Ken Block does Top Gear tonight!
07 July 2009, 12:04 PM
#31
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James May was on Radio 5 yesterday saying that shot took a few goes to get right, implying it wasn't fake 
He said that the RAF were there practicing low level drops or landings as the terrain is similar to Afghanistan.
Steve
He said that the RAF were there practicing low level drops or landings as the terrain is similar to Afghanistan.
Steve
07 July 2009, 12:12 PM
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So one can not pass judgement on people unless we are better in the same field, or I will be accused of being jealous?
If I went in to the sports forum would I find critisism of football players and tennis players?
He may be a good driver, but he is better at generating publicity. Any WRC driver could do what he does.
Do you really think the airfield owner lets him rip between the planes to practise?!?
If I went in to the sports forum would I find critisism of football players and tennis players?
He may be a good driver, but he is better at generating publicity. Any WRC driver could do what he does.
Do you really think the airfield owner lets him rip between the planes to practise?!?
07 July 2009, 12:22 PM
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So one can not pass judgement on people unless we are better in the same field, or I will be accused of being jealous?
If I went in to the sports forum would I find critisism of football players and tennis players?
He may be a good driver, but he is better at generating publicity. Any WRC driver could do what he does.
Do you really think the airfield owner lets him rip between the planes to practise?!?
If I went in to the sports forum would I find critisism of football players and tennis players?
He may be a good driver, but he is better at generating publicity. Any WRC driver could do what he does.
Do you really think the airfield owner lets him rip between the planes to practise?!?
Would you agree that he is a far better business man than yourself?
07 July 2009, 12:30 PM
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Totally agree, watched this last night and KB did not come across as a **** as others above say he is. Fair enough he might act a **** in other interviews but i've not seen them and on TG he wasn't brash like I was expecting from a yank showing off his driving skills.
He may not be a WRC driver but I know i'd like to have just a fraction of the car control he has. Watching some bloke race a rally car at high speed around an airport and in and out of buildings etc will appeal to a lot more people than just those interested in WRC and he has obviously got a niche where he is making lots of apearances and money from his displays. Fair play to the bloke as I don't see anyone else making similar productions with the same amount of promotion/fame.
Those that want to knock him perhaps should become more successful at something than he is with his driving before having a dig.
He may not be a WRC driver but I know i'd like to have just a fraction of the car control he has. Watching some bloke race a rally car at high speed around an airport and in and out of buildings etc will appeal to a lot more people than just those interested in WRC and he has obviously got a niche where he is making lots of apearances and money from his displays. Fair play to the bloke as I don't see anyone else making similar productions with the same amount of promotion/fame.
Those that want to knock him perhaps should become more successful at something than he is with his driving before having a dig.
07 July 2009, 12:33 PM
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Seems like not a bad driver really.
Even if you've never heard of Ken Block, you've likely seen his work. The DC T-shirt skateboarder Danny Way wore when he pulled a backside 360 over the Great Wall of China? Block's. The DC sticker on Travis Pastrana's motorcycle when he performed a double backflip at the X Games? Ditto. Then there's action-sports company DC Shoes. Block is the co-founder. But DC's athletes aren't the only ones standing atop the medal podium. So is Block.
Just four years after taking up rally racing, he's one of the sport's top drivers. He was the Rally America rookie of the year in 2005 and finished second in the overall championship standings in 2006. This year, Block won three of the Rally America series' first four races. Since rally racing was added to the X Games in 2006, Block has won silver and bronze medals.
Related Results
McShea earns X Games spot.
"There's a feeling that comes from driving a rally car in dirt and sliding and jumping the car," he says. "The variety of driving is so much fun, and it's also a huge adrenaline rush."
For those who don't know, a rally is a race from Point A to Point B, as opposed to a circuit on closed roads in modified, street-legal cars. A typical rally is made up of stages that average eight to 10 miles. That may sound short until you consider that the courses are usually on varied terrain (including snow) that is littered with tight turns, jumps, and unforgiving obstacles like trees and cliffs. Each team consists of a driver and a co-driver, whose role is to instruct the driver on the course's obstacles. The cars race one at a time, and the team with the fastest cumulative time, after all the stages is the winner.
Block was introduced to the sport as a kid watching the Pike's Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on television. "I mimicked that style of driving whenever I could get my hands on my parents' keys and would slide their cars around using the hand break," he says with a laugh.
In 2004, Block heard that Pastrana, who had achieved success in freestyle motocross and motocross racing, had competed in rally. Later that year, when DC was in the process of signing Pastrana to its team, Block made sure rallying was included in the sponsorship. "As soon as the deal was signed, I called the company that did the rally team for Subaru in America, Vermont Sportscar, and said, 'I know you're doing some more rallies with Travis, I'd like to go compete with him.'"
Block attended the Team O'Neil Rally School in New Hampshire and started racing on his own dime. He was impressive enough to quickly pick up sponsorships from Subaru Rally Team USA and Monster Energy Drink. "I excel at our high-speed events," he says. "I love the commitment factor of coming into a turn very fast, I work best when I'm driving as fast as I can."
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Occasionally, that *****-to-the-wall approach hasn't paid off, as when Block crashed head-on into a tree at 60 miles per hour during a race in August 2008. But as he says, "if you're not scared, you're not going fast enough."
Block isn't just going fast, he's also going big. To see how big, go to YouTube and type in "rally car." The first video that comes up--with more than six million views--is of Block's jumping his Subaru across a 171-foot gap. He's also done doubles jumps with Pastrana (who backflipped his motorcycle over Block's car) and the DC snowboarding team on the snowy slopes in New Zealand.
If you think these are just the efforts of some bored millionaire with too much space time or an overstimulated adrenaline junkie, think again. 'I'm not in rally to be famous or a celebrity or a world champion," Block says. "I'm doing it for pure love of the sport. I'm putting a lot of effort into it so that when I get in the car, I drive it to its maximum potential." And then some.
Even if you've never heard of Ken Block, you've likely seen his work. The DC T-shirt skateboarder Danny Way wore when he pulled a backside 360 over the Great Wall of China? Block's. The DC sticker on Travis Pastrana's motorcycle when he performed a double backflip at the X Games? Ditto. Then there's action-sports company DC Shoes. Block is the co-founder. But DC's athletes aren't the only ones standing atop the medal podium. So is Block.
Just four years after taking up rally racing, he's one of the sport's top drivers. He was the Rally America rookie of the year in 2005 and finished second in the overall championship standings in 2006. This year, Block won three of the Rally America series' first four races. Since rally racing was added to the X Games in 2006, Block has won silver and bronze medals.
Related Results
McShea earns X Games spot.
"There's a feeling that comes from driving a rally car in dirt and sliding and jumping the car," he says. "The variety of driving is so much fun, and it's also a huge adrenaline rush."
For those who don't know, a rally is a race from Point A to Point B, as opposed to a circuit on closed roads in modified, street-legal cars. A typical rally is made up of stages that average eight to 10 miles. That may sound short until you consider that the courses are usually on varied terrain (including snow) that is littered with tight turns, jumps, and unforgiving obstacles like trees and cliffs. Each team consists of a driver and a co-driver, whose role is to instruct the driver on the course's obstacles. The cars race one at a time, and the team with the fastest cumulative time, after all the stages is the winner.
Block was introduced to the sport as a kid watching the Pike's Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on television. "I mimicked that style of driving whenever I could get my hands on my parents' keys and would slide their cars around using the hand break," he says with a laugh.
In 2004, Block heard that Pastrana, who had achieved success in freestyle motocross and motocross racing, had competed in rally. Later that year, when DC was in the process of signing Pastrana to its team, Block made sure rallying was included in the sponsorship. "As soon as the deal was signed, I called the company that did the rally team for Subaru in America, Vermont Sportscar, and said, 'I know you're doing some more rallies with Travis, I'd like to go compete with him.'"
Block attended the Team O'Neil Rally School in New Hampshire and started racing on his own dime. He was impressive enough to quickly pick up sponsorships from Subaru Rally Team USA and Monster Energy Drink. "I excel at our high-speed events," he says. "I love the commitment factor of coming into a turn very fast, I work best when I'm driving as fast as I can."
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Occasionally, that *****-to-the-wall approach hasn't paid off, as when Block crashed head-on into a tree at 60 miles per hour during a race in August 2008. But as he says, "if you're not scared, you're not going fast enough."
Block isn't just going fast, he's also going big. To see how big, go to YouTube and type in "rally car." The first video that comes up--with more than six million views--is of Block's jumping his Subaru across a 171-foot gap. He's also done doubles jumps with Pastrana (who backflipped his motorcycle over Block's car) and the DC snowboarding team on the snowy slopes in New Zealand.
If you think these are just the efforts of some bored millionaire with too much space time or an overstimulated adrenaline junkie, think again. 'I'm not in rally to be famous or a celebrity or a world champion," Block says. "I'm doing it for pure love of the sport. I'm putting a lot of effort into it so that when I get in the car, I drive it to its maximum potential." And then some.
07 July 2009, 12:34 PM
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07 July 2009, 12:42 PM
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It was a great bit of TV, don't get me wrong.
But, there is no way he would compare to the current crop of WRC drivers. Leob would make him look like a novice.
I'd sugest the relationship with RC had more to do with sposorship than anything else.
But, there is no way he would compare to the current crop of WRC drivers. Leob would make him look like a novice.
I'd sugest the relationship with RC had more to do with sposorship than anything else.
07 July 2009, 12:51 PM
#39
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hes more of a show boat than a race driver. he's good, but in the grand scheme, he's not that good, any driver in the wrc would be quicker.
also most of the stuff he's know for is staged action, rehersed time and time again, not like rally where you have one chance to get it right or it all goes pete tong.
also most of the stuff he's know for is staged action, rehersed time and time again, not like rally where you have one chance to get it right or it all goes pete tong.
07 July 2009, 12:53 PM
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He makes most driver's in the WRC today look decidedly average.
07 July 2009, 01:01 PM
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That is exactly its purpose though, great entertainment from somebody who can drive better than Joe Average to a audience who get to see a car driven extremely hard in different surroundings.
07 July 2009, 01:24 PM
#43
Wether or not you think his racing credentials are up there with the best of them, you can't deny that he does possess a fantastic level of driving skill, and that according to my 6 and 8 year old (Non-car fanatics)- "That was amazing!".
I'm sure you won't argue that it was a very entertaining article with fantastic sound and cinematography
.
Oh, and I'm glad he never really got a chance to say very much, or maybe that was just good editing?
For anyone that missed it:
YouTube - Ken Block on Top Gear - HQ - FULL VIDEO
I'm sure you won't argue that it was a very entertaining article with fantastic sound and cinematography
. Oh, and I'm glad he never really got a chance to say very much, or maybe that was just good editing?
For anyone that missed it:
YouTube - Ken Block on Top Gear - HQ - FULL VIDEO
07 July 2009, 01:27 PM
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Wether or not you think his racing credentials are up there with the best of them, you can't deny that he does possess a fantastic level of driving skill, and that according to my 6 and 8 year old (Non-car fanatics)- "That was amazing!".
I'm sure you won't argue that it was a very entertaining article with fantastic sound and cinematography.
Oh, and I'm glad he never really got a chance to say very much, or maybe that was just good editing?
For anyone that missed it:
YouTube - Ken Block on Top Gear - HQ - FULL VIDEO
I'm sure you won't argue that it was a very entertaining article with fantastic sound and cinematography
. Oh, and I'm glad he never really got a chance to say very much, or maybe that was just good editing?
For anyone that missed it:
YouTube - Ken Block on Top Gear - HQ - FULL VIDEO
07 July 2009, 01:34 PM
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To all those that keep banging on about how the WRC guys would wipe the floor with him? Who cares? Did Loeb or any of the rest of them provide us with 10 mins of entertaining TV on TG on Sunday night? No! 
Would my missus and two daughters ( 10 and 6 ) sit and watch 10 minutes of a guy in a funny looking car racing round a forest? Nope. Did they watch Block? Yes. Where they impressed? Yes, very. So impressed we watched it twice, and my youngest wants me to buy a car just like that one.
Give the guy a break FFS.
As someone happy to admit to being an average driver, the guy is a God.
Would my missus and two daughters ( 10 and 6 ) sit and watch 10 minutes of a guy in a funny looking car racing round a forest? Nope. Did they watch Block? Yes. Where they impressed? Yes, very. So impressed we watched it twice, and my youngest wants me to buy a car just like that one.
Give the guy a break FFS.
As someone happy to admit to being an average driver, the guy is a God.
07 July 2009, 01:35 PM
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Rossi with all his skill on bikes and cars could be an incredible showman if he did similar shows but he hasn't and doubt he will. No one could go and out and do it now without basically ripping off KB's ideas.
07 July 2009, 01:37 PM
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i was amazed at his ability having never seen him before. dont know what he is like as a person but that was some amazing driving. if i had half the skill i would be more than happy
.
as for the camera work, top marks to the bbc team. loved the bit where the plane was coming the other way as the car and the bike were jumping the yump.
. as for the camera work, top marks to the bbc team. loved the bit where the plane was coming the other way as the car and the bike were jumping the yump.
07 July 2009, 06:56 PM
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BRILLIANT - looks amazing!!!!! I cant see the join!
Should have added the plane shadow if they knew you were going to freeze frame it though! But that would have cost an extra few hundrerd quid in the edit - why bother!
Top shot
D
Should have added the plane shadow if they knew you were going to freeze frame it though! But that would have cost an extra few hundrerd quid in the edit - why bother!
Top shot
D
07 July 2009, 07:10 PM
#52
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I enjoyed it, not as much as my 4 year old son who was almost pissing his pants with excitement.
I would have enjoyed it more if he was using a proper Impreza, and James was strapped to a roofrack of the car, rather than strapped in it.
I find TG entertaining, whatever they do, strangely I dont see it solely as a car show.
I would have enjoyed it more if he was using a proper Impreza, and James was strapped to a roofrack of the car, rather than strapped in it.
I find TG entertaining, whatever they do, strangely I dont see it solely as a car show.
07 July 2009, 07:52 PM
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The guy is a genius - he gets to do what he loves in fantastic cars. For that alone he is a winner.
I must admit I preferred the original Gymkhana video - however the TG film is another great example of the marketing skill of Block and his team. Now he has an even BIGGER audience!
I must admit I preferred the original Gymkhana video - however the TG film is another great example of the marketing skill of Block and his team. Now he has an even BIGGER audience!
07 July 2009, 08:30 PM
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07 July 2009, 09:24 PM
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D
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