Biography
Profile:
Name: Alexander Gakuu Kihurani
DOB: January 10, 1987
Resides: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Occupation: IT Auditor at Ernst & Young
Education: Penn State - IT, Economics
Interests/Hobbies: Auto racing, volleyball, computers, salsa, running/lifting, mountain biking
Rally Experience:
Number of rallies: 55
Years of experience: 6.5 years
Accomplishments:
2008 X Games 14 Bronze Medalist
2007 Rally America Group N Runner Up
2005 Rally America G2 National Champion
Story:
As a toddler, Alex began dreaming of becoming a professional rallyist as he watched in awe as his rally heroes tackled the legendary stages of the World Rally Championship. From that point on, he would be eager for the day he would be old enough and experienced enough to race alongside.
At age 6, his father took him to their home rally, the Susquehannock Trail ProRally, a father-son tradition that continues even as Alex competes in the event. At age 12, Alex began competing as a navigator in TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) rallies aka "road rallies," and by age 13, he would have his own rally video clips website. He began shooting rallies across the country by hitching rides with teams racing the national championship, developing the reputation as the "RallyBrat," a nickname that still sticks to this day. By age 15, he was making a small profit selling his raw footage to competitors for their sponsorship presentations and developing connections that would help him launch his co-driving career.
In February 2003, 3 weeks after his 16th birthday, Alex entered the Sandhills Sandblast Rally alongside Howard Richards in a G5 Mitsubishi Eclipse. After a promising test, the team retired 2.5 miles into the first stage with a broken steering rack that sent them into a tree. For the rest of the season, Alex filled in for friends with absent co-drivers wherever he could, spending the rest of his paper route and summer job money to get himself a seat and build his reputation.
For 2004, Alex paired with Chris Rhodes for his first National season in a PGT Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. After his first rally with Chris, Alex would finish every rally he started for the next 2.5 years and began gaining a reputation for himself as the youngest and one of the best co-drivers in the national circuit.
In 2005, Alex paired with Matt Johnston to take the Rally America G2 Championship, and starting halfway through the season, began double duty joining TechSport Racing alongside Amy BeberVanzo to finish second in the Western States Rally Championship. At TechSport, Alex worked with team manager Andy Brown, former manager of AVSport, who took David Higgins to a National Championship.
In 2006, Alex paired with Amy BeberVanzo for a selection of events, and when available, rode with the likes of Dennis Martin, Blake Yoon, Chris Rhodes, and Andrew Hadjiminas, all in open class cars, and breaking into the top 10 at national events.
In 2007, Alex ran the Rally America series full-time alongside Amy BeberVanzo and the NASA Western States events with Blake Yoon. He also sat with for Josh Chang in a Gr. N Subaru to take second in the Gr. N championship and Top 5 finish at the Ojibwe Forest Rally.
In 2008, Alex began running the Rally America championship with Irish driver Will Corry on the RockStar Energy Drink Team. However, due to lack of funding, Will had to withdraw for the season. This led Alex to be paired up with BMX legend and rally rookie, Dave Mirra. After finishing 7th in New England, Dave and Alex went on to capture the bronze medal at the X Games.
In the fall, Alex went to study abroad at the University of Manchester while obtaining international experience rallying in national events throughout the UK, including running the Bulldog Rally of Wales with Pro-Tec Motorsports.
For 2009, Alex is looking for more top level experience in the US as well as 2 pass recce experience in Canada.
Currently, Alex works full-time at Ernst & Young after graduating from Penn State University in May. He plans to keep running the full national series in the US.