Block thrilled by Power Stage effort

Ken Block has described his top-five time on Rally Australia’s Power Stage as "awesome" suggesting it had gone a long way towards making up for his exit on the event’s opening gravel test when he crashed into a tree.

The Gymkhana FOUR star, who is co-driven in his Monster World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC by Alex Gelsomino, had gradually upped his pace - and confidence - following his restart on the second day of the world championship qualifier under SupeRally regulations, which culminated in his impressive run on the Power Stage, shown live on television around the world.

“I felt good today,” said Block following his Power Stage effort. “After running sort of conservatively on Saturday, I was a bit more confident in my notes [on Sunday] and I think that showed in some of the times we were putting down. I had a few stages where I was the sixth fastest down the course and I was able to snag the fifth fastest time on the Power Stage, which is just awesome. I’m really stoked about that.”

Block’s Power Stage time came despite the fact he faced the added pressure - and challenge - of being the first driver to tackle the 4.58-kilometre test. His run was 1.7s slower than the time recorded by event winner Mikko Hirvonen.

“If I could just forget about Friday, the race would have been perfect,” said Block. “It really sucks that one wrong note with the wrong turn can ruin the whole weekend, but that’s rally. Either way, I still had a good race and I’m stoked with how much I improved on day three compared to the first two days of the rally. I’ve had a great weekend here in Australia. The fans are some of the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen and the roads are amazing.”