Testing times for Block

Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block believes that testing will be the key to success for him on the World Rally Championship this year.

The American is hoping for some time in his Ford Focus RS WRC before the Rally of Portugal next month, which he believes will make all the difference.

Block came to grief on the first stage of the Rally of Turkey last weekend, and although he re-started under the SupeRally rules, his chance to do well was gone: a source of huge frustration for the American Rally Championship regular.

“I was so gutted because that was a really stupid accident,” he said. “I wouldn’t have minded if I was going flat-out! The thing is, before the shakedown I hadn’t sat in the car since the last stage of Rally Mexico and I think that makes a big difference. The level here is so high that you can’t just jump in the car and expect to compete.”

Block admitted that his debut performance in Mexico, where he ran in the top 10, had raised his expectations. “Before that rally, I wasn’t even sure if I could even keep up with some of those guys, so I was really pleased that we managed to set some half decent times. But you have to really keep the momentum and that’s why testing is important.”

The 42-year-old said that his testing schedule was complicated by questions of budget, time available, and the fact that he is constantly driving different cars.

“We’ve got three cars this year: the Focus, the Rally America Fiesta and the Gymkhana Fiesta,” he said. “They’re all very different, but the Focus is certainly the most sophisticated. It’s going to take me some time to get to know it, but there’s only a certain amount of budget available. So if you do more testing do you have to scratch an event? It’s really difficult to know.”