Block keen on WRC return

Ken Block wants to return to the WRC in 2015 after driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC to 12th place at last weekend’s RallyRACC-Rally de Espana.

The US star was contesting his first WRC event since Rally Mexico in 2013 and he enjoyed pitting his wits against the best rally drivers in the world on Spain’s asphalt and gravel stages.

His 2015 motorsport programme will largely be filled with Rally America, X Games, rallycross and Gymkhana events, but he says he’ll be working hard to find some time for more WRC action.

“Stage rallying is what I absolutely love to do and I’ve got to keep a certain amount of them in my schedule no matter what to keep myself happy,” Block told wrc.com.

“I’m pretty committed to rallycross because Ford and Monster have heavily invested in there and they want me to the best that I can so I’ll keep doing that.

“But I’ll fill in with as many stage rallies as I can and at least one or two WRC events every year. The one I really want to do is Finland. I was really disappointed that the car broke there a couple of years ago before I got the chance to do the Ouninpohja stage. I’d like to go back and finish that rally.”

Block’s outing at Rally de Espana gave him another chance to compare his stage time against the WRC regulars. And while he was impressed by the pace at the front of the field, he wasn’t at all surprised.

He said: “I knew how fast these guys were before. These are the best rally drivers in the world and it’s always impressive to see them in action. It was fun to see myself improve during the course of the weekend.”