Shaun Garner shines a light on life as a Recce mechanic at Hyundai Motorsport
Shaun Garner has dedicated much of his life to rallying, carving out a career that spans top teams like Ford, Mitsubishi and now Hyundai Motorsport.
Specialising as a Recce mechanic, Shaun plays a crucial role in the team’s pre-event preparations. But that’s only the beginning.
Once the recce of each rally begins, Shaun follows the drivers from stage to stage, repairing damage and on standby with the spare car. At overseas events, he’s also responsible for helping to build and dismantle the service park facilities.
Here, Garner gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into rally preparation, life on the road, his favourite events and more…
Hi Shaun, can you tell us about your background?
I’ve been rallying most of my life! I started working for a private team when I left school at 17. After learning the ropes, I became a mechanic at the Ford World Rally Team. From there, I moved to Mitsubishi and eventually joined Hyundai Motorsport, where I’m responsible for the Recce and tyres.
How does a Recce work?
A Recce involves drivers familiarising themselves with the rally stages two days before the event, by driving each stage at a regulated maximum speed of 70-90 km/h to create pace notes. Drivers make an initial slow pass and then a second run while recording footage to review later.
As Recce mechanics, we cover all the stages, ready to fix issues on the spot or provide a spare car if needed. After each Recce day, we inspect the cars thoroughly, replacing any damaged parts.
The Recce cars have a tough life, especially in places like Greece, because drivers must find the fastest way around each corner and need to know if they can make a cut. If they try it and something breaks, they know not to do it in the rally!
On asphalt, the Recce cars also drive through the stages just before the rally to note changes in road conditions, such as ice or snow at Monte Carlo. The Recce runs from Tuesday to Wednesday, then on Wednesday evening we’ll go to the service park and do the tyres.
What happens to the Recce cars once the rally begins?
During asphalt rallies, ex-professional drivers use the Recce cars to recheck the pace notes for our WRC drivers. They assess any changes to the stages, like new ice patches, which is especially important in events like Monte Carlo.
If one of our drivers has a problem during the rally and we can’t fix it on the spot, we’ll give them the spare car to finish the stage. If the first car is fixable, we’ll take it to the next stage for them. Each driver has their cameras and preferred seating position, so we try to get them back in their own car as quickly as possible.
What’s inside your vans?
While major parts are stored in the service park truck, two vans carry essential spares, including suspension arms, dampers, and drive shafts for roadside repairs. It’s a real mini workshop, including a tea and coffee machine!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Everything! I love being out at the rallies. Unlike many, who see only the service park and airport, we get to explore every stage, from mountain tops to forests, and experience local cultures. From start to finish, we see it all and go to some beautiful places.
Which rallies are your favourite?
Greece stands out as challenging and beautiful, but I enjoy them all. One of my favourites was Perth in Australia, everybody was so friendly and laid back.
How does your work change between overseas and European rallies?
Overseas rallies are more demanding. We arrive earlier to assemble our service buildings from nine containers. In Europe, those facilities are pre-built for us. It takes two full days to set up before the rally work begins. When the rally finishes, we re-prep the cars for the next overseas event, dismantle the buildings and load everything back into the containers. So we’re the last to leave!
Do the cars always come back to the workshop between European events?
Sometimes it’s more efficient to stay on the road. For example, when we went to Poland, instead of spending two days returning to Germany, we drove one day to Latvia for the next event. That saved us three days of driving, money, and resources.
Next year’s calendar will be challenging because the Recce cars might not return to the workshop for up to four consecutive rallies. That makes planning difficult, especially since we also manage tyre fitting zones during the rallies.
