This weekend’s Rally Germany will see Ken Block do something he has only done twice before. Compete in a rally competition that is run on tarmac and not dirt or gravel. The tarmac round in Germany will see the world’s best rally drivers taking to the roads and Ken already admits he and co-driver Alex Gelsomino are at a huge disadvantage.
“With zero tarmac rounds in the Rally America series, Alex and I are at a huge disadvantage here in Germany. We have only raced two tarmac events before, and while we did win both of those events, I have no expectations of keeping up with the veteran drivers here.” – Ken Block on Germany chances
The rally which is based in Trier is always a fan favorite with a wide variety of roads for the competitors to try their hand at. This year the event will be open to all of the junior championships as well as the WRC itself.
One point that I would like to raise is car control. Tarmac rallies are fast and require a great amount of car control. This is even more true if rain hits the stages as predicted for the weekend. What level will Ken Block’s gymkhana videos prepare him for this event? While I am sure that he will not be doing donuts or massive power slides around the German country side, the gymkhana driving style revolves around car control on the tarmac. I am with Ken on this one, he has no shot at even getting close but it will be interesting to see him on the road as opposed to the dirt. I hope that Ken actually finishes the event and takes some solid notes for the next season. What do you think? Gymkhana style of driving a good aid for the tarmac event?
I see hinklesteins(sp?) in Block’s very near future. :\ …Kimi’s too, for that matter.
Let’s hope not. See Petter Solberg in 2003. Very scary crash. Those “head stones” are a very cool obstacle but if you hit it….god help you.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Doug Patterson and BJ (Juice) Johnson, Openpaddock.net. Openpaddock.net said: New Content: – http://tinyurl.com/26yrejy […]