Driving Sports

Part two of our multi-part interview with Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block. He discusses his plans for Gymkhana 3 and how they're setting up the new car.

Ryan Douthit, Driving Sports TV: We've talked a little about your new WRC team, let's switch gears and talk about Gymkhana 3. Is this going to be a back-to-basics production, or are you going to go all Jerry Bruckhiemer on us?

Ken Block, Monster World Rally Team: You know, that’s something I haven’t really decided on. The raw and fun stuff is what I love. When we made Gymkhana 2, I knew that I just had to make it different. (pauses) What defines “different” is probably going to be different every time. But my goals isn’t to just keep upping the special effects, my goal is to keep the entertainment side and the rawness and the sort of things that I like to see in motorsports videos, uh, that’s my direction to keep pushing that envelope further and further.

RD: Has it been decided if the car for the next Gymkhana video is going to be a Fiesta or possibly some other Ford, like a Mustang?

KB: It’s absolutely decided. The car is already in the works. It’s a Fiesta. So, it will be a separate car than my rally car and we’re basically starting from scratch with that car, building it from the ground up to be the ultimate Gymkhana car.

RD: Your first Gymkhana car, the STI, was a rear-driver conversion, now we're talking about making a Fiesta rear-wheel drive, what are going to do - swap in a Mustang drivetrain?

KB: Ah, no, there’s a setup that the Olsbergs have for those rallycross cars is really amazing. So we’re talking about ways to make that setup even better and better, so…  it’s going to be an exceptional car. I’m really looking to the first couple tests with it. We have some exciting plans with that car this year.

Continued in Part 3