“While we announced that myself and my team were done racing in World RX we also mentioned that I was intending on heading back out into the woods to do some stage rallies in 2018. This Escort here is one of the vehicles I plan on racing on gravel stage rallies and I’m very excited about it. I’ve always loved these cars and my team director, Derek Dauncey, finally found one for me that fit the exact specifications of what I was looking for. I’m stoked about it and I’m really looking forward to racing this beast!” said Ken Block.
When Ken Block removed himself from full-time World RX racing at the end of last season, many wondered what the Head Hoonigan In Charge would get into. The answer? An over-the-top mix of racing that’s comprised of four stage rally events (three domestic in the United States, one international) with two different vehicles, as well as two rounds of the newly formed Americas Rallycross Championship (ARX) and one round of the World RX Championship as well.
Ken Block Cosworth RS Gravel Testing
What does it take to make a 25 year old racecar be able to blast down rally stages again? Testing – lots of it! The Hoonigans tagged along to see my first ever gravel test of my Ford Escort Cosworth, to cover some of the development we have been doing before I do the Oregon Trail Rally this weekend. Check out the episode on their channel.
Gepostet von Ken Block am Dienstag, 17. April 2018
This is in addition to a return of Gymkhana GRID in the U.S., another larger format Gymkhana GRID event with Monster Energy on the other side of the Atlantic and the launch of an 8-part documentary series titled The Gymkhana Files as well as GymkhanaTEN this fall! To start with, Block will campaign his 90s Ford Escort Cosworth Group A racecar at three U.S. stage rally races. He’ll be sending his vintage machinery through the woods at the Oregon Trail Rally (April 20-22), New England Forest Rally (July 20-21) and the Idaho Rally International (September 15-16).
Block’s 1991 Ford Escort RS Cosworth is a properly sorted—and clean—example of a 90s era Ford World Rally Championship racecar.
The car features an upgraded 1997 WRC engine (turbocharged 2.0-liter producing 400 hp and 405 lb/ft in current trim, lightweight alloy block vs. the original steel block, head and block have been modified to run higher horsepower) mated to a 7-speed sequential gearbox, features a side-exit exhaust (for tarmac setups) and comes with options for both gravel and tarmac setups.
Photos Hoonigan Racing
