Ken Block famous for his gymkhana videos on YouTube tragically lost his life in a snowmobile accident at the age of 55.
He started his rallying career by participating in the X-Games, an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN which would show motocross and rallying. This featured many talented drivers and riders participating in the event including Travis Pastrana and Colin McRae.
One of his idols growing up was Colin and it was one of his inspirations to take part in rallying.
Need For Speed
During at that time his series of Gymkhana videos on YouTube have made him a global star and introduced him to whole new audiences. Similar to autocross, the goal of gymkhana is to achieve the fastest time possible; memorizing the course is a significant part of achieving a fast time. These can feature obstacles such as cones, tires, and barrels.
The driver must manoeuvre through a predetermined “track” performing many different driving techniques. reversals, 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s, and other advanced skills. This put Ken on the map with his 500bhp Subaru Impreza WRC being the star of his videos.
We seen this in full motion when he made his first UK TV appearance on Top Gear with “Captain Slow” himself James May. The segment was filmed at an airfield in California. Quiet that is until he turns the airfield into a playground and shows off his Subaru-sliding skills against dirt-biking champion Ricky Carmichael!
WRC & Ford
Not long after it give him an opportunity to compete in the WRC. For 2010, Block ended his partnership with Subaru, and joined Ford to compete part-time at the World Rally Championship for Monster World Rally Team, where he drove a Ford Focus RS WRC 08 together with long time co-driver Alex Gelsomino. His best result in that year was a 9th place finish in Spain.
He would continue competing in the WRC till 2014 to pursue a career in Rallycross. His best ever was in the WRC was on his first race of 2013 season, in the Mexican rally, scoring a best-ever 7th overall finish.
He continued his partnership with Ford which even including Ken to compete in the 2019 Donegal International Rally. Sadly, he didn’t finish Donegal and he had to retire from it halfway through the competition. However, his popularity won the hearts and minds of rally fans from Ireland and beyond.
Later In Life
Throughout his years he continued to increase his social media presence. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoes. After selling his ownership of DC Shoes, Block shifted his business focus to Hoonigan Industries, an apparel brand for auto enthusiasts.
In January 2021, Hoonigan Racing Division and Ford Performance announced that they were parting ways after 11 years. In April, Block announced that he would be going back to Subaru. In September, Block announced that he would be on a new partnership with Audi for “joint projects in the field of electric mobility”. Sadly, we will never see its final completion with the unfortunate timing of his death.
Thank you Ken for giving us a new generation of rally enthusiasts across the globe. Your maverick creativity will be badly missed.
