Unlike The Flying Finn (given to several Finnish drivers for their extreme speed), King and his co-driver Andrew Rabbidge slid off the road, got airborne, flipped, hit a fence and came to rest in a nearby paddock during the first stage of the Otago Rally at the weekend.
It was horrifying to watch, leaving the duo feeling a little more shaken than stirred, and spectators were amazed they were able to walk away from the crash and continue racing.
King said it was a moment of distraction which caused the spectacular crash.
"Andrew called it into a four left, but I only heard the six right.
"I lost maybe focus and I didn't process the four left, and so before we knew it, we were off the side of the road.
"I thought it was going to just slide off the road, but something catapulted us — maybe a little bank or something — and it threw us perfectly over that fence.
"Oh yeah — this was on top of the list of my worst crashes.
"Now they’re calling me the Flying Filipino."
When the car became airborne, both said everything turned into slow motion and they were thinking their rally was about to end.
"You've just got to relax and trust the gear that you're wearing, the seatbelts and the roll cage in the car," Rabbidge said.
The only damage that had potential to be disastrous was caused by one of the metal fence waratahs, which punched through the windscreen as the car sailed over the fence.
He said it was lucky it did not impale one of them.
"It was truly a miracle and easily could’ve been worse."
While they checked each other for injuries, some spectators attached a rope to the car and taped up the hole in the windscreen.
"They said, ‘We can get you back on the road’.
"They called over a few more people — it was over 20 people pulling the car out and back up on to the road.
"It got me excited because everybody wanted to see us back on the road. It was an amazing feeling."
Both shook off the crash and carried on — if not slightly more focused than usual.
Rabbidge said the crash was "just part of the sport".
"You get some good days and some rougher days.
"You know when you hop in the car, that anything can happen, but you're well prepared and you've got all the safety gear required.
"You’ve just got to roll with it — literally — no pun intended."
King said he loved competing in the Otago Rally.
"You guys have probably the best roads in the southern hemisphere.
"This is like candy for me. It's a privilege.
"Also, I really feel welcome here and the community just shows so much love and support.
"I really felt that this time around, especially when everybody helped pull the car out. People asked if we were OK and, you know, it was inspiring.
"And then, for people to clap when we drove through Kuri Bush, it was very emotional.
"That’s why I keep coming back."
