Semenuk isn’t the first mountain biker to have a crack at rally car driving. Gee Atherton and Nico Vouilloz are two MTB legends who’ve dabbled at driving them too. What is it about rallying and mountain biking that such a crossover appeal?

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For Brandon Semenuk, his interest in rally cars began at a fairly young age when he used to be mountain biking in nearby mountain forests and he would see and hear rally cars ripping around the place. It had an instant appeal to him.

According to Semenuk “there’s so many things about rally that cross over from mountain biking and it seemed like something that I would get into”. An unnamed speaker in the video claims that Semenuk’s knowledge of traction and braking from mountain biking give him an advantage in rallying too. It certainly seems so.

Semenuk now owns his own “pretty simple” rally car but has spent time in more powerful pro rally cars too.

Semeuk: “The feeling I get from mountain biking and rally is definitely very similar; ripping down a forestry road is a lot similar to just ripping down a downhill trail… you’re always on [the] edge and in that moment and you don’t have time to think of anything else. Your brain’s kinda clear and you’re focussed on the objective.”

Video description

Red Bull: “The other side of Brandon Semenuk: Rally car racer. Everyone has their hobbies, Brandon Semenuk just happens to have some of the most extreme extracurricular. World renowned mountain biker by day, rally car racer by night? Check out the overlaps in the two sports now!”