Ken Block Gymkhana Practice Video

[Pete Loney]

Pretty sick skillz IMHO .....

Maybe we should inlcude the buildings in one of our courses too at El Toro ??? Maybe ?? }:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs-jAImScms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Steve Ekstrand]

Are there points in a gymkhana??? Because nearly all of his driving is a drift display. Even in the tight car placement and rotation requirements of a gymkhana he isn't close to doing it as quickly as possible, just with as much tire destruction. Looks like fun and certainly shows a great deal of car control, but does that in any way resemble the "sport" of gymkhana?

[Bob Pl]

Segway driver had skillz 2.

[Mike Simanyi]

He hates his tires!

He hates his rear bumper!

And he's rather miffed by the Segway on his turf.

[Michael Palero]

I'm angry this is labeled a gymkhana video.

To answer your question Steve, no.

If you guys remember, Ken Block PAXed 29 out of 75 at the last TeamBlew Subaru of America event.
I hated how people kept making excuses for their idol.

Results:
http://ploney.shackspace.com/download/t ... esults.pdf

1T 212 Jeff Mayes Subaru 64.242
2T 949 Ron Flaherty 06 STI 64.339
3T 271 Adrian Barnes 04 Subaru Wrx Sti 64.369
4 666 Ken Block 08 WRX STI 64.868

1T 965 Tom Denham WRX 64.124

1T 61 James Wilson 98 Subaru Impreza L 63.658

[Pete Loney]

More background......
and the article in 0-60...

http://www.0-60mag.com/online/?p=5670" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


We know Ken Block well. He’s that guy who jumps things in rally cars. After his 171-foot leap of insanity and his snow antics down under, we made him well aware that it would be hard to impress us from this point forward without adding fire…lots of fire. So upon watching this new clip, where Ken rips around El Toro airfield in his Gymkhana car (featured in 0-60 Spring 2008), we were at first disappointed to see all this smoke, but no fire. Then we noticed the guy on the Segway, and while Segways themselves are rather lame, the possiblity of crushing someone riding one is actually a lot cooler than fire. So once again KB, we applaud your efforts and nominate you for Hoon of the year.

Read below for what our man Block had to say about his display and make sure to not only check the video here, but the rest of what Ken has on his site.


1) What was the inspiration behind the concept of the video?

I built this amazing Subaru STI specifically for gymkhana events, but I rarely get time to drive it. So, I had a few spare days in September and decided to rent the El Toro Airfield (in So. Cal) and do some practice and further testing and setup of the car. I brought along the guys from Mad Media (they film at our Rally America races for Subaru) to make a video clip of what I did with the car over those two days. Basically, I set up a fun gymkhana-like course around the airfield and we shot it all to make a video clip for DC.

2) First let’s talk about your car. What have you done to this STI to allow you to drive it like you do?


The major mods are engine performance (tuned by Crawford Performance) and tires/suspension. The car puts out 530WHP and runs on BFG tires and Tein suspension. The setup is really key…the power delivery needs to be powerful yet smooth and the suspension and tire combo needs to be well balanced and not too stiff to let the car move around and be a bit looser than your typical tarmac track setup.

3) Your driving style seems to be a mixture of rally, gymkhana and drifting, explain the difference and similarities between the three and there unique use.

The reason I love gymkhana type courses is that it takes a mix of driving styles to get thru them. I love tarmac rallies, but I rarely get to race them (I have only raced 1 in my whole rally career) and I am always looking to get more seat time and practice in this type of driving. A course like this requires that a driver use the best of their tarmac driving skills (a mix of rally and drifting skills) to get the best lap time.

4) How long did it take to film this segment?

It took two days. There was some down time for shot setups, tire rotation and remounting, plus some time for repairs (I hit a few things).


5) What inspired the use of the Segway?

Doing “donuts” in a car has been around for a long time. AWD cars can do them very well…like a spinning-top. But, that’s a bit basic—as far as driving skills go—so I wanted to try and test my donut skills by using a moving object. So, the best thing I could come up with was a filmer on a drivable barstool. But, we couldn’t find one of those barstools in time so we resorted to the Segway.

6) Were there any Segway casualties?

No! We had a couple of close calls, but nothing serious. And, it only took a few takes to get that one great shot that’s in the clip. Thanks to Josh Martelli (Segway driver and Director of the clip) for stepping up and getting on that thing, and letting me attempt to scrape my front bumper on the side of a moving Segway!


7) So what’s next, when will you add jumps into this spectacular hoon display?

No jumps…well, not yet! But, I would love to do a whole set-up competition (gymkhana on steroids) like this someday. This type of driving and course was really fun and could make a great way to test a group of driver’s skills against each other.

[Earl Merz]

lets see him drive that car around this gymkhana course

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHgjFPhhzY8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Steve Ekstrand]

Obviously, this is a drift exhibition.

The knock on Ken Block is that he avoids direct comparison.

By drifting at a gymkhana or an autocross, we're impressed, because he's a pro driver in an insane car. But we don't have the opportunity to see Tom Berry put a hurting on his times, because we know he wasn't running for time.

I'm sure he could be fast. But he won't let us see him under the microscope. Too bad. I know professional drifters. Seen it. Like it. But I respect time more. When he was out at the Team Blew event, I would have been much more impressed by seeing how fast a time he could wring out of that beast, not how much rubber he could waste.

[Kurt Rahn]

Hey, he's using the same tires as me. Cool!

Hey, wait a minute...he's trying NOT to get traction. Note to self: maybe time to get a set of Direzza Star Specs.

[James Wilson]

I'm angry this is labeled a gymkhana video.

To answer your question Steve, no.

If you guys remember, Ken Block PAXed 29 out of 75 at the last TeamBlew Subaru of America event.
I hated how people kept making excuses for their idol.

Results:
http://ploney.shackspace.com/download/t ... esults.pdf

1T 212 Jeff Mayes Subaru 64.242
2T 949 Ron Flaherty 06 STI 64.339
3T 271 Adrian Barnes 04 Subaru Wrx Sti 64.369
4 666 Ken Block 08 WRX STI 64.868

1T 965 Tom Denham WRX 64.124

1T 61 James Wilson 98 Subaru Impreza L 63.658

James Wilson > Ken Block?? Printing screen capture and framing in office.

[Thomas Smith]

The knock on Ken Block is that he avoids direct comparison.

Perhaps thats true in Gymkana or Autocross but his primary sport is rally where he does well.

[Pete Loney]

I'm angry this is labeled a gymkhana video.

To answer your question Steve, no.

If you guys remember, Ken Block PAXed 29 out of 75 at the last TeamBlew Subaru of America event.
I hated how people kept making excuses for their idol.

Results:
http://ploney.shackspace.com/download/t ... esults.pdf

1T 212 Jeff Mayes Subaru 64.242
2T 949 Ron Flaherty 06 STI 64.339
3T 271 Adrian Barnes 04 Subaru Wrx Sti 64.369
4 666 Ken Block 08 WRX STI 64.868

1T 965 Tom Denham WRX 64.124

1T 61 James Wilson 98 Subaru Impreza L 63.658

James Wilson > Ken Block?? Printing screen capture and framing in office.

Let me burst your bubble a little James. ;)

Ken was not driving on R Comps James....
And, trust me, the 08 STI OE tires do not compare to Z1's AT ALL either.

[Richard Jung]

Yeah, but where did he Pax in his 500hp DC STI on street tires compared to STU? ;) Mike and Max were fast that day.

[Max Hayter]

Yeah, but where did he Pax in his 500hp DC STI on street tires compared to STU? ;) Mike and Max were fast that day.

The money I won from that event helped pay for the clutch that Aaron destroyed last year

[Sebastian Rios]

How come when he rents El Toro, he can go tearing around wherever he wants?

[Jeff Shyu]

How come when he rents El Toro, he can go tearing around wherever he wants?

seriously, i was wondering about that on the video.

what kind of waver did they have to sign for that?!

[Jason Isley BS RX8]

How come when he rents El Toro, he can go tearing around wherever he wants?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Pete Loney]

How come when he rents El Toro, he can go tearing around wherever he wants?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

He He , the Building replacement clause he had to sign was probably interesting to read.

This corner entry angle is SICK!!

[Aaron Goldsmith]

Coarse there is the real chance they just didn't ask anyone.. in that case we should all hope no one from the Irvine company sees that video. The knee jerk reaction would probably be bad for us.

[Michael Palero]

Here is the 'warm up lap' he took after competition runs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLAuGBaLYU&NR=1

[Sebastian Rios]

DNF

[Jason Flores]

BLOCK eat ur heart out!!!

here is Colin on RALLY Tires and Suspension...try that!!!

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=KIn31bvhGLo

[Sebastian Rios]

Sigh...Why Subaru no good rally car anymore?

[Ethan West]

Hmm... I think I should sneak in next time Ken Block rents El Toro.