Alexander Chepurkó was supposed to be in Israel on his way to Jordan for some desert rally testing in the dunes. Unfortunately, he arrived at a bad time.
As he was heading down Highway 60 on his way to Eilat on Monday night, Israel was attacked by multiple waves of missile attacks from Iran. He received an early warning alert on his phone to take cover, but with no such options available where he was, all he could do was keep moving.
“It’s not like there is much cover here,” he quipped, “but I’m moving. I’m not in any one location. People kind of pull off the roads.”
In a video posted to social media following the attack, Chepurkó points out the sound of air raid sirens and air defence systems in operation. He also mentions “Iron Dome defences going off over there” (the Iron Dome is mainly for short-range missile interceptions, meaning it was not used by the IDF on Monday).
“It’s obviously shocking. A little bit scary, but it makes me angry actually,” he continued. “Maybe I asked for this, but it makes me angry. People really don’t understand what it’s like to see missiles launched at you from a foreign country.
“This isn’t a way to live. It’s hell, and nobody deserves to live like this.”
The attacks were in response to Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iranian ally Hezbollah. Israel also launched an invasion of Lebanon earlier in the day, the culmination of nearly a year of clashes between it and Hezbollah in the wake of the ongoing fighting in Gaza. Motorsport in Lebanon was indefinitely suspended last Wednesday by the country’s Automobile et Touring Club du Liban ahead of the invasion. Both conflicts in Lebanon and Palestine have had major ramifications on global events and motorsport in the region such as the 2023 Jordan Baja’s cancellation, the 2024 Dakar Rally prohibiting the use of national flags on vehicles, and the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping that disrupted World Rally-Raid Championship teams heading to races in the region.
As of this article’s publication, a Palestinian civilian was confirmed killed from the Iranian strikes while two Israelis and two Jordanians were injured.
Chepurkó extended the sentiment in his post to include Ukraine. Also on Tuesday, six people were killed by a Russian artillery strike on a market in Kherson. A Cypriot, Chepurkó has been supportive of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
In more peaceful times, Chepurkó finished second in the 2023 W2RC’s Rally3 standings. “Silk Rider” ran two of the category’s three races that year starting with a third at the Sonora Rally, which was his first race since recovering from a broken humerus. After skipping the Desafío Ruta 40 because he broke his shoulder, he placed fifth in class at the Rallye du Maroc to move up to second in the final points.
He did not enter any W2RC rounds in 2024.
