Skip to main content

Old Kid On A New Block: Ken Block Joins FIA World RX for Full 2016 Season

Photo Credit: FIA World Rallycross Presented by Monster Energy

A high-flying fan favourite in rally and rallycross competition, American driver Ken Block will take his act to a more international stage in 2016.

The Hoonigan Racing driver has committed to run all 12 rounds of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy (informally named World RX) with the support of Ford Performance. Having completed in just two events part of the World RX tour in his career prior, Block's entrance into the series have all indication of being a competitive first full season. "For a big portion of my career I've maintained a mixed focus and kept a diverse race calendar, but now I'll be focusing myself fully on one single championship." said Ken Block responding to his upcoming plans.

At the age of 48, Ken Block arrives as a full-time rookie in World RX with considerable credentials. Block's early success was related to the Rally America where he posted a total of 16 event victories. Ken Block won the Rally of the 100 Acre Wood on a consecutive basis from 2006 to 2012 and once-again in 2014. Competing in the Global Rallycross tour on a full-time basis from 2012 to 2015, Block has won six events (three occurring in the 2015 season). Ken Block narrowly lost the 2014 season-long title fight by a five-point margin to Joni Wilman.

Despite never having won a championship in rally car-style competition, Block has garnered acclaim for a proven skill in handling showcased on the track as well as in popular viral videos found on social media. Videos featuring Ken Block are attributed to hundreds of millions of views on Youtube.

Since 2010, Ken Block has enjoyed an association with Ford Motor Company. Extended factory involvement by Ford is credited to the 48-year-old driver's undertaking of a full-season in World RX for 2016. Global Director of Ford Performance Dave Pericak expressed an understanding for the driver's career goal saying, “We know Ken’s team is the right one to help us pursue our goal of winning an FIA World Rallycross Championship title and tell the Ford Performance story. Ford and Ford Performance are global brands, just like Ken, so it’s a great match for all of us involved.”

"I've been stoked with what my team and I have accomplished so far with my Ford Fiesta ST racecars and I'm excited to see what we'll be able to do next season with factory support. It's going to be a very exciting 2016 and I can't wait to get started.” said Block looking ahead to a racing season that starts on April 16th and 17th in Montalegre, Portugal.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Review

Photo Credit: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. untitled A companion to the NTT IndyCar Series finale weekend on the streets of Long Beach, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship staged a 26-car race on Saturday consisting of DPi, GTLM and GTD class machines. With the conclusion of the 1-hour, 40-minute Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach sports car event, the overall winner was the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac shared by the driving duo of Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani. The victory was a decisive weekend for the Whelen Engineering Racing team that had scored the pole position and went on to take the checkered flag with a 10.95-second gap over the #01 Cadillac fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing with Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande. Corvette Racing enjoyed a dominant outing in the GTLM category. Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R beat the #3 car shared by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor. Only three GTLM class vehicles ran at Long Be
Post a Comment
Read more

Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Quickest In Qatar Qualifying

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. Saturday’s qualifying for the inaugural Formula 1 race in the Arab nation of Qatar has assembled what is certain to be a dramatic opening lap showdown between this season’s title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. In setting the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap main event on the fast, high grip 5.380-kilometer Losail International Circuit, it was the driver of the #44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team race car that took honours. Lewis Hamilton’s pole-winning lap time of 1-minute, 20.827 seconds in the final Q3 session putting a cap on a time trial where the seven-time World Drivers’ Champion handily controlled through the three sessions. Joining Hamilton on the front row of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix will be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing machine. The Honda-powered entrant was 0.455 seconds slower than the rival Mercedes race car. With the race at Losail being the third-to-last event on the 2021 Form
Post a Comment
Read more

Is More Imagination Needed Towards Indy 500 Pace Car Selection?

Photo Credit: General Motor/Chevrolet This weekend, the Indianapolis 500 will be run for its 100th time. A primary focus around a 500-mile auto race around a historic 2.5-mile race track has resulted in a far amount of traditions. Some of these traditions such as the Fast 9 qualifying shootout and the honorary starter are newer aspects while one of the oldest is the ceremonial pace setter used to lead the field to the green flag. A staple of the Indy 500 since the first race in 1911, the pace car history ranges from a Stoddard-Dayton roadster to a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 used in last year’s event. This year’s Indianapolis 500 will feature an all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS trimmed in a special preview of the 50th Anniversary Package. The beautiful Abalone White sixth generation Camaro convertible features a 455-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 LT1 engine perfect for maintaining pace lap speed ahead of a 33-car contingent of machines set to run at speed of 230 miles per hour. A tradi
Post a Comment
Read more