Love these videos:
I noticed in the cars are very similar, but also different….after several of those crazy vaults, I suspect the cars need to be totally rebuilt after each run.
Also impressive that these were public roads. I know rally drivers are used to dirt tracks, but man when doing maneuvers like that you don’t want potholes and tar snakes under your wheels.
Fun times.
My question is: where the heck was everyone? No spectators? No parked cars? Streets perfectly clear?
Did they shut the entire town down and evacuate the city for that stunt run?
Not to detract from the guy’s driving skills, he’s obviously very impressive, but I have to wonder if they filmed it in short segments and then cut it all together at the end to give the impression of one long run.
That’s the only way I can imagine having the entire run that devoid of traffic and spectators.
Many of his older videos have “Blooper Reels” at the end. Also if you watch closely you can see dents and scratches on the car that you don’t see getting inflicted on the car.
He’s a superb driver, but he makes mistakes too. Also its VERY expensive to shut down a major city like that, so I suspect they did leapfrog from one “course” to another.
I read somewhere that the Golden Gate Bridge was already being shut down for maintenance, and the film crew took advantage of that in filming. Yes, the video was shot over multiple days.
The car itself is a hybrid of rallycross, stage rally and general stunt vehicle. At a guess, the car gets stripped down to a bare shell and the suspension is checked after a major race.
Rallies the world over are held on a variety of surfaces and the Irish have a tarmac championship.
As an aside, when Ken is rallying, his co-driver Alex Gelsimino is a gunnie.
I re-learned how to drive a stick in SF. Fun times. 87 Honda Accord. Fast little thing.