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FORD TEAMS UP WITH RALLY CAR DRIVER KEN BLOCK FOR GLOBAL MOTORSPORTS
DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 6, 2010 – Ford Motor Company announced today that it is teaming up with Ken Block, the California-based action sports icon-turned-rally driver, for future global motorsports opportunities.
Block, the 2005 Rally America Rookie of the Year and a three-time medalist at X Games, has cultivated a tremendous following with his Gymkhana videos on YouTube. In 2010, Block will campaign a Ford Focus in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and a Ford Fiesta in Rally America and X Games.
"I am stoked to be rallying in a Ford. They are an impressive force in the sport," said Ken Block. "From the days of the 1970s Escorts to the Group B RS200 to the modern-day Focus and now the Fiesta, Ford just does an excellent job at rally and I couldn't be happier to now be part of this amazing heritage. Not to mention my dad would be proud. He was a dedicated Ford guy."
"Ken Block has established himself as an action sports competitor and a rising star in the world of American rally racing," said Jamie Allison, director Ford North America Motorsports. "We are excited to have him on our team to help promote our new global products, the 2011 Ford Fiesta and 2012 Ford Focus."
Rallying is a crucial part of Ford's global motorsports strategy and provides the company with the opportunity to showcase the true performance capabilities of Ford's products. Since its support of rallying began, Ford has won three WRC titles and 73 individual events. And, last year in North America, Ford's participation in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and X Games 15 were key elements for the launch of the Ford Fiesta for the U.S.
"Thanks to our participation in WRC, rallying has always played a key role in Ford's global motorsports programs," said Allison. "Ford is the only manufacturer that could provide Ken with global rally opportunities."
"We're delighted that Ken Block has chosen to team up with Ford to develop his rallying activities beyond America and into the global arena," said Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe's senior motorsports manager. "Ford and its U.K.-based rally partner, M-Sport, is looking forward to welcoming Ken to the wider team of talented rally drivers using Ford vehicles to compete in this demanding sport at the highest level internationally."
Send an email to Matt Hardigree, the author of this post, at matt@jalopnik.com.
Normally I would be mad about this, but really with subaru being retarded and dropping the WRC, I'm hoping block does well.
Man that guy can drive. This should be a pretty good move too. Hopefully it'll bring more attention back to the focus.
Truth be told Pastrana really ate up Block in the RA events. Pastrana refused to go to the WRC, because he wants to make rally bigger in the states. I would have been a lot more interested if Pastrana jumped on board. Now he would have a much better shot in the WRC IMHO. None the less, Ford made a very wise decision by picking up Block. Now if they could just get their shit together and bring over the Focus RS or an AWD turbo compact I'd be jumping on the bandwagon.
Good to see Ford signing Block...if only WRC events were still available on basic cable here in the States, we could actually see the events! Logging onto the WRC website is a poor substitute for the days when I could tune in on Speed.
I think its a dumb move to sign Block for WRC, against the scandinavians he has no chance, and as for ford being in WRC, everyone dropped wrc because 6-7 years ago it was competitive and fun is group N. now in the WRC class its all about money just like F1 and its not practical for alot of car makers to be competitive, subaru and mitsu still back plenty of Works cars that run in the Group N class, the class where the greats such as Makinen, Mcrae, Burns, Loeb, and Sainz and alot of the manufacturers are splitting off into the new rally series,(forgot name at moment) but its much more group N based like WRC used too be when you could practically buy the car you saw on tv...my 2 cents
It's official. The amazingly talented 
