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Ken Block returns to roots with Subaru

 

Park City, UT / April 22, 2021: With free rein to race in 2021 with any manufacturer of his choosing, Ken Block and Hoonigan Racing Division are announcing a wild year in some of the world’s finest gravel slingers: from an open class Subaru STi, to a safari-spec Porsche 911, to Block’s first ever race in a Trophy Truck… and that’s just the beginning. Block is also announcing that he will be creating and driving in a wild evolution of the viral Gymkhana film series this year, as well as announcing more manufacturer partnerships soon.

“This is going to be a wild year! I’m stoked to be back in a Subaru racing rally in America,” said Block. “And now that I’m not exclusively tied to just one manufacturer, I can go do things like race a Porsche, built by Tuthill Porsche, in Africa and take on the infamous Baja 1000 in a Trophy Truck - both of which I’ll be doing for the first time ever!”

In the latest episode on his YouTube channel, Block reveals that he will be campaigning a Vermont SportsCar prepped 2021 Subaru WRX STi for the remainder of the 2021 American Rally Association (ARA) championship calendar. Although he will be in the same spec car as factory Subaru drivers Travis Pastrana & Brandon Semenuk, Block is running his own race team and livery. The Subaru’s livery - revealed today - is the first automotive application of his recently announced project with street artist It’s A Living and The Hoonigans. 

The team’s upcoming race at the Olympus Rally marks the first time Block is racing a Subaru since 2009. When asked how he felt about the homecoming, Block replied “It’s great to be working with Vermont SportsCar again. I was really impressed with their latest WRX STi after testing it the day after I finished 2nd in The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.” Block’s history with the brand runs deep: he began his career by racing a Subaru, winning his first national rally with them in 2006, earned multiple X Games medals in a STi, as well as setting a world record with a 171ft jump for the TV show Stunt Junkies. And of course, Block kicked off the first two videos of the award-winning Gymkhana series from behind the wheel of a Subaru. 

Block is eager to compete for the 2021 the ARA championship, after an 8 year absence from running a full season of stage rally. His last full season of the championship ended violently, in a battle that came down to the wire at the final round at LSPR in 2013. A rollover at 94mph took away what otherwise could have been the win to secure Block’s championship win. Reference link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaNrSm2ROu0 

Due to scheduling conflicts, Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino will undergo a tricky rally season this year, racing only 7 of the 9 events on the calendar.  “I’m definitely the underdog this season.” said Block. “This is a completely new car for me, and Travis Pastrana has already won the first two events of the year, in a race car he’s been racing for a few years now. So, Alex and I have our work cut out for us! I have to quickly get comfortable in an all-new car and battle against a very talented driver that already has two wins this season! But, that’s racing. We’re going to give it our all.”

Later in the year is when things get really interesting for Block. In early November, Block is set to pilot a Tuthill Porsche built air-cooled Porsche 911 for the East African Safari Classic Rally.  Spanning 10 days and nearly 5000 km on Kenya’s tough gravel roads, it’s often regarded as the world's greatest classic rally.  

The day after the East African rally is scheduled to end, Block will head straight to Baja, Mexico to start the pre-run of the Baja 1000, then buckle into a Trophy Truck for his first ever attempt at the legendary off-road race. He seeks to answer the question: “Can a rally driver translate his skills directly to the world of off-road truck racing?” For the event, he’s teaming up with 16-year-old Jax Redline, an up and coming off-road racer who just took 5th overall at last weekend’s San Felipe 250. “Jax is one of the young and very talented drivers in the sport and I am stoked to be partnered with him in this big effort to go take on one of the biggest off-road races in the world!” said Block

And because no year is complete without a family-sized serving of hoonage, Block is set to star in the next chapter of his award-winning Gymkhana franchise - launching this year! When asked about the details of the film, Block replied “It’s all a big secret at this point. But, there will be a lot more info on this - along with a new manufacturer partnership - which will be announced very soon. I am very excited about this one! We will be pushing the levels of film and automotive technology in ways we have never done before.” 

In retrospect, Block put together a string of amazing drives across the globe last year - despite a pandemic tearing 2020’s schedule apart. Taking wins at Rally Barbados, Rally Legend in San Marino, and at the inaugural Projekt - E race in Sweden, as well as 2nd overall for ARA’s Southern Ohio Forest Rally, and even hammering the Saudi desert in Extreme E - setting a time that would have been 3rd fastest in the last stage of that epic rally. It was a big year for Block and Hoonigan Racing, and 2021 looks to be even bigger.
 

KEN BLOCK’S 2021 SCHEDULE 

ARA Championship:
Olympus Rally April 24-25 
Southern Ohio Forest Rally June 11-12
New England Forest Rally July 30-31 
Ojibwe Forest Rally August 27-28
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally September 17-18 
Lake Superior Performance Rally October 15-16

East Africa Safari Classic Rally: November 1-9
SCORE Baja 1000: November 15-20

Ken Block Attempts an 8th Win at The Rally in The 100 Acre Wood

KEN BLOCK CLAIMS 2ND OVERALL IN HIS AMERICAS RALLYCROSS DEBUT

AUSTIN, TX, JULY 16, 2018: In his first outing of 2018 in his Ford Focus RS RX rallycross car and his debut in the Americas Rallycross Championship, this past weekend, Ken Block overcame a series of technical challenges throughout the race day yesterday and placed himself and his Focus squarely on the podium, landing his best rallycross finish in the last three seasons with a 2nd overall and kicking off his return to racing rallycross in America in a big way.

During his qualifying races throughout the day on Saturday, Block finished first in his Q1 race, first in his Q2 race, third in his Q3 race and second in his Q4 race, leaving him sitting in 3rd overall in Qualifying going into his Semi-Final—which, due to some unfortunate contact from elsewhere in the field, found Block finishing in 2nd and setting him up for P3 on the starting grid of the Final. From that starting position, Block advanced to P2 by turn 1 and held that position for the entirety of the Final.

“Today was a challenge for sure,” said Block. “We had some technical issues with the suspension on both my car and on Steve’s [Arpin] car, which made it hard to keep the pace we needed to be competitive out there, but, Steve’s Loenbro Motorsports team did a great job getting the cars repaired and out there and kept us competitive. It definitely felt great to be back racing rallycross in American and I’m stoked that I’m heading home with a 2nd overall from Austin. I’m looking forward to Canada in a few weeks, that’s a fun track that suits our cars well and I’ve got two seasons of experience running it from my time in World RX, so I’m hoping for another positive result up there.”

Block’s Hoonigan teammate, Steve Arpin, qualified 5th overall but suffered a mechanical failure in his rear suspension in the Semi-Final and was unable to advance to the Final.

Both Block and Arpin will be competing in their Ford Focus RS RX’s in a few weeks during ARX’s third round of the season, taking place August 4th and 5th at Trois-Rivieres in Canada.

In the interim, Block is competing in the New England Forest Rally next weekend in his 90’s Ford Escort RS Cossie Group A/WRC car.

Ken Block and Ford Racing to bring the RS badge to Fia World Rallycross

 

 

DEARBORN, Mich., March 2, 2016 – Ford’s RS competition legacy continues this season for a new generation of motorsports fans. 

Teased at the conclusion of Ken Block’s Gymkhana EIGHT released earlier this week, Ford Performance confirms Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division team will field two factory-supported 2016 Ford Focus RS race cars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

“RS is a worldwide brand with a rich heritage that motorsports enthusiasts know and love,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “Our RS badge has a natural connection to racing, and we have a passionate, dedicated team on the project. We’re excited to honor the history of Rallye Sport by pushing every aspect of performance and design to the limit.” 

For more than 50 years, Ford Performance’s Rallye Sport badge has been reserved for racing and production vehicles that push the limits of performance and innovation. Known for aggressive design and pioneering technology, Ford vehicles wearing the RS badge have seen success for decades in stage rally series including winning participation in FIA World Rally Championship with drivers like Björn Waldegård, Marcus Grönholm, Mikko Hirvonen and Colin McRae. 

The Focus RS build is a global collaboration between Ford Performance, Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division and U.K.-based M-Sport. Featuring all-wheel drive, a new EcoBoost® engine producing 600 horsepower, and a 0-60-mph launch time of less than two seconds, Ford Focus RS Rallycross cars are optimized for competition. 

Mark Rushbrook, motorsports engineering manager, Ford Performance, says the intention has been to develop a Rallycross car that lives up to the RS badge. 

“We’ve dedicated the same level of cutting-edge tools, technical resources and engineering know-how from our Le Mans GT and NASCAR programs, and working with M-Sport brings renowned expertise in rallycross and stage rally vehicle development,” said Rushbrook. “Ken, Andreas Bakkerud and Hoonigan Racing give us insight from the competition and driver perspectives. Our three organizations have a great working relationship, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the Focus RS in action.” 

"I'm really happy to be expanding my relationship with Ford Performance," said Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block. "To have official factory support for my race season in 2016 and beyond as I enter the FIA World Rallycross Championship full-time is absolutely incredible. It opens up a ton of powerful resources that myself and my team will be able to benefit from in terms of engineering prowess, research, development and racing experience from different fields. Plus, have you seen the car that they've created for me to go race in? My mind was blown when they showed it to me in Dearborn a few months ago. I absolutely cannot wait to get behind the wheel and start testing." 

Malcolm Wilson, OBE, managing director for M-Sport, believes that together, they’ve produced a very special race car. “Working closely with our colleagues at Ford Performance and Hoonigan Racing Division, a huge amount of work has gone into this project,” he said. “It’s been an extremely exciting, rewarding venture – one we hope yields considerable success. I’m confident we have a winning formula for the season ahead.” 

A Ford driven by Ford-Autocraft employee Brian Melia was at the birth of rallycross in February 1967 – his Lotus Cortina finishing second in the Lydden Hill event created especially for ITV’s “World of Sport”. The BBC adopted rallycross later that year and the sport’s future was assured, with the first British Rallycross Championship won by Tony Chappell in a factory-prepared Ford Escort Twin Cam in 1968. 

The Focus RS Rallycross cars will debut at the FIA World Rallycross event in Portugal, April 15-17, with Block and Bakkerud behind the wheel. The global 12-race series takes place in 11 countries on three continents. 

 

 

 

Ken Block Doesn’t often Go To Missouri, But When he Does, Locals Ask Him for Directions!

 February 18th, 2014, Park City, UT:  After their horrific wreck at final round of the 2013 Rally America Championship, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino are back in the rally car  this morning for two days of testing in preparation for The 100 Acre Wood Rally, one of the two rounds that the team will compete in this year. The car has been fully rebuilt and the Hoonigan Racing team are also debuting their new  2014 livery, the team also 

announced Blocks full race schedule for the year, making him one of the busiest drivers in Rally..

 “I’m stoked with how the new liveries for my Ford Fiestas have turned out, as well as the race schedule we’ve been able to put together for 2014,” said Block. “Once again I’ve been fortunate enough to put together a highly diverse schedule that has me going around the world. I’m competing in the full Global RallyCross Championship, doing a handful of Rally America events, competing in a WRC round in Spain, doing the Monza Rally Sprint for the first time ever with Valentino Rossi as a teammate, returning to the Monster Energy Gymkhana GRID finale in Madrid, heading back to Japan to do more Gymkhana demos and, most interestingly, racing in three of the World RallyCross Championship rounds for the first time ever. I’m pretty sure nobody has a better job than me this year!”

 

 

In addition to having an action-packed year planned, Block has once again reinvented his race look for the 2014 season with a graphics package that will be incorporated across a full line of signature product including apparel from Hoonigan, sunglasses from SPY and RC cars from HPI.

“Every year I’m challenged with outdoing my livery from the season before,” said Block. “Luckily, I think we were able to do it once again. This year’s livery mixes animal pattern and 8-bit, which I love. We’ve come up with a sort of digital zebra graphic that I think is awesome and also brings me back into that familiar black and white color scheme I had starting back in 2010. I think the fans are going to enjoy this look.”

 

To catch Block and his all-new livery in action, be sure to follow along this coming weekend as he takes part in Rally America’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, where Block will be looking to reignite his winning streak for that event.

Block’s 2014 schedule:

 

Global RallyCross Championship:

• -    GRC Barbados: 5/18/14
• -    GRC X Games Austin: 6/17/14
• -    GRC Washington D.C.: 6/22/14
• -    GRC New York: 7/20/14
• -    GRC Charlotte: 7/26/14
• -    GRC Detroit: 8/3/14
• -    GRC Daytona: 8/23/14
• -    GRC Los Angeles: 9/20/14
• -    GRC Seattle: 9/27/14
• -    GRC Las Vegas: 11/5/14

 

Stage Rally:

• -    Rally America Rally in the 100 Acre Wood: 2/21-22
• -    Rally America Suesquehannock Trail Performance Rally: 5/30-31
• -    WRC Spain: 10/24-26
• -    Monza Rally Show: 11/22-24

 

World RallyCross Championship:

• -    WRxC Norway: 6/14-15
• -    WRxC France: 9/6-7
• -    WRxC Turkey: 10/11-12

 

Gymkhana demos:

• -    Japan: 7/5-6
• -    Gymkhana GRID, Madrid: 11/1-2

Source: Hoonigan Racing

Ken Block "The Fastest, The Biggest Wreck That I've Ever Had In My Career"

February 17th, 2014 Park City, UT: 2013 was a hugely successful race season for Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block, a driver who happened to have the most diverse and interesting racing schedule of last year.
Now, in preparation for the start of his 2014 race season, Block has released a video that shows and explains how he ended up 2nd overall in the Rally America Championship, after his chase at the title came to an abrupt, and brutal, end back in October at the final event, the Lake Superior Performance Rally.

Due to two simple letters (“in”) missing in his pace notes on one of the final stages of the event, Block and Gelsomino ended up cart wheeling down one of the final stages of the season, end over end, before coming to a stop against a tree.

The missing “in” allowed Block to go slightly wide around a very safe looking corner where his rear wheel went into the weeds and got caught up on a small clump of dirt, sending the Ford Fiesta HFHV into the air. While the crash was violent, the pair were fortunate to walk away from the championship-ending incident with minimal injury.

“This video is a tough one for me to watch,” said Block. “On the one hand, I’m proud of the fact that even after going through such a brutal crash, my first instinct was to try and get the car started again and press on. On the other, I’m still bummed that we were so close to winning the championship and that we lost it in such a spectacular fashion.

At the end of the day though, I’m grateful that the car did the job it was supposed to do and that I get to continue racing.” Block and Gelsomino’s run at the Rally America championship will have to wait another year however.

While the duo will be making their first competitive appearance of 2014 together at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri—an event they’ve won six times previously—they’re unable to contest the entire season due to schedule conflicts with other race events. For details on Block’s race schedule for 2014, as well as seeing the debut of his all-new livery, stay tuned, as he’ll be dropping both on February 17th.

Source ; Hoonigan Racing

Heikkinen Takes Gold to Clinch The 2013 GRC Championship for Ford at Summer XGAMES .

Fans come to their feet for the start of the Supercar final  at the House of Drift, this was the first time back to Irwindale for the GRC since 2012.

 Los Angeles, August 4, 2013. The dominance of Toomas Heikkinen in the 2013 Global RallyCross [GRC] continued this weekend at the 2013 Summer XGames. Despite getting momentarily caught up in the first turn mayhem, Topi basically checked out with his #57 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST  and drove a flawless race to his forth consecutive GRC victory while also collecting a forth XGAMES medal in 2013.

GRC is finally looking a lot like real RallyCross, the track layout at Irwindale speedway was less focused on a big jump but more on a track that tightened in all the right places, creating some great door to door racing and passing in the dirt sections.

The Final got off to a roaring start with an overzealous Sverre Isachsen jumping the start, for which he was black flagged for, but the jump start seen Isachsen leading into the first turn, and he was out in front avoiding the mayhem that unraveled behind him. All hell broke loose behind Isachsen, watching it live it was and still is hard to cast blame on any one driver.  You can decide for yourself with the unlimited rewinds available on YouTube.


 How we see it, Ken Block gets into a big drift around turn one, Ken and Topi come together for a few seconds, Ken then comes down the track and collides with fellow Monster Energy driver Liam Doran in the Mini, who was coming up on the inside line. At this point there seems to be little if any damage to the cars, just some tight racing and rubbing.

 It seemed like Liam Doran then turned right into Block, retaliation for the earlier contact? well things just unraveled from there. Block spins in front of Doran, Heikkinen barges into Block helping to spin him around.  Brain Deegan also gets caught up in the pileup and retires. Patrik Sandell tries to slip up the inside and ends up going crashing into the water barriers.  

Somehow Toomas Heikkinen slips through virtually unharmed into the first hairpin, Tanner Foust is alongside his door, with Travis Pastrana kissing his rear bumper. Block gets the RX43 re fired but has a rear flat and some heavy rear suspension damage. Always the showman, Block does a few laps burning the tires off the car for the fans before pulling off the track, thus ending a very disappointing XGAMES for HooniganRacing.

Subaru’s Sverre Isachsen went all out on the first lap, knowing full well he had to open a gap to negate the impact of his stop and go penalty. Sverre is passed by Heikkinen, Foust and Travis Pastrana while he sits in the penalty box.

Tanner sets his sights on Heikkinen while Sverre went to work on chasing down Pastrana for third, or more important, the XGames bronze medal.

It may have taken Vermont Sports Car a few races to get their car up to speed, but they definitely had Isachen’s STI dialed in for XGAMES. It only took Sverre one lap to reel in the Red Bull Dodge of Pastrana, his Puma sponsored Subaru sailed past Travis in the dirt section on the 3^rd lap.

Subaru is not alone in their frustration in tracking down the Ford Mafia in 2013, Travis Pastranan’s Dodge team has yet to podium in 2013. Bryce Menzies did not make the final after putting his Dodge in the wall in the LCQ. The Dodge Dart seems big and cumbersome compared to the high energy Fiesta’s, , , Travis also seemed to have no answer for the Subaru as it sailed past, Pastrana’s hopes for a podium and a medal faded to grey in the early laps.

Scott Speed would also put his Fiesta into the wall in the final allowing Rhys Millen to move into 5^th behind Pastrana, this was Millen only showing in GRC in 2013 as Hyundai pulled out of rallycross at the end of 2012.

Off the front it was all Heikkinen, the Flying Finn barely put a tire wrong as the laps clicked down, Tanner Foust closed the gap on several occasions, but it was like Heikkinen was just toying with Foust as he seemed to be able to pull away at will.

Tomas Heikkinen  center flanked by Tanner Foust, [left] and Sverre Isachsen as they celebrate their victories at Summer XGAMES 2013.

 In the end it was all Heikkinen in the BlueBeam/ Fordracing Fiesta ST, Tanner Foust who’s Fiesta is also prepared in the same OlsbergsMSE shop in CA, slides through in second for the Silver.” It’s cool! It’s cool to have a lot of points” proclaimed Heikkinen as he stood on the roof of his Fiesta at the finish line, “Still we’re leading, and now we have a little bit less pressure, but the next race is in six days, and we have work to do. I think the gap opened a little bit, because Tanner didn’t win his heat and I got the one extra point, plus three points more in the final. (Since last year) I just made my own work, what I had to do. I exercised at home and the gym to get myself ready for this season. Everything is good right now, and I’m not doing anything else than smiling”. With the podium finish by Heikkinen and Fousts  at XGAMES, they clinched the 2013 GRC Championship for Ford Racing.  With 39 point lead over Tanner Foust in second; the championship is Heikkinen's  barring a disaster. I would also hate to see Topi, easing back and letting someone else win for the sake of the sport, he should go for the win and let the chips fall where they will.

 Subaru’s front man in the GRC,   Sverre “The Viking Warrior” Isachsen finally, finally got the monkey off the teams back by holding Pastrana at bay, to bring his Subaru STI home and third. This is the first XGames medal and GRC podium for Subaru in 2013. “It was awesome! I had a good start. They said it was a jump start” proclaimed Sverre after the final “but anyway, we sat in the penalty box, took our punishment, and then went back in the race. It was a perfect race the whole way. Third place today is like winning for us at Subaru. Of course we’ll go for it in Atlanta as well. We’re taking the car small steps at a time and hopefully can try to get to the top”.

Without question the carnage that is happening in the GRC is unlike anything in any other form of professional motorsport around the world.

But if the goal of the organizers was to create excitement, check that box already, it sure is exciting for the fans. We also need to remember that is a made for TV series, and is directed in the background by a TV schedule.  Despite the frustration of drivers that are left licking their wounds after getting taken out in the first turn, the racing “seems” to continue to gain momentum, there is talk of Chevy and others planning to campaigning cars in 2014.  

As for the remaining rounds of the GRC in 2014, with the Championship in the bag for Ford we expect to see a reduced field over the final two races, which will be held in Atlanta and Charlotte. We also expect to see organizers tweaking the rule book, or should I say begin to write a rulebook. Either way, stay tuned this is by far the most exciting new form of racing happening the USA at this time.  

Photo/ FordRacing   / Matt Kalish -GRC

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Rally America: Ken Block keeps Championship hopes alive with his victory at the 2013 New England Forest Rally

Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino power through the last stage to take victory by a narrow margin. Photo Neil McDaid/RallyWorldNews

Newry, ME (July 28, 2013) --Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino won their first New England Forest Rally (NEFR), round 5 of the Rally America National Championship, on July 26-27^th headquartered in Newry, Maine after a closely fought battle with Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and Craig Drew. The margins between the two teams were incredibly thin and either could have snatched victory. Subaru Rally Team USA drove a nearly flawless event and pushed the Hoonigan camp hard all weekend, but Block and Gelsomino persevered with a 6.5 second buffer at the end.

 

Block and Gelsomino's NEFR nearly came to an end when their Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V. experienced electrical problems on stage 11. They had no intercom communications for nearly 13 miles before the alternator quit on the transit back to service. Open Class rivals Rifat Sungkar and Steve Lancaster, who were in fourth place overall at the time, graciously towed the Hoonigan Racing Team back to the service area so Hoonigan Racing Team could complete repairs and continue their race.

"It took a bit of good luck, it was a great battle with Subaru," said Block, "I know a couple of these stages, so I put the hammer down and built a bit of a lead. I had some small problems and then a big problem with the alternator going out. What a struggle, I put everything into it, and drove my heart out."

Subaru Rally Team Driver David Higgins piled on the pressure to try and close the gap on Ken Block, he would come up just a little short, nonetheless Higgins still holds a firm grip on the championship points lead. Photo Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

 

The New England Forest Rally marks Ken Block's second consecutive Rally America National Championship victory having won the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally last June. David Higgins currently leads the Championship Standings, but Block still has a mathematical chance at the title if he outright wins the final two rounds of the season.

 

Rifat Sungkar and Steve Lancaster were able to climb from fourth place to third overall to complete the NEFR podium with a little luck. Over the course of the weekend Sungkar saw a few competitors ahead of him fail to finish. The Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team of Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard ultimately broke their wheel bolts on stage 11, and privateers Joseph Burke and Alex Kihurani went off on stage 6 and were unable to continue. That left Sungkar alone in third place.

 

The pace and the tough stages at the 2013 New England Forest Rally was just a little much for the Tiburon that Antoine L'Estage took out of retirement for this rally. Photo Joel Sanford / RallyWorldNews

 

Notably L'Estage and Richard have won the New England Forest Rally the last three years in a Mitsubishi EVO X and looked to add their fourth overall victory to keep their streak alive. This time they competed with a Tiburon rally car that has seen plenty of rally action in the past, but the team experienced problems that effectively ended their event on the second day.

David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski get their rally off to a flying start with a hard charge down the opening stage of the rally, the infamous "Concord Pond" Photo; Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

 

In the Super Production Class, David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski notched a third consecutive class win and also placed fourth overall in the event. This is their fourth podium finish since failing to finish the Rally America season opener Sno*Drift Rally in January. This NEFR win extends their SP Class standings total while keeping third place in the overall Championship standings.

"The New England Forest Rally was hard because of all the sharp rocks," added Sterckx, "We broke some things, but we fixed it all in service and it was good enough to win."

Super Production's Mason Moyle and John Hall took second in the class after an exciting battle with Rookie of the Year contenders Nick Roberts and Nick Judkins. Over the course of the weekend Moyle lost second place to Roberts, yet later snatched the position back when Roberts suffered a strut failure on stage 11. Moyle had suspension damage as well; only he was able to carry enough speed to overtake Roberts and win by 6.1 seconds. This is Moyle's third podium finish this year and Robert's first in his rally career.

 

Keeping the streak alive, Australians Rhianon Smyth and Brendan Reeves celebrate yet another overall podium finish in two wheel drive in their Team O'Neil /Ford Racing R2 Fiesta. Photo: Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

The Two-Wheel Drive category was an absolute knockdown fight won when Australia's Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth finally overtook fellow Australian rivals Will Orders and Toni Feaver on stage 11. Orders jumped into the lead on stage 1 and fended off Reeves until Orders overheated his brakes on the more technical stages of the event. Reeves seized this opportunity to take the lead with his Ford Fiesta R2. The 2WD win is Reeves and Smyth's third top podium finish since joining the Championship at the Oregon Trail Rally.

Said Reeves, "We've been driving these (Ford Fiesta R2's) for a few years, so we have the experience to win. Car is driving great, we have three wins now, next... we'll try for four."

 

Will Orders made a return to the New England Rally in his newly developed Toyota GT86, despite leading for most of the rally, problems slowed Orders on day two, he would eventually finish 2nd in 2WD. Photo : Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews 

 

 

Will Orders had won the 2WD Class at the 2012 New England Forest Rally. This time he takes another podium with a newly built Nameless Performance Toyota GT86, the first of its kind in America.

Current 2WD national standings leader Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey were able to preserve their points lead by taking third place in class. The team overcame early gearbox problems in their Scion xD and drove a fantastic race to come back as far down as 7^th in class to the podium. Comrie-Picard and Wimpey have made the podium every event this year and just needs to keep that trend going in order to finish the season with their first 2WD national title.

 

Team Honda Research's James Robinson and Ross Forde won Rally America's B-Spec category. Tracy Gardiner and Nigel McGinn took second place. Robinson was a one man show driving and crewing for his Honda Fit, and squeaked out the win running his Honda with a broken engine mount and limited power on the last two stages of the day.

Mark Piatkowski on his way to the regional rally victory. Photo: Joel Sanford /RallyWorldNews

 

The Maine Regional Rally and the New Hampshire Regional were both won by MAP Rally Team's Mark Piatkowski and Robert Maciejski in their Open Light Class 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS.

 

Report By: Neil McDaid 

Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team puts New Hampshire behind them and looks forward to Bristol

 

 

CHERRY HILL, N.J., July 16, 2013 The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team returned to competition in the USA after overseas Global RallyCross (GRC) rounds in Barcelona and Munich. The fourth round of the GRC was held Thursday, July 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on unique course using part of the track's oval and pit lane while including dirt, tarmac and a jump.  The team's development of the Subaru STI Rallycross cars in the off-season began to pay dividends in New Hampshire where Team leader Sverre Isachsen qualified 3rd Overall and both he and teammate Bucky Lasek were able to progress to the Final.

Reaching the Final for the second time in his burgeoning Global RallyCross career Lasek put  forward his best performance to date.  In the Last Chance Qualifier race Lasek pulled off an impressive late race pass to finish 3rd and move to the Final.  Then in the Final Lasek ran in 5th Overall for a majority of the ten lap Final.  Just a few laps from the finish however a foreign object entered his engine bay and terminally damaged his engine on his 600hp Subaru STI.  "I drove the wheels off my Subaru here and it was great to be running in the top five," explains Lasek. "What happened was very unlucky but anything can, and does, happen in Rallycross and this just makes me even more eager to get to the next round in Bristol (Tennessee)."

Isachsen had a strong qualifying run, setting the 3rd fastest time and advanced to the Final with a second place finish in his Heat race.  In the Final however Isachsen's Subaru got a poor start dropping him to the back of the field, forcing the Norwegian to battle through the field to a 6th Overall result.  "I enjoyed the car here, we had a small issue at the start in the Final but overall we were able to run strong and we just need a clean run now to get the results we know we can achieve."

Subaru driver Dave Mirra had an event fraught with bad luck as a freak mechanical failure in his first heat race knocked him out of contention.  Mirra's confidence was buoyed however by setting the fastest lap time in the first timed practice.

The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team will now take their Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive 600hp 2013 Subaru WRX STI Rallycross cars to Bristol Motor Speedway for round 5 of the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship.  The event will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN July 20th at 1:30pm ET.

Photo/ Neil McDaid /Stock/ Rally World News

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/16/5571522/isachsen-6th-lasek-8th-at-hard.html#storylink=cpy

Global RallyCross, “Up the Front Straight and Down the Same Straight”

July 12th, Loudon, NH: Global RallyCross -GRC  makes a one day stop at New Hampshire International Speedway for round number 4 of the 2013 Championship.  After coming off one of the best course layouts to date for the GRC in Munich Germany, it was for the most part back to where we were last year with a course layout that used over 70 % of the Loudon Speedway track, which I have to say can get mundane at times as the gap opens on the long straights.

For 2013 the metal gap jump has been nixed for many good reasons, but unfortunately it was replaced at the Loudon configuration with a dirt hill, that wanted to be a table top jump,  problem was, based on its placement to the chicane the cars couldn't get enough traction in the dirt to get any proper air.

All that been said, the transition from the starting asphalt into the dirt section, then directly into a chicane was definitely the highlight of the track. One point that I must make, although the U.S. GRC track layouts pale in comparison to those in Europe, Americans who are new to European style RallyCross find this extremely exciting racing when compared to Nascar! Enough said.

Ken Block and his Hoonigan Racing Team’s Ford Fiesta set the mark throughout the heats, Block posted the fastest time of the day, netting him the starting position of his choice. Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen, of OlsbergsMSE/Ford Racing who was also driving a Ford Fiesta ST, took second with Tanner Foust of the Rockstar Energy /Ford Racing posting the third fastest making it an all Ford front row.

Into the final, typically the prime lane choice is on the inside of the first corner, for whatever reason  Ken Block would select the middle starting position therefore giving Heikkinen who had the second fastest time the option for the inside line, and he took it!. Maybe Ken was thinking of last year where he got driven in the tire wall on the start, or just felt more comfortable with the launching from the center position, who knows, but I have to think he is reevaluating his starting position today.   

Tanner Foust would line up to Blocks left. Swedish Rally driver, Patrick Sandell [Ford Fiesta], Norway’s  Sveere Isachsen[Subaru STI] and Brian Deegan [Ford ] would make up the second row.   The third and final row would see Travis Pastrana in the Dodge Dart, scrapping his way into the final via the LCQ lined up with Scott Speed [Ford] and Bucky Lasek in the second of the Subaru’s to make the final.

When the lights turned green, Heikkinen seemed to get the better launch nosing just slightly ahead of Ken Block, but Ken would made up the difference by the end of the straight, but Block would lift/brake just before entering the gravel section letting Tanner and Heikkinen past on both sides.  There is no question that Ken Block will fight you to the tooth and nail on any rally stage in the world, and has shown massive skills in his Gymkhana series of videos. But when it comes to RallyCross Ken is  just a little too much of a gentleman, he needs to follow the lead of Heikkinen and the likes of Liam Doran into the first turn, if a headlight fits, push on into the turn.

 As the cars climbed the dirt hill [sorry can't call it a jump] for the first time, it was Foust, Heikkinen, Sandell and Block, with Deegan breathing down Block’s neck. Coming off the dirt hill drivers had the option to take the mandatory joker lap, or drift out onto turn one. From there it was down the front straight [counter to normal track direction] through a chicane before braking hard for the unique “over the wall” ramp constructed at the Magic Mile.  Once over the wall they would head down the same straight, to start the cycle of remaining 9 laps [total 10]. Travis Pastrana’s GRC season would go from bad to worse when the rear of his car slide off the ramp on the first lap resulting in a rear flat, Pastrana would push on, but his race was over, no returning to the pits in GRC.

With a clear track ahead, Foust would make hay and open his lead on Sandell who was battling to hold off his teammate Heikkinen for second. Ken Block and Deegan were door to door until Block opted for the early Joker giving up the position to Deegan. Unfortunately a little extra drift by Block in the joker would also let Bucky Lasek in the Subaru slip through. The racing up front would space out some until Foust took his Joker lap, which let Sandell get on Foust’s rear bumper sliding out of turn one, but Tanner held the line and the lead.

Down to the penultimate lap, Heikkinen was still hounding Sandell for second, as the pair crested the dirt hill Sandell would opt to take his mandatory Joker, opening the door for Heikkinen to try and close the gap to Foust.

Toomas Heikkinen has quickly become the force to be reckoned with in the 2013 GRC championship, coming off the victory in Germany, Topi was clearly looking for a repeat victory in Loudon as he charged all out in his pursuit of Foust on the last lap.

As Foust entered the dirt section for the final time, Heikkinen had somehow closed the gap on the Rockstar Energy driver.  Heikkinen would pile on the pressure on Foust as the charged front straight for the final time.

Tanner would try to protect the insider line as he entered the over the wall ramp, but that’s where it all went wrong for Foust. Tanner would get off the racing line and get into the loose gravel on the inside, resulting in a spectacular wreck into the guard rail.  

With Foust up against the guardrail  Heikkinen slips through on the final turn to grab the victory, Brian Deegan who had overhauled Sandell would now move to second, Sandell would also get by Foust’s crippled car for third. Tanner would manage to get the car re fired and hobble across the line in forth just ahead of Ken Block.

 “I think it was difficult for everyone”, noted Heikkinen after the race, “with the raining and drying. There were a lot of different things. For all of us, we had a tough day—it was tricky to change your setup every time. Even the qualification was a little bit different for everybody. But all in all, it was a great day.

A somewhat dejected Tanner Foust said “That was a tough way to end the race—that’s never fun! Topi was pressuring for the whole race, and then on the very last straightaway, it seemed like he had a little bit of a run. So I thought I’d play it safe—my spotter said he had a chance on the inside, so I played it safe and hit the brakes on the inside corner to protect the turn. But there’s just gravel from all the rain, dragging that mud out. As soon as I touched the brakes, I knew I was in for a pretty wild ride. The car just rotated, went straight into the wall, and then was face-to-face with Brian coming in at 100 miles per hour! The first events of the year, the first six seconds have been the most exciting, and this one, it was the last six. I don’t know what hurts more, but it was a pretty exciting day. Hopefully it was a good show.”

Ken Block who was the man to beat through the heats, ended up in fifth, “It’s frustrating to have the final result that I do after having an amazing qualifying session and first heat,” said Block. “Unfortunately, that’s just how RallyCross goes. That first corner is a total crapshoot. Sometimes you get lucky and get through clean, sometimes you get pinched. Either way I feel that I drove well today and that our car is running strong. Hopefully our luck is more favorable next weekend in Tennessee.”

Ford continues to dominate the Global RallyCross Championship, Pastrana/RedBull racing, are having a challenging year in 2013 in the 2 car Dodge team, but there is glimmers of hope in there.

For Subaru one has to wonder is Global RallyCross tarnishing their outstanding Stage Rally heritage in the USA, a heritage that has seen fans flock to the showrooms for the nearly race ready WRX and STI. While two of the Subaru’s made it to the final in New Hampshire, neither of them finished. No Subaru’s made to the final in Germany in round 3. I expect there will be some hard questions to be answered on the validly of this program for Subaru unless something changes drastically. GRC moves to Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend, track layout will again be interesting, but hopefully they can use a little more infield and less asphalt.

PHOTOS: Ford Racing / Hoonigan Racing
Report: Neil McDaid