Slovenian ski jumping star chases new thrills

Speeds of over 100 km/h that ski jumpers can reach on the giant hill do not appear to be enough for the Slovenian ski flying specialist Timi Zajc. Now he wants to go much faster - albeit in a car.

The 25-year-old daredevil has obtained a licence and approval from his coach to take the wheel in a National Rally Championship race to spice up his preparations for the Olympic season, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

He will race in the Green Gold Valley Rally in and around Žalec on 22 and 23 August.

Zajc, who has two Olympic medals and eight World Championship medals under his belt, skipped the FIS Ski Jumping Summer Grand Prix opener and will also miss the second event of the summer.

"It's hard to focus solely on jumping all summer long. I'm the kind of person who needs to take a step back every now and then, to 'clear my head' in a different way," he commented on his new challenge for the national public broadcaster.

"It's basically a similar feeling to being on a giant hill, you have that awe, you're not too brave, the adrenaline flows very fast."

Zajc is working with an experienced team. His friend Zmago Logar will compete with him in the passenger seat.

"Zmago has a lot of experience. Basically, the whole team helps me a lot, teaching me so I can constantly improve a little," he said about the collaboration.

He is not the first winter sports athlete to test himself in motorsport. His teammate Lanišek discovered his passion for the sport as the co-driver of national champion Rok Turk last year, and former alpine skier Bojan Križaj competed in the Saturnus Rally in 1986.

Former ski jumper Robert Kranjec has raced on a motorcycle, while Jurij Tepeš, another former jumper, tried his hand at fast cars as a reconnaissance driver in a mountain race and, five years ago, as a co-driver in a rally.