Ken Block... in a fiesta?
01-05-2010, 11:27 PM
#16
Registered User
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: BorderJumperEnforcer's momma's house
Posts: 2,506
Car Info: Fast
Ya know, it sure is too bad that Ken Block is bringing much needed publicity to Rally Racing and REAL Racing in general in the US. It is unfortunate that this thread is dominated so far by your typical bunch of crying Nascar fans that are jealous of a guy living his dream.
Personally I am stoked for the guy. He is not a total c*cksucker to the public and he is using his star power to do what he wants while bringing a positive image to a sport. If I were in his position I would be doing the exact same thing.
GTF over Ken Block already, jesus christ!! The guy has admitted several times that he does not have what it takes to compete in the WRC. But why not try it and try to bring Rally back to the US mainstream at the same time?
Personally I am stoked for the guy. He is not a total c*cksucker to the public and he is using his star power to do what he wants while bringing a positive image to a sport. If I were in his position I would be doing the exact same thing.
GTF over Ken Block already, jesus christ!! The guy has admitted several times that he does not have what it takes to compete in the WRC. But why not try it and try to bring Rally back to the US mainstream at the same time?
Last edited by aboothman; 01-06-2010 at 01:29 AM.
01-05-2010, 11:39 PM
#17
Ya know, it sure is too bad that Ken Block is bringing much needed publicity to Rally Racing and REAL Racing in general in the US. It is unfortunate that this thread is dominated so far by your typical bunch of crying Bay Area Nascar fans that are jealous of a guy living his dream.
Personally I am stoked for the guy. He is not a total c*cksucker to the public and he is using his star power to do what he wants while bringing a positive image to a sport. If I were in his position I would be doing the exact same thing.
GTF over Ken Block already, jesus christ!! The guy has admitted several times that he does not have what it takes to compete in the WRC. But why not try it and try to bring Rally back to the US mainstream at the same time?
Personally I am stoked for the guy. He is not a total c*cksucker to the public and he is using his star power to do what he wants while bringing a positive image to a sport. If I were in his position I would be doing the exact same thing.
GTF over Ken Block already, jesus christ!! The guy has admitted several times that he does not have what it takes to compete in the WRC. But why not try it and try to bring Rally back to the US mainstream at the same time?
I can't believe the negativity in this thread. If a thread like this were to pop up 10 years ago before most of you had even heard of an Impreza, we would've been amped that an American was even going to compete. I wish him all the luck in the world. This kind of exposure to REAL rallying for the American masses is a WONDERFUL thing, especially if we ever want to host another round of the WRC on U.S. soil! Get over it and be stoked!!!
-Brian
Oh, and I have a feeling the Fiesta WRC car is going to dominate...
01-06-2010, 01:06 AM
#20
Registered User
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Bay Area/CPP
Posts: 1,428
Car Info: 2005 WRX - Stage 2 and EQ Tuned!
I was talking to this guy at EQ today about this. He asked me if I thought travis or block were good rally drivers and I told him that they have NOTHING on WRC drivers. WRC drivers are ****ing insane and have been perfecting their art for YEARS. It would be a slap in the face to everyone if ken block won... bcuz as it is said in the article.. he just recently figured out what WRC was. dumbass.
01-06-2010, 01:11 AM
#21
Yeah, You've Probably Never Heard Of Me.
iTrader: (21)
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: in a glass case of emotion.
Posts: 17,962
Car Info: 345/30/19s
where did you read that in the article? he said hes been following rally since he was a kid, and hes been racing the last 5 years?? All he said was when he was younger he didnt know they also rally raced here in the US too.
01-06-2010, 02:34 AM
#22
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Napa
Posts: 204
Car Info: 99RS-T
I came to love Subarus because of WRC back in the late 90's, they were dominating, and the car and driving was awesome! The other teams all had bada$$ cars too. Ford, Mitsu, Skoda, Citroen, Seat etc. but none were available in the U.S. except for the Subaru Impreza and it's RS edition (sold in the US because of its huge WRC rally success).... My point is that Subaru is great but its not the end-all be-all of my car world, If I had a simmilar AWD Ford Escort to choose from I might be a bigger Ford fan today. Im sure Ken B. knows what he's gettin into driving in the WRC, time will tell and I'll definitely be watching...
01-06-2010, 04:28 AM
#23
Registered User
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 7,634
Car Info: Some sort of Subaru
All I have to say is good luck to the guy, especially in the WRC because he won't do well. He's not going to get anywhere close to Loeb and Hirvonen. I'll agree with some of you that there's nothing wrong with a Ford.....the ones used for rally anyways. I'd love to drive the Focus RS or an AWD turbo Focus/Fiesta.
01-06-2010, 05:00 AM
#24
Hmm... Focus in WRC, Fiesta in Rally America. Should be interesting.
A little something I posted on another forum when this was just a rumor.
There is potential. If it works it will do amazing things for rallying in the US. If it doesn't, then we're back to square one.
Another thing I would like to point out. I recently discovered ROC (Race Of Champions) which is a race held once a year and it is about the best drivers from around the world competing against each other on a tarmac crossover track with various vehicles including rally cars, buggies, prototypes, and high end sports cars. They do two tournaments, one with teams of drivers representing their countries, and a second where it is the drivers on their own. For 2009 it took place in Bejing in the Olympic Bird's Nest. For USA there were Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust. Together they barely made it to the semi finals for team USA, but ultimately lost to team Germany (Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel) who went on to win the tournament. In the driver's tournament, Pastrana didn't win a single race and Foust won only one race and didn't even make it to the quarter finals. The Final race came down to Michael Schumacher and Mattias Ekstrom. Ekstrom beat Schumacher to win the tournament. I think it is safe to say that Pastrana is a little bit of a better driver than Block and judging by Pastrana's results, it doesn't look good for Block.
TL;DR - Block doesn't stand a chance. It is cool and everything and if it works out, great things can happen, but there is high potential for failure.
A little something I posted on another forum when this was just a rumor.
I hope this is a rumor. If Ken were to team up with ford he would be screwed. It is not easy to switch cars. For example, look at Christian Atkinson. He was an outstanding driver when he was behind the wheel of a Subaru. He tried his hand at the wheel behind a Citroen and he could not for the life of him put down any good runs. I am assuming that IF Ken goes with Ford he will be running a Fiesta and a Fiesta is nothing like a STi. He will not do very well.
As far as getting American drivers in WRC. There aren't any because most US drivers suck compared to European drivers. This includes Ken Block. Yeah he is good, but look at how he is doing in Rally America... He's in 4th place (80 pts) behind Travis Pastrana (American) in 1st (151 pts), Andi Mancin (Polish) in 2nd (97 pts), and Andrew Comrie-Picard (canadian) in 3rd (86 pts).
Now here's the kicker... Travis Pastrana (ranked 1st in Rally America) has actually competed in 2 WRC events. He completed one event and he finished that event in 28th. http://www.rallye-info.com/driverpro...sp?driver=2034 In fact over the history of the WRC there have been 13 American drivers... None of them have ever gotten the podium let alone win a rally.
Ken is a great driver and I have a lot of respect for him. I got to meet him at X-Games 15, he is super cool and I even got to get a picture of me and him. But I just don't see him doing very well in WRC.
As far as getting American drivers in WRC. There aren't any because most US drivers suck compared to European drivers. This includes Ken Block. Yeah he is good, but look at how he is doing in Rally America... He's in 4th place (80 pts) behind Travis Pastrana (American) in 1st (151 pts), Andi Mancin (Polish) in 2nd (97 pts), and Andrew Comrie-Picard (canadian) in 3rd (86 pts).
Now here's the kicker... Travis Pastrana (ranked 1st in Rally America) has actually competed in 2 WRC events. He completed one event and he finished that event in 28th. http://www.rallye-info.com/driverpro...sp?driver=2034 In fact over the history of the WRC there have been 13 American drivers... None of them have ever gotten the podium let alone win a rally.
Ken is a great driver and I have a lot of respect for him. I got to meet him at X-Games 15, he is super cool and I even got to get a picture of me and him. But I just don't see him doing very well in WRC.
Another thing I would like to point out. I recently discovered ROC (Race Of Champions) which is a race held once a year and it is about the best drivers from around the world competing against each other on a tarmac crossover track with various vehicles including rally cars, buggies, prototypes, and high end sports cars. They do two tournaments, one with teams of drivers representing their countries, and a second where it is the drivers on their own. For 2009 it took place in Bejing in the Olympic Bird's Nest. For USA there were Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust. Together they barely made it to the semi finals for team USA, but ultimately lost to team Germany (Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel) who went on to win the tournament. In the driver's tournament, Pastrana didn't win a single race and Foust won only one race and didn't even make it to the quarter finals. The Final race came down to Michael Schumacher and Mattias Ekstrom. Ekstrom beat Schumacher to win the tournament. I think it is safe to say that Pastrana is a little bit of a better driver than Block and judging by Pastrana's results, it doesn't look good for Block.
TL;DR - Block doesn't stand a chance. It is cool and everything and if it works out, great things can happen, but there is high potential for failure.
Last edited by JourdanWithaU; 01-06-2010 at 05:03 AM.
01-06-2010, 07:19 AM
#26
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: San Leandro, CA
Posts: 3,856
Car Info: Forester XTi
I don't see why people are down on him. He is a good driver, the ford is a FANTASTIC car.
Just because he isn't doing it in a subaru (who left WRC remember?). However Not12 you are wrong, the new impreza is right along the lines of the new ford and other cars in its class. The old "GC" body is just that, OLD, its outdated, it needed to come up into the "hot hatch" body it is now.
Remember children, its 2010 not 2000
Just because he isn't doing it in a subaru (who left WRC remember?). However Not12 you are wrong, the new impreza is right along the lines of the new ford and other cars in its class. The old "GC" body is just that, OLD, its outdated, it needed to come up into the "hot hatch" body it is now.
Remember children, its 2010 not 2000
01-06-2010, 07:53 AM
#28
i-Club Sympathizer
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mazda NAO
Posts: 3,165
Car Info: 1969 BMW R75/5 & Work Whip
My feelings regarding his driving have nothing to do with the car he is in. I've been a fan of what Ford Europe has been doing for years. Keep in mind that unlike their Stateside brethren they actually make money and are a relevant car company.
Block will get some press for a while. He'll get a bit of TV coverage at first because of the novelty of an American in WRC. Other than that... not a lot happening there. People in the US don't care about FIA motorsport as much as other forms of racing. It's doubtful he will be near top of the leaderboard for most races to get enough coverage on that merit. International rally drivers almost learn to rally before they can walk. A lot of them do, anyhow.
If he doesn't take Alex I will be very disappointed. I can honestly tell you that I've never met a guy more deserving of a shot at the WRC level. Alex is a HUGE part of Ken's success. Of course no one ever points that out. He's also one of the best humans I know. I'll be rooting for him to hang onto his job in the nav seat.
It will bring more of the moto-x guys into the sport I suppose. At least they've been able to do that. Hey, WRC merch at Pac Sun... who doesn't want that? Hah.
We'll see how it goes, but I don't see it being a big deal for very long. If you ask me, I'd rather see Petter in a Ford.
Block will get some press for a while. He'll get a bit of TV coverage at first because of the novelty of an American in WRC. Other than that... not a lot happening there. People in the US don't care about FIA motorsport as much as other forms of racing. It's doubtful he will be near top of the leaderboard for most races to get enough coverage on that merit. International rally drivers almost learn to rally before they can walk. A lot of them do, anyhow.
If he doesn't take Alex I will be very disappointed. I can honestly tell you that I've never met a guy more deserving of a shot at the WRC level. Alex is a HUGE part of Ken's success. Of course no one ever points that out. He's also one of the best humans I know. I'll be rooting for him to hang onto his job in the nav seat.
It will bring more of the moto-x guys into the sport I suppose. At least they've been able to do that. Hey, WRC merch at Pac Sun... who doesn't want that? Hah.
We'll see how it goes, but I don't see it being a big deal for very long. If you ask me, I'd rather see Petter in a Ford.
01-06-2010, 08:26 AM
#29
VIP Member
iTrader: (18)
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Subabrew Crew
Posts: 7,570
Car Info: Broken Subarus
Travis tried to make the leap to WRC last year and DNF if I recall. He should have to go the same route as everyone else. Many drivers struggle in JWRC for years before they get a seat with the big boys. I believe he's bitten off more than he can chew. He's found his niche with segways and go karts. Stick to what you know.
01-06-2010, 10:22 AM
#30
Registered User
Agreed. If anyone deserves a break it's Solberg.
Last edited by Sandra; 01-06-2010 at 10:26 AM.