Ken Block to WRC in a Ford

It doesn't matter if what he does in WRC, he will still get the camera time. As far as Americans are concerned Ken will be to WRC what Danica is to IRL. Is there better drivers in each series?, sure there is, but both of these drivers know how to market themselves and that's what brings fans (and haters). It doesn't hurt that Danica is kinda hot too, Ken not so much.

If Ken can raise Fords exposure even more, a new variant very well is possible. Will it be a full on AWD turbo machine? Probably not, but I hope it will kick SVT back into full gear again.

The reason some motorsport nuts can't stand Ken Block is because people who have seen his "gymkhana" videos think he's the BEST DRIVER EVAR!!! Many of us do not agree, he's a guy hooning around with a suitcase full of money and a good editor. But regardless of how you feel about it - and it's true, it's exactly what a bunch of us would be doing given the choice - you have to admit it's high-profile.

I think he's going to struggle to make it into the points, myself. He's a long way from fighting for the lead unless some freak accident takes out the top two from both Citroen and Ford. Well, maybe just the usual accident for Jari-Matti But he's not going to have to struggle for airtime, and he may be the key to getting rally back on the air in the US and more manufacturers into the WRC, simply due to the publicity machine.

Subarus are still available to run, Prodrive sells 'em and Mads Osberg did reasonably well as a privateer in one last year. In fact, you can actually download a sales brochure for a turn-key WRC WRX from their site They don't have the same development budget behind them anymore, so they'll probably become less and less competitive. Still, Prodrive does know a couple of things about building rally cars.

Keith wrote: The reason some motorsport nuts can't stand Ken Block is because people who have seen his "gymkhana" videos think he's the BEST DRIVER EVAR!!! Many of us do not agree, he's a guy hooning around with a suitcase full of money and a good editor.

But that's the fault of the dumb-masses, not his. And regardless of whether he's the best, it is bringing exposure to our end of the enthusiast spectrum. I had a middle age white NASCAR fan notice my WRX while I was at the gas station and kick off a conversation talking about Ken Block. He may not be the greatest driver EVAR, but he has brought that awareness to untold masses. Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae never did that.

"I ain't never seen no bumper like that befores on a Celica like that there one, wut is it?"

"It's a CS bumper."

"You mean CF, carbon fibre whatnot?"

"No. CS. Carlos Sainz."

"Carlos Sainz? What's them?"

AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGG

wait a minute, wait a minute... if he's doing RWD training, what is he's taking a mustang out? or better yet, a big stupid crown vic! nothing like back roading it with a P71 hot on your tail. ha ha ha!

zomby woof wrote:

dyintorace wrote: I'm curious why there is so much vitriol aimed in Ken Block's direction.

Because of his 'look at me, and how awesome I am' videos.

Has anyone considered that the videos might be something his sponsors want him to do? He's riding a wave of popularity and they're cashing in on it. I'd like to know who here would turn down however many thousands they pay him each time he goes out and hoons around in a rally car for an afternoon. I'd guess not many.

Amateur racing is supposedly all about the camaraderie but one guy makes it big and the haters come out of the woodwork. He made some cash and had some fun with it. Good for him.

5ev3n wrote: wait a minute, wait a minute... if he's doing RWD training, what is he's taking a mustang out? or better yet, a big stupid crown vic! nothing like back roading it with a P71 hot on your tail. ha ha ha!

Nope, a Mk2 Escort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohJ096Z4QwE

Note the video date of July 14. With hindsight being 20/20, was this a hint of his switch to Ford?

It's hard to find a Subaru of that vintage to run in rallies A Mk2 Escort is pretty much a no-brainer for a vintage rally car.

Yes, it's the dumb-masses and the fanbois that are putting Ken up on a massive pedestal. But you can't blame them when you look at how the videos are set up and cut. They're presented to obtain just that result. But, the whole paragraph I wrote probably should have been quoted - I'd do the exact same thing if I never had to work again.

Yup...not to mention that Fords were competitive in international rallying what?...about 25 or 30 years before Subaru had any real presence in the sport.

Adrian_Thompson said: He's not moving to Ford. He's Paying for a ride in a Ford. Ford didn't recruit him, it's a pay to play scenario.

negative...He will be racing for the newly formed Monster Energy Drink team Ford in WRC.

Ken Block is a rockstar. He lives a fantasy life. He is also well marketed and probably making more money from motorsports than the vast majority. If I were in his shoes, I'd do the same.

Basically, he's like one of us... only rich. No matter how much practice I got, I could never be a top flight racing champion. But you can bet I'd play at every level I could.

Or think of him like the Danica Patrick of WRC. Not the best driver, but good enough, and bringing more flash.

pitbull113 wrote: berkeley ken block

I just hope we don't have to see the video of that

I with Wally on this one.

p.s. If anyone wants to know how to build a mk2 Escort into a rally car this guy does some fine work!

maroon92 wrote:

Adrian_Thompson said: He's not moving to Ford. He's Paying for a ride in a Ford. Ford didn't recruit him, it's a pay to play scenario.

negative...He will be racing for the newly formed Monster Energy Drink team Ford in WRC.

EErrr Where do you think the Monster money came from ....Ken..... He's raises the money, went shopping for a ride and is forming the team. He's paying (with someone else money) to play.

The main Ford team didn't come to him and say 'Hey Ken, you kick ass, please come and be a salaried driver for us'.

'The' Ford factory team is the 'BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team' All the others are pay to play.

Please don't think I'm dissing the guy, count me as a fan. He's easily approachable and will chat/sign autographs all day long (met him a couple of times at the Sno*Drift). I can't understand any of the hates, every one loves Jay Leno for making a bundle and blowing it on cars, Ken's just doing the same thing but competing rather than collecting. Give me the winning Mega Millions card and I'll be following the Ken, not the Jay example of automotive tomfoolery.

You should see Block's Facebook page, the haters are real thick on it, most towards Ford though. If you like the driver and can admire his skill, who cares what he drives. I was a fan of Block when he rocked the Subi and I bleed Ford Blue, I'm still a fan of course, a little more so now I guess.

Well then all these scoobie fans should start sending their hate mail to Subaru for not being part of the WRC. I think it's a great move on his part and I hope he does well. I would love to see Pastrana go over there with him as he's been racing on dirt his whole life. Yes, he's mainly raced on two wheels but the guy has a lot of raw talent. Let's just hope he brings the sport back into the spotlight and maybe some more manufacturers. I would love for someone with this much popularity to join up in the ALMS or Grand-Am to get them some more attention.

Pastrana's run in the P-WRC, actually.

I think the goal is to campaign a full season in the WRC. If that is the case, he'd be the first American to accomplish that. Others have competed in a WRC events on a limited basis. Good for him, glad he is seizing the opportunity. It will also up the competition in Rally America(admittedly at the expense of some struggling privateers).

Could it translate into a new sportier focus model for the US? maybe. They did the svt focus already. AWD? Less likely, but maybe.

Really is a amazing the E36 M3 storm that has started on the internet over all this.

I wonder where Olsbergs MSE(running the US ford program) will base their US operations? Think they are hiring?

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: hmmm... an ex-F1 World Champion vs. a shoe salesman...

yeah my money is on the shoe salesman

audifan wrote:

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: hmmm... an ex-F1 World Champion vs. a shoe salesman...

yeah my money is on the shoe salesman

If for nothing else when he speaks he does not sound like "Beaker" from the muppets. I mean Kimi is talented and a good driver but he has the presence of a wet mop, Ken is no Schumacher either but at least he has a pulse and a heartbeat. Kimi's "iceman" nickname has not really done him any good so far in WRC events he has driven he is used to traction, fat rubber on asphalt not skinny to medium rubber or dirt strewn questionable terrain.
I believe he has crashed twice maybe three times in as many events. He is almost as good at crashing as that young russian kid. He is by no means doing his country justice in the WRC

There are those who call me...Ross. wrote: Turbo AWD Ford Focus or Fiesta? A man can hope, can't he?

+ELEVENTYBAZZILLION!!!

jj wrote: Glad he chose Ford. The only other choice is Citroen. What has happened to all the others?

They all moved to the IRC Championship . It was started as a stepping stone series but is quickly proving to be more popular than the WRC. Thats where Subaru is going next year when they return to rally, as well as where Fiat, Honda, Peugeot, Proton (Owners of Lotus), Mitsubishi, Škoda, and Volkswagen have all gone already.

Jamesc2123 wrote:

jj wrote: Glad he chose Ford. The only other choice is Citroen. What has happened to all the others?

They all moved to the IRC Championship . It was started as a stepping stone series but is quickly proving to be more popular than the WRC. Thats where Subaru is going next year when they return to rally, as well as where Fiat, Honda, Peugeot, Proton (Owners of Lotus), Mitsubishi, Škoda, and Volkswagen have all gone already.

So is everyone running away from any FIA sanctioned events/series? Because that's what it's starting to look like lol.

Jeff wrote:

zomby woof wrote: Am I the only one that thinks this could end badly? Admittedly, I don't know much about the guy, but I can't recall him doing anything to indicate that he could compete at this level.

I agree. Ken Block by all accounts is a nice guy, one of the good ones. He's doing what we would all do, taking the money he made with his company and having fun. If I was in his shoes (sorry), I'd do exactly the same thing. But lets be honest, he's likely to have a rough time in WRC, I'd put him out of the top 5, maybe out of the top 10. It could also be worse. Not that he shouldn't try, I've actually wondered what's taken him so long. If he was such a raw talent, with his funds and Subaru's backing, he should be smoking the field at North American events. But he rarely does, and is often beaten by folks with a fraction of his budget. I know that speaks to the equalizing factors of rally, but it also speaks of his talent.

I will honestly be very impressed if he can get repeatedly in the top 10.

It will be a big step up and he wont be with one of the leading teams. The guys who are running 5th-10th have won multiple championships at the national level, and certainly have longer resumes then Ken.

Hopefully he isn't getting his shot too early. While I could see him fighting for top 10, I wouldn't be surprised to see him running in the high teens to twenties...

audifan wrote:

audifan wrote:

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: hmmm... an ex-F1 World Champion vs. a shoe salesman...

yeah my money is on the shoe salesman

If for nothing else when he speaks he does not sound like "Beaker" from the muppets. I mean Kimi is talented and a good driver but he has the presence of a wet mop, Ken is no Schumacher either but at least he has a pulse and a heartbeat. Kimi's "iceman" nickname has not really done him any good so far in WRC events he has driven he is used to traction, fat rubber on asphalt not skinny to medium rubber or dirt strewn questionable terrain. I believe he has crashed twice maybe three times in as many events. He is almost as good at crashing as that young russian kid. He is by no means doing his country justice in the WRC

Kimi has a lot of presence and a lot of fans, red bull have obviously felt that his presence is enough to make a huge investment into his rally outing. It is rumoured that he will be earning more then Loeb next year. Kimi is quite obviously not the world's most eloquent speaker, but he does have a honest and daring approach that many people find intriguing, he is also quite good looking which helps in the marketing department and of course he is also a very good driver. He is one of the drivers with the largest fan bases in F1. He did crash twice (and continued after one of those crashes), but it should also be remembered that those events are his only experience at rallying. With little, too absolutely no experience, he was already matching and beating some of the established rally drivers who have driven in rally cars for most of their lives and he was on for a class podium in rally Finland. That in itself are pretty amazing. He will properly crash a lot, but he will properly also be fast. Kimi is already a F1 champion, so anything he achieves in WRC is merely a bonus, he can always just go back to F1 if he really struggles in WRC. As for his country; Finland already have lots of fantastic WRC drivers. Most people properly dont expect too much from him. The most people can properly expect, is lots of crashes, and some of Kimi's trademark speed and car control. But I wouldn't be surprised if Kimi is indeed faster then Block. http://en.redbulletin.com/articles/kimi/

As for Block I wish him good luck. He will properly need a bit of time to adapt to WRC (just like Kimi).

It is fantastic to see two new superstars in WRC. They are very different and properly complete opposites in many ways, but they are both stars in their own right. It should make for an interesting competition.