOURS with a very, very drunk, toothless, and frankly bloody scary father and son.

Biggest accident:

Rolled in Maine 2004 but not a big roll at all.  After an amazing service, we still finished the event and wrapped up the Group N championship.

Achievements gained from rallying:

Traveling, meeting heaps of people the world over, finding common ground with my brother, introducing rally to people who would have likely otherwise never known the sport.

Your current performance

Your current driver(s) and events or Championships contested in 2004

Pat Richard (brother)
Canadian Rally Championship
SCCA ProRally Championship (USA)
North American Rally Championship

And plans for 2005?

Definitely Rally America Championship (USA), Canadian if sponsorship comes through, and North American.

How could you improve your 'own' current performance?

I actually really enjoy watching in-board WRC stuff just to see how the top guys deliver their notes.  Other than that, it would be cool to sit with one of them in person and learn from the best. 

How could you improve your current driver's performance?

By improving my own performance!

If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do? 

Canadian Championship for sure and would love to compete in Europe. 

Your future in rallying

Where would you most like to compete (in the world):

Scandinavia

Which rally would you most like to compete in?

Rally Sweden

Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?

During competition, I love co-driving for my brother ... but I think it would also be nice to see what it's like co-driving for another top driver ... definitely has to be someone I get along with and have fun with.  Don't know if it's such a good idea to co-drive for my boyfriend ... could be a disaster ... but could also be heaps of fun.

Ambition in rallying for the future:

Like to compete in Production WRC and once I'm finished co-driving, I'd love to manage a factory team here ... or PR work with a larger factory team.  Really, I'd be very lucky if I could turn my hobby into a career.

What would you like to put back into rallying?

I've got so much out of it ... and although I don’t know what yet, I'm sure I'll be putting back into it over the years.  As for now, I'm trying to bring more exposure to the sport here in North America - not an easy feat. 

The future of rallying

Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?

'Up-and-coming' is a bit un-definitive... Aussie Chris Atkinson is definitely hitting the WRC by storm and turning a lot of heads... but I think my brother would be robbed not to have another go at the Production WRC.

Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?

That's a tough one.  Last year was my first full season … does that make me an 'up-and-comer' of sorts?  It's hard to judge co-drivers without really knowing how they are inside the car.  I think my former teammate Howard Davies is a true professional... and a riot to be with... but 'up-and-comer'... perhaps not.

What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?

Other than maybe seat time, nothing takes the place of organization

Any other comments?

I was given a chance to co-drive when I knew very, very little about it and have learned heaps since, especially with our heavy schedule in 2004.  I hope other co-drivers can only be so lucky.

DATE COMPLETED

April 12, 2005