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...because AlexKihurani.com is too hard to spell.
Welcome to the co-driving website for up and coming American co-driver, Alex Kihurani. Here you will find information on Alex as well as co-driving tips, pictures, and videos.
28 May 2008 - Craziness in '08 Part 1
What’s up! Long time...no update, so it’s finally time to start entries for ’08...even though it’s halfway into the year!
Ok, so where did I leave off? Oh right, my “exciting opportunities” for ’08 cliff-hanger that is blatantly obvious and settled (almost) by now. However, there’s still plenty of interesting stuff to write about.
In December, I had two really cool competing offers. One with BMX legend Dave Mirra in a third car on the Subaru team (though a non-factory car) and one with North Irish driver Will Corry new third car on the RockStar team (though in a non-RockStar sponsored car! see any similarities?). The ride with Mirra would be a long-term development position, from the bottom to the top, and I’d have to test for two events against Canadian veteran co-driver Alan Ockwell. The RockStar deal was outright for the year, and Will was already fast. I took the RockStar deal, figuring I could really help improve myself by working next to top British co-driver Robbie Durant and by getting a little more experience at the front of the pack before I went to develop anyone. It would also ensure Alan and I both had rides for the year. We’re all a big family at the end of the day after all!
The first event is Sno*Drift, and the RockStar team manager blowing out his back when four cars needed to be finished in just a matter of weeks meant our car simply wasn’t completely together by the time testing came. Will got a few practice runs, but the car would be significantly different when the first stage came.
The crew worked around the clock the next few days, and while we missed practice, we were good to go for stage one. Will and I had never worked together, and on the first stage we were going full tilt in an extremely quick Open class car on an icy road. We were fast. 7th overall on the first stage, just a few seconds off Canadian snow expert ACP, and we were both blown away by our competitiveness and the sheer speed we were traveling. However, the next stage we began having fuel cut issues and by the end of the stage before service we were limping at 20mph and lost 3 minutes. “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram selflessly waited for us at the end of the stage and towed us back to service...where we pushed the car into the control and into service.
Fueling after service meant we didn’t know if we were low on fuel or had some sort of fuel delivery issue. We pushed the car to refuel, fueled up, and the problem seemed fixed. We set a good time on the next stage, although I had to adjust my reading back because I read too far ahead for Will’s preferences. The next stage was twisty and technical, and the notes clicked for us...however, the fuel cut issues came again 3/4ths through the stage, and by the next stage we lost another 3 minutes. The boys worked on the car overnight and found an issue with the fuel cell. We were still in 11th to try to work our way up on Day 2.
Day 2 started well. Will and I were clicking inside the car and setting times at least 7th or better each stage, with some top 5 times. We worked our way up to seventh, but began having a couple moments as the roads became swept and icy, especially in the tighter corners, and the fuel cut issues came back. After a big moment, we backed off, but that still wasn’t enough and on the next stage we stuffed the car in a snow bank (where 8 other cars got stuck) and lost 12 minutes before we got pulled out. Ouch. We still finished the rally, however, in 12th overall.
For 100 Acre Wood, Will and I were looking for a good, fast, flawless gravel rally. Mother nature had other plans. The night before recce, Missouri started getting ice storms, Will started getting the flu, and my flight was cancelled; therefore, I had to switch my flight to Kansas City, MO, rent a car, and drive 240 miles through the night to get to the hotel by recce. The following day, several inches of snow/ice were put onto the roads, Will had a fever of 100+ degrees, and I was stuck with him for 12 hours in a car with the windows up and heat blasting with Will shivering uncontrollably due to illness. We suffered through recce for all but two stages. I wasn’t feeling too well myself on 2 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours sitting next to a contagious Will. I was sure I would be sick too and we’d be puking through the event together!
I woke up the following morning, overjoyed that I wasn’t on my death bed. Will, however, was much worse, and sparing the details, did not have a comfortable night of rest. The team doped me up with as many immune system boosters as they could muster. Emergen-C, Vitamin C tablets, Zinc drops, Cold-Eze, Echinacea, etc. Anything that could possibly work I was on so that I might be able to delay sickness until after the rally. Meanwhile, Will slept all day. Then I drove him to Parc Expose where he slept some more. Ten minutes before our out time, I woke him up, put him in the car, and discussed how we’d get the start points and run as many stages as we could...and if he couldn’t rally anymore, we would call it quits.
Transit out to the first stage and Will is a zombie. He can’t talk and just signals for cough drops occasionally. The road is a crunchy ice/snow mix, and extremely treacherous. Will feels funny driving because the fluid in his inner ear is affected by the flu, so his balance is off. We pump ourselves up for the first stage, and we’re conservative but still relatively quick. About 8 miles in to the 10 Will can’t concentrate any more and we have a few little moments, but he’s doing well with the exception on having problems with left turns because of the imbalance in his inner ear. We set 9th fastest time on the first two stages. We’re still in it and still in touch.
Last two night stages and we continue to soldier on at a conservative pace. At the end of the last stage, Will ups the pace to push through to the finish. The note reads “Crest, 120 (yards/meters) Left Four (medium left)” We come over the crest at over 110mph, to see the other side of the crest a shiny, smooth blue ice so reflective we could see ourselves, on the other side. Will steps on the brakes and everything goes silent. Ot feels as though no braking occurs for the first 50 meters. I was convinced it was all over and assumed full Phil Mills brace position. Will goes for the handbrake and stands on the gas, and miraculously, we get out of it...somehow. At this time, Will utters his only words for the evening, “holy fuck,” and gets on with the end of the stage. By the end of the day, we’re sitting 8th and can claim a 6th place finish quite realistically if Will feels better.
Day 2 and Will still feels sick, but he’s a real person today rather than a zombie. We up the pace tremendously on the first stage out and match pace with ACP, Matt Johnson, and Kyle Sarasin. I need to match his upped speed now. On the stage after, we set third fastest time behind Travis Pastrana and the day starts feeling good. However, on the next stage, we start slipping a few seconds here and there as we seem to be getting horrible wheel spin for the first half mile or so of every stage. We realize coming into the last stage that it’s not wheel spin, but something mechanical. Will thinks it’s the front diff. The crew checks it, and there’s no issue. We go out to the last two night stages, and realize the clutch is slipping.
First stage out and the car can barely climb the first hill. We turn on our blinkers and limp. Pinker catches us halfway through the stage, pulls off a spectacular pass, then a half mile down the road destroys the car right in front of us. Definitely a scary moment for us to pick out of the lights. We’re 6th now, but Verdier just closed in 45 seconds on us in that stage and chopped our margin almost in half. We transit to the next stage, pull into the ATC, and our worst nightmare happens. The clutch is gone. The car won’t move. It won’t even pull out from the ATC.
We see there’s a bit of a delay at the stage start, so I tell Will to turn off the car to try to cool off the clutch and *maybe* it will cool off and work. Will gets the idea to spray the clutch with the fire extinguisher to try to cool it after we start the stage and clear the control zone. As each car starts, we push the car up to the next position in the freezing forests.
10 minutes go by, and we start the stage, both with Will and I outside the car. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Go! and we start the stage like the Jamaican bobsled team. We push the car with all our might outside the control. We get right to work. Will sprays the clutch and gearbox with the fire extinguisher, I run into the woods and get some snow to throw on it. We hop in the car, start it, and hope for the best....the car pulls away! We’re limping down the stage, but we still have 12 miles to go and each of us has everything crossed. We hit some cold water splashes and the clutch grabs more. The car is nearly back to full power! We race to the end of the stage and see the two cars behind us, Verdier and Wiktrozyk, went off, as well as the car ahead of us, ACP. They all finished, and all finished ahead of us after we dropped an additional 2-3 minutes on the last stage. However, Wiktrozyk got excluded for speeding and we received a more than well deserved 7th place. It was definitely a rewarding but overly exhausting experience. I never worked so hard just to get to the end in my life. Needless to say, I was glad to have 2 months off before Olympus!
-Alex