1 Week to Go...

...until I move to Manchester, England, and a week and a half until my first rally. All summer I’ve been spending every minute not dedicated to working or rallying with my driver, Dave Mirra, to preparing for this trip to the UK.

For years I have wanted to go rally internationally, particularly in the UK, but I could never figure out a practical way to do it. Should I try to get a ride in the British Rally Championship and fly over for each event? Unlikely I’d get the spot and too expensive. Should I just take off of school and live out there? Immigration is a bitch and how would I support myself? Should I go to college there? Possibly, but 4 years away from the US means I lose my connections back home. After some thought, I figured out the perfect solution, I’d study abroad at a university in England for a fall semester. That way, I could live over there for the (relative) same price as a semester over here, and only miss or have to fly back for one round of the Rally-America championship.

So why is it such a big deal for me to go? Well, when I decided I wanted to start co-driving when I was around 14-15 years old, it was the era of huge entry fields and big manufacturer involvement (2001 and 2002)...and when any American driver got their big factory drive, they ditched their American co-driver. Ramana Lagemann began using Michael Orr, Paul Choiniere began using John Bennie, etc. Even at the lower levels, I remember Craig Peeper flying Ian Bevan over for every rally. When Travis Pastrana was given the opportunity to run PWRC, he had pressure to let go of his Swedish-American co-driver, Christian Edstrom, in favor of someone with more international rally and recce experience. No one at home or abroad takes American co-drivers very seriously or gives them much attention; however, whenever an up and coming driver needs to take their driving to the next level, suddenly there’s a big scramble because there’s no one around who can do the job. There’s no model, there’s no methodology, there’s no precedent, there’s no example for an aspiring American co-driver to reach world class level, and without equally magnificent co-drivers alongside their drivers, no American team will be successful outside of the tiny sandbox of US Rally.

Am I that magnificent co-driver? I have no clue, but I need to give myself the opportunity to realize my potential when no one else has really tried. Also, I need to make headway for aspiring co-drivers after me so that they have some sort of model to follow and so that they will be valued on an international level. Going to the UK for three months certainly does not complete all these lofty goals, but it’s certainly a start in the right direction. Hopefully, after I go, a few other co-drivers down the line will give it a shot too, and when our next big driver rises through the ranks, their American co-driver will be ready.

My first rally is the Plains Rally, next Saturday in Mid-Wales. It uses much of the legendary Rally GB/RAC Rally stages I’ve only seen in videos since I was a little kid (Gartheiniog, Dyfi, Pantperthog). Surprisingly, I got quite good responses from British drivers and some thinking I was over qualified to sit with them! After two offers in Gr. N Imprezas that didn’t work out due to personal and mechanical issues, I decided to take a ride in a clubman’s Mk2 Escort. RWD, old school, and should be a FUN opportunity for me to work out the little nuances between the US and UK rallying before I go for bigger rides. Luckily, they use stage notes very similar to ours at this event (no recce, organizer supplied), so my skill set should transfer well.

Even though I’ve felt like I’ve prepared quite well, with one week before flying out to Manchester, UK, I still don’t feel completely ready, and I don’t think I ever will be. The day I arrive I’ll be going to my local motor club meeting, getting my membership card (need that to rally!), finding a UK pre-paid phone, and hopefully moving in. The following day I will most likely be making phone calls to tie up any loose ends since I haven’t been in the UK and have no clue what materials made it to my mailbox, and the next day (Friday) I need to get the train from Manchester to Chester to get picked up to go to the rally. It’s quite an ambitious schedule, but hopefully I’ve covered everything in my research.

I realize I have a lot to learn and a lot to do, and I’m more than willing to start out in slower rides and pay my dues so that I can do a proper job in a more serious effort. It’s certainly a tight time schedule and won’t be easy, but I need to start now if I expect accomplish anything and press on for the duration. That’s what rallying is about isn’t it!?

-Alex