A DOZEN YEARS LATER KOUZNETSOV REMEMBERS PPIHC 2012 AND REVEALS 2024 ENTRY
Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, draws top competitors from across the USA and around the world. Drivers from 13 nations have been invited to compete in the 102nd Running of the Race to the Clouds on June 23. For the first time since 2017, Yuri Kouznetsov returns to compete in the 2024 event in the Open Wheel division, taking over the Apexocet for Apex Autoworks that finished fourth in division last year.
Getting Into Racing
Born in Russia, Kouznetsov emigrated to the United States when he was nine years old and immediately fell in love with cars. “I don’t know what drove me to it—I don’t have anybody with racing heritage or anything like that in my family, but I’ve always gravitated to cars and to racing,” he says. “I became that kid who would get the magazines with the cool Lamborghinis and Porsches and basically developed all this passion with just magazine cutouts.”
It wasn’t much longer before that passion and patience paid off. “I was on the sidelines supporting my friends, basically watching street racing, but I didn’t have a car to drive. I went off to college and got involved with the Formula SAE group, as well as the Hot Rod Club in Austin, at the University of Texas.”
Kouznetsov put together enough money to buy a 1991 Mazda Miata, and that gave him his start in local autocross and, later, rallycross events.
“When I got my first job, right before I graduated, there was a racetrack I was trying to start at right away, just outside of the city limits,” he explains. “They gave me some of the best advice—I said, ‘hey, I want to go racing. What car should I get?’ Everybody said a Miata. “Starting off as a 22 year old with my first job, that’s reasonably the only thing I could really have.”
“I lucked out on timing. Rallycross gets into all different aspects of performance driving, and I embraced the community. How I met Jeremy Foley, ultimately, was at a rallycross event, where he was driving for the first time. That turned into a friendship. But ultimately, you know, that put us on the map later that year, and the rest is, sort of, history.”
Redemption
Racing fans have likely seen Kouznetsov’s first foray on the mountain, when he served as Foley’s co-driver in 2012. That run ended in spectacular fashion, with their Mitsubishi Evo 8 tumbling off the mountain at Devils Playground, but neither of them was seriously hurt. Undeterred, Kouznetsov returned in 2014—this time in an Evo 9, and now behind the wheel—and finished seventh in the Time Attack 1 class in 11:03.910.
“The only goal was to get back up there and cross the finish line,” Kouznetsov said. “So we built a car that looked similar to the one that went off in 2012, like, yeah, we’re coming back. We’re not giving up. We’re not going to let it define us, we’re going to do it—and we’re going to look the same doing it.”
“The other thing that really meant a lot to me was at the finish line. The flagger was the same gentleman, and it was important to me to go over and give him a hug. The only thing I said to him is, ‘Hey, I’ve been waiting a long time to come over here to meet you. And I need to hug you because it’s important to me.’ We had a little fun, chatted, and he even let me sign one of the white squares on the flag.”
Kouznetsov would make his next run as a driver three years later, this time taking a 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R to sixth in the Open division. However, until this year, that 2017 appearance had been his most recent trip to Pikes Peak behind the wheel. At the foggy finish, Kouznetsov clocked a 12:09:949 for sixth place.
Finding the Apex(ocet)
In his third attempt at conquering the mountain as a driver, Kouznetsov will also compete in his third division, moving to Open Wheel in the Apexocet, an Exomotive chassis upgraded by Apex Autoworks with a 600-horsepower V8 engine. Last year, Andrei Mitrasca finished fourth in class and 20th overall, posting a time of 10:26.697.
“I saw Andrei do a really good job with the Apexocet last year, and that’s literally how it sparked my interest,” says Kouznetsov. He reached out to Apex’s Richard Tomlin, a friend and collaborator on various projects for more than a decade. It wasn’t long before he was asked to strap into the driver’s seat. “It was just like a lighthearted conversation,” he recalls. “I said, ‘Hey, Richard, you guys did pretty good. Are you going to go back next year?’ He said, ‘Well, you want to drive it?’ It was just built out of the synergy of the relationship and the friendship, and we kind of just hit the ground running.”
What started life ages ago as a Mazda Miata was now a high-powered open-wheel machine—and for Kouznetsov, even with his past Miata experience, that meant getting acclimated in shakedown and test runs coming into this month’s race.
“My first impressions were, holy moly, this thing’s fast, obviously with the power to weight ratio,” Kouznetsov says. “My main concern was about the short wheelbase, but I think because it’s so wide and it’s got enough aero features on it, especially on the rear, it’ll keep the tail planted.”
GET TO KNOW YURI KOUZNETSOV
Fun Facts:
“I was born in Siberia.”
“I like snow—I don’t get four seasons in Texas! Part of the reason I come back to Colorado all the time in the winter is that I like snowboarding.”
“I enjoy all the stuff that’s hard for us to do here in Texas. We don’t necessarily have a lot of good lakes, and I really enjoy wakeboarding, but I always have to go to cable wakeboarding parks.”
What’s your favorite section of the mountain? “I like the bottom section because it is easy to drive. The middle section is like a trap with a series of similar corners.”
What are the biggest challenges at Pikes Peak? “There’s nothing you can count on. There’s nothing you can plan on or guarantee. You literally either have the resources to take on whatever challenge it throws at you, in terms of weather conditions or whatever else, and you’re either prepared or you have to adjust yourself, your mental state and potentially the car settings, to go with whatever the mountain throws at you. Every given year is different!”
What are your must-haves on the mountain? “Friends and family. They really help keep me relaxed. There’s going to be a lot of tense moments. Every single year I’ve gone, my family just absolutely goes above and beyond. I couldn’t do what I do by myself.”
What are your favorite moments during the event? “Fan Fest is an easy answer, because it is fun and it’s different, and because everybody enjoys it. But probably, as weird as it is, load-in on Saturday. It’s a day when hopefully everything’s gone okay. Plus, you’re not racing, so it’s a wonderful time to see the crew and everybody. You’re literally just coming in and setting up, everybody’s more relaxed because there’s no real agenda that day. It’s refreshing to see everybody in that state of mind compared to race day when you’re anxious to get the green flag.”
Other than Pikes Peak, what are your favorite race courses? “With us being Texas-based, Circuit of the Americas—that’s probably my favorite. It’s a great Formula 1 track. Eagle’s Canyon in North Texas is also a really good facility. It’s a newly revamped track with newly revamped facilities.”
Do you have any advice for Pikes Peak rookies? “Main advice is lean on the veterans and the guys that have been there before. Going back to the sense of community, even though they’re rookies, we welcome them, we embrace them. We were there once as well. So we’re trying not to make them feel like outsiders. You should feel like you belong, because you earned your way in here. At the same time, if there’s some advice that’s given, make sure you listen, take it in, and keep an open mind because there’s a lot going on.”
Watch Foley and Kouznetsov Walk Away from their Jaw-Dropping 2012 Crash
Photos by: Scott Paine Photography, Nathan Leach-Proffer, Yuri Kouznetsov, Jason Zindroski
Contributor: Chris Leone
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Lisa Haight
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lisa@ppihc.org
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