The final round of the 2019 European Rally Championship season in Hungary will always be remembered for the dramatic final stage that turned the title battle on its head.
But the very first Rally Hungary was also the setting for Sean Johnston and Alex Kihurani’s debut in an R5 car. Thanks to videographer Des Foley, you can now get an inside look on what went down that weekend in a special three-part documentary series.
Johnston and Kihurani first worked with Foley on Wales Rally GB last year, and the Hungary series will be the first of many in collaboration with DirtFish.
The relationship between the trio – first fostered when Foley reached out to Johnston when he did the GT Academy – has been key as it allows Foley to properly integrate himself with the team and not cause any disruption. This not only helps Johnston and Kihurani feel at ease but it helps bring the production to life too.
“The big thing for us was just to share with people what it’s like to actually be on one of these rally weekends,” Johnston says. “We want to bring people in and give them a look behind the scenes, to have a chance to get to know us as people and the work that goes on between us all, which is something different than just the awesome shots of cars flying by.”
Kihurani adds: “We probably didn’t have a fully thought out strategy. We were just like let’s capture our first R5 start and see what happens and it ended up being maybe not our cleanest performance but a really, interesting event to say the least with the crazy weather and really difficult conditions. You can see us struggle a bit and I think people do actually like to see how difficult this sport can be at any level.”
Episode one is available now on the DirtFish YouTube channel, highlighting the intricacies of recce and how the pair got on in the qualifying stage. Look out for the expert guidance of a former factory World Rally Championship driver too.
