Máté Koch, who won the world epée title a few weeks ago, had a great adventure on Friday: he got to sit next to the ERC-driver Miklós Csomós for a lap at the Rally Hungary test. The fencer has always appreciated the racing drivers, but now he considers them simply sensational!
How was it?
Incredibly tough! I felt like my head was going to fall off, maybe it has fallen off, really. And then I thought we were going to hit someone, or we were going to turn upside down. I didn’t understand how Mixi could stop from 200 km to 10, we nearly hit a straw bale… But it was great, I enjoyed it very much! I told Mixi that I’d like to do another lap right after.
Was it like what you expected?
I admit that when I was squeezed into the seat and couldn’t move, I was a bit scared and I had doubts, if it was a good idea. To be fair, old rally foxes did scare me a bit, taking advantage of me being a rookie. I was in an unfamiliar world, with lots of spectators waving on the sidelines, and of course, lots and lots of journalists. It was a great event, I enjoyed it and I hope there will be more coming!
Eight-time world rally champion Julien Ingrassia gave him some advice before the adventure, that he was looking out of the window for the first half of the stage and then watching Mixi’s legs for the second. Did it work?
No, I actually forgot about the good advice because I was talking to Mixi the whole time and I couldn’t really think of anything. I prayed a little bit and I was nervous, my palms were sweating like before a fencing World Cup final. It was very hard, but I can only say: you have to live through it!
Have the drivers become more appreciated?
I always had a lot of respect for them, I knew they were very good, but now that I have seen what they really do, I have to say that they are absolutely sensational!