The widely known driver and internet phenom Ken Block is stepping out of his Subaru and into a Ford to start a career in the World Rally Championship. This partnership will provide an opportunity for the WRC to tap into a fan base practically non-existent in America.
Ken Block is best known for his YouTube sensation series, “Gymkhana,” performing outrageous stunts complete with explosions and test dummies in his Subaru Impreza .
Unfortunately for Subaru ’s marketing department, Subaru will not being competing in the WRC – forcing Block to find a new sponsor. It appears as if the Ford and Monster Energy WRC team will play host to not only Block, but another former Subaru driver Chris Atkinson.
What many YouTubers may not know is that Ken Block has also been racing in the Rally America series, which suffers from a small fan base and minimal exposure. Block will need every bit of experience he has accumulated in the Rally America series as he steps up to the world stage with the WRC, but more importantly, Block and the WRC can only hope that his presence will help to bring WRC into more TV sets across America. It is this opportunity that just might make this the single most important signing in WRC history.
At this time both Block and Atkinson are expected to begin their rookie season in WRC racing in a 2009-spec Ford Focus, with a possibility for a shift into a WRC Fiesta in the near future. Given the success of the rally style Fiesta at the X-games, this move could be another great publicity opportunity for the Fiesta as it too will be selling on the world stage as Ford’s most recent, and arguably most important attempt at a true world car.
