06 Mar 12

From the
archives:
Block makes
WRC debut

Ken Block was a World Rally Championship rookie when he tackled Rally Guanajuato Mexico in 2007. And it would prove to be a tough initiation for the Gymkhana internet legend as this trip into the Wrc.com archives reveals.

Armed only with experience of the Rally America National Championship, Block was always going to face a tall order if he were to threaten the Group N frontrunners in his Subaru Rally Team USA Impreza WRX.

What he hadn’t bargained on was the dramatic start he and co-driver Alex Gelsomino would make to the Leon-based event when they rolled on the very first stage after picking up a front-left puncture.

Their return under restart regulations on day two resulted in more frustration when they had to stop to change a puncture on stage 10. Nevertheless they eventually made it to the finish in 28th overall and 16th in the N4 division.

“It’s been a rough weekend for me,” said Block whose then team-mate Travis Pastrana finished an impressive sixth in the Production Car World Rally Championship section of the event.

Block has made two appearances in Mexico subsequently, in 2010 in a Monster World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC, when he finished 18th, and last year when he drove a Monster-backed Fiesta RS WRC to 12th overall after early delays due to mechanical problems.