Block stoked by first run in Monster Fiesta

Ken Block says the Ford Fiesta RS WRC that he will use in the World Rally Championship this season has exceeded his expectations.

The Monster World Rally Team ace was speaking on his Facebook video blog following his first try-out in the machine during a test in Sweden on Sunday.

“It’s exceeded my expectations,” said the American. “I didn’t really know what to think with the 1.6-litre turbo and the type of power it had but coming from driving the S2000 [Fiesta] I’m very happy to say it’s very quick. It has a lot of capabilities but I’m braking way too early and I’m not on the gas enough. I’m just trying to figure it out. It’s part of the fun but it will take a lot of miles before I can drive this thing to the limit.”

Block will run a revised livery on his Fiesta RS WRC this season, which will be launched by video before Rally Sweden gets underway in Karlstad on Thursday evening. The new identity was blurred out in footage of Block’s initial testing.

“It’s not that much different from some of the other cars but it is slightly different and we want to wait so you see it when we want you to see it,” said Block.

Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino are due to contest nine of this season’s 13 rounds having decided to skip the rallies in Jordan, Sardinia, Greece and Finland. They took part on seven events in 2010, which Block said was his “toughest season ever” in DC Shoes’ ‘Ken Block’s 2010 Season: Win of Fail?’ film, which is currently on YouTube.

“It was one of the toughest years of my life and easily my toughest season ever in a rally car,” said Block in reflecting on his maiden season competing in a World Rally Car in the WRC. “At points it seemed like without bad luck, we had no luck at all. From being plagued with mechanical issues in Rally America [National Championship] to hitting hidden, control-arm-cracking tree stumps in the WRC, it was often hard to find the bright side of things. But with that said, 2010 was still one of my best years ever.”

“Racing in the WRC was always a dream for me, and not only being able to do so, but being able to keep pace with some veteran drivers was a real accomplishment.”