Block stoked with Spanish success

Not for the first time, ’gymkhana’ legend Ken Block says that he is "stoked" - this time after becoming only the second American to score World Rally Championship points after John Buffum, who last took a point on the 1988 Olympus Rally in the United States.

Block’s ninth place finish netted him the first two points of his World Rally Championship career, and the 42-year-old believes that this could be the springboard to more success in the future.

“Even though it may have taken a few more rallies than I would have liked, I am super stoked on our result in Spain, and I am happy this first hurdle of earning WRC points is now behind us,” said Block.

The Monster World Rally Team driver had to fend off a recovering Sebastien Ogier on the final day, who was making his way back up the field after breaking his suspension on day two.

“I knew with Ogier trying to hunt us down, we couldn’t continue with our day two pace. We had no choice but to step it up,” added Block - who eventually beat the Frenchman by 1m22s. On the second day in Spain, Block lost four minutes after going off into a field: without that incident he could have finished seventh.

Having secured his best result of the season on asphalt, Block is convinced that he can do even better on gravel.

“While our speed is starting to improve on tarmac, we still have very few sealed surface miles under our belt and are only at the beginning of our development phase on paved stages,” he pointed out. “So we are still most confident on dirt.”

Block’s final outing of the year, which will also be the last event for his Ford Focus WRC, is the Rally Great Britain from November 12-14.