Ken Block’s Gymkhana Five video will be released on YouTube in two weeks and via his twitter feed has brought this short teaser to our attention. We reckon there might be one or two more teasers to follow before the eventual launch.
For now we have to make do with Ken burning it up on a barge in the middle of San Francisco bay.
Ken Block is readying himself for the latest edition in his tyre shredding series, Gymkhana FIVE. This time he’s going to wreck much of San Francisco on his way to YouTube glory. The new film will debut via the DC Shoes YouTube channel on 9 July (midnight 10 July here in Australia).
Why San Francisco? Well, it’s pretty obvious don’t you think. Expect some massive air time!
“I’ve always wanted to film a Gymkhana video in a city and there are few places as unique and iconic with such amazing topography as San Francisco,” said Block. “While movies like Bullit and various chase scenes have tried to use San Francisco to the fullest, I’m pretty confident that I’ve proven there was a lot left to be done on those amazing streets!”
Should be good, and Block promises this version will be more raw. Like his earlier videos, with less over the top effects, we expect.
Colin McRae tearing up the “Mad Manx” on the Isle of Man in a beautifully prepared MkII Ford Escort. What’s not to love. Check out this great archival footage and marvel in the commitment shown by McRae in his lightweight, yet brutal, pocket rocket.
If you don’t get a kick out of this clip, there’ll be no pleasing you. Ever.
Assuming you do enjoy these highlights rather a lot, we expect you’ll also enjoy finding out more about that Ford Escort.
[Source: Road Magazine]
Dani Sordo will take temporary leave from his Prodrive MINI team to fill in for Ford at Rally Argentina later this month. Ford found themselves with an opening after Jari-Matti Latvala injured himself while cross-country skiing.
Prodrive won’t be racing in Argentina so in some ways it made sense to utlilise Sordo’s talents. Ford hasn’t been wasting any time, either, posting pics to Facebook overnight showing Sordo testing an M-Sport Fiesta RS WRC.
Dani Sordo is gracious to Prodrive for the opportunity and has proven form in the South American event. “When you are a rally driver all you want to do is to compete,” he said. “So I am really happy that Prodrive has given me the chance to drive the Ford. I was second the last time I competed in Argentina, but as I will be learning a new car, it will be difficult to repeat this.”
Ford World Rally Team boss, Malcolm Wilson, is also thankful for Prodrive’s assistance. “The agreement is for one rally only, and I would like to thank the management of Dani’s current team [Prodrive], who were extremely gracious in helping us in such challenging circumstances,†he explained.
Prodrive will be back in action for Rally NZ in June.
[Pics: Facebook]
Jari-Matti Latvala broke his collar bone in a cross-country skiing fall during the week and will miss Rally Argentina (27–29 April). Ford will hire a temporary stand-in for Latvala in Argentina and here’s where it starts to get interesting.
First, Malcolm Wilson’s comments on Latvala’s injury: “My first concern has obviously been Jari and how best to get his situation resolved so it’s right for him.
“Now we have taken the decision that it’s best for him to miss Argentina so he’s 100 per cent fit for the Acropolis, one of the most difficult rallies in the championship, we will look at his replacement for Argentina although we’re not currently in a position to make an announcement until Monday at the earliest.”
Turns out the rumour mill has pushed Dani Sordo’s name to the top of the pile, assuming Ford and Prodrive can agree to terms.
Moreover, with a strong likelihood that Latvala will be with Volkswagen next year, perhaps Sordo’s move to Ford, if it goes ahead, could be permanent in 2013.
[Source: wrc.com & World Rally Blog]
Current Ford WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala could be driving for Volkswagen in 2013. Latvala’s manager, Timo Jouhki, confirmed meeting with Volkswagen saying: “I had a positive meeting with Kris Nissen and Carlos Sainz, who seem to have a good team with the right people and really interesting technical details on the car.”
The 27-year-old Finn has over 100 WRC starts and six wins to his name, including this year’s Rally Sweden, and his added experience would complement Sebastien Ogier well at Volkswagen you would think.
Jouhki also confirmed discussions are ongoing with Ford so there may be no movement at all. However, with Ford’s involvement in the WRC not certain beyond this year it’s probably wise for Latvala to consider all options.
[Source: World Rally Blog | Pic: Ford WRT]
A fellow by the name of Sean Kennedy has entered the records books for achieving the highest speed in a standing mile run. It’s not a bad effort either, he drove a Hennessey-tuned twin-turbo 2006 Ford GT to a v-max of 257.7mph (414.7km/h).
That’s pretty damn fast, don’t you think. You can see a video of Sean in action after the break. It’s just a shame the video doesn’t do this feat any justice at all.
[Source: Autoblog]
Last weekend Chris Atkinson enjoyed his first WRC start since 2009 when he took part in Rally Mexico as part of Ken Block’s Monster World Rally Team.
“Atko”, as he’s become known, showed good pace too, running well inside the top 10 and winning the Super Special 2 stage. That was the first ever WRC stage win for the Monster WRT.
Unfortunately for Chris a brake failure contributed to him crashing out of the event on day two of the rally. But he’s still hoping to sign off on at least two more appearances this year by participating in Rally NZ and Rally Finland.
“Having been part of the Monster World Rally Team in Mexico, I’m really, really pushing to make it happen in Finland and New Zealand. I felt like I really fitted in with the team, it was great—and really cool to see how those boys push the marketing and social media side of the sport,†explained Atkinson.
“I’ve always got on really well with Ken [Block, Monster team-mate] and I reckon we make a good team. Everybody’s pushing hard to make the deal work for us to do more and those two rallies are two of my favourites.â€
Indeed Atkinson has previously finished fourth at NZ and secured a WRC podium by finishing third in the 2008 Rally Finland.
[Source: wrc.com | Pic: Monster WRT]
“The car rolled down and cut in two.
“I walked away from it and drove home that evening.â€
They’re the words of Bill Brown in reference to his spectacular and famous accident at Bathurst in 1971. That’s him there in the picture above, you can see his head about to make contact with the wooden fence.
Back in the day, that’s all there was separating spectators from the competitors at McPhillamy Park. Not the best place to have a tyre blow out at around 180km/h.
Speaking to Speedcafe, Brown explained, “I thought we were in trouble then there was banging and crashing and I was rested upside down.
“I went around to have a look at the car and they said they’d take me to hospital, they wanted to put me on a stretcher, but I refused.
“The car didn’t have a roll cage as such, I was fortunate though when I came to rest my hat was only grazed on the left hand side, I was pretty lucky.â€
You don’t say! Having seen footage of that crash many times we’ve always wondered how on earth Brown survived.
Follow the link below to read the full article. It’s a fascinating insight into Australian motor racing in the 1960s and 70s. There’s also a video of the incident after the break which shows rescue crews working on the car after the crash.
[Source: Speedcafe.com]
After a couple of days for press previews the doors to the 2012 Geneva Motor Show are about to be opened to the public. Figuring you probably can’t make it we’re bringing you our biggest photo gallery ever. That’s right, there’ll be over 200 images from the floor of Geneva for you to enjoy.
We’ve kept things varied and ensured there’s dream cars, like the Ferrari F12berlinetta and Lamborghini Aventador J, as well as everyday stuff like the new Audi A3 and the Subaru Impreza Hatch. Then there’s the Valmet Automotive Dawn. We’re not quite sure what that is and you’ll see it in part 2 of our gallery, to be added later today.
After the break you can enjoy the first installment where we’ve taken an alphabetical approach and presented manufacturers from A–K.
Geneva looks like being the place to be for hot hatch lovers this year and this new “production-ready” Ford Fiesta ST is another one to add to the list. It’s not due until 2013 so Ford are being a bit coy with concrete information.
We can tell you the Fiesta ST is powered by a 1.6 litre engine offering 132kW (180PS). It should be good for 0-100km/h in around 7 seconds or maybe even a bit less. Top speed should be around 220km/h.
Hmm, not so sure about that goofy looking front grille, but otherwise this baby hot hatch looks the goods. Even if the interior is a wee bit lairy.
More of a competitor to the Polo GTI the latest ST from Ford brings high expectations. Jost Capito, Ford’s director of Global Performance Vehicles says, “We believe Ford customers will be blown away by the new Fiesta ST, and not only by the exhilarating performance but by the styling and specification, too. This dynamic new hot-hatch is undoubtedly our best Fiesta ST to date.â€
Great news for Australia’s Chris Atkinson, with word via Speedcafe confirming he will be joining Ken Block‘s Monster World Rally Team at next month’s Rally Mexico. At this stage it’ll be a one-off drive for Chris and we’re reminded there were hopes of a Block-Atkinson two-car team back in 2009.
Atkinson’s car, a Ford Fiesta RS WRC, will be prepped by Ford’s M-Sport. He can be assured it be competitive, too, as it will be a like for like example of the car Jari-Matti Latvala just drove to victory at Rally Sweden.
M-Sport have been able to provide Atkinson with around 400km of testing over the last few days and the 32-year-old says this will be invaluable preparation for his first WRC event since 2009. “Without this, I would have struggled on the first few stages to get up to speed with everything, but now I will head to Mexico with a lot more confidence,” he said.
“I’m really appreciative of this testing opportunity and I can’t thank Malcolm [Wilson] and the M-Sport team enough. The car was amazing and I can’t wait to drive it under competitive conditions.”
[Source: Speedcafe | Pic: Monster World Rally Team]