Ken Block is renowned for his jaw-dropping hooning antics in his famous YouTube videos, but he’s also a driver with considerable rallying talent. This was once more shown in Mexico this past weekend, his first repeat event of his nine-event WRC career. Mads Ostberg, who has blazed a path to the front of the pack after his spectacular drive in Sweden, has impressed all in the Service Park with his controlled and mature driving.
The WRC attracts the world’s biggest stars, aspiring champions and larger-than-life personalities. Its 13-event calendar runs over vastly different terrain each weekend and, in doing so, is unmatched in its demanding challenges it throws up for both crews and machines. The American driver Block, however, is not afraid of taking on the rally establishment and treacherous speed tests with his unique style and attitude. With a year’s WRC experience behind him, and his second Rally Mexico under his belt, Block showed all in the Service Park that he’s capable of running as a regular top ten in the WRC.
Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino’s 2011 foray into the Mexican hills didn’t go according to plan, seeing them run into frustrating electrical issues on the start ramp before the event had officially been waved off. With the potential to finish in the top eight here, Block’s unfortunate luck saw them stumble through the weekend: Block/Gelsomino were forced to restart under SupeRally regulations not once but twice. Consequently, Block was handed a hefty time penalty that ruled them out of the top ten. Another 20min was added to their overall time as a yet another mysterious electrical problem dropped them further down the leader board. The American’s never-say-die attitude saw him post an impressive series of stages times when his car’s electrical gremlins were under control.
In his attempt to reel in lost time and to post quicker stage times on a repeat stage on Day Two’s afternoon loop of speed tests, Block clipped a tree stump and it snapped a control arm to force him to retire once more from the event. He did however restart on Day Three under SupeRally rules.
“It’s hard not to focus on the mechanical issues we had this event, since without them, I would have likely had the best overall finish of my WRC career,” said Block. “But regardless, from a driving perspective, I am very happy with our times here compared to last year. This is the first event we have gone into with notes already prepared, giving us an advantage we haven’t had before. And with this only being our ninth WRC event ever, I feel confident on our continued development this season, when we are already showing on pace to be sixth or seventh overall.”
“WRC Mexico is one of the toughest events on the calendar, partly due to the high altitude’s effect on the engines and the rugged terrain, so despite the electrical issues that plagued the team this event, I am very happy with Ken and Alex’s performance here as well as their perseverance each morning to press on after all the problems,” said team manager Derek Dauncey. “Ken [Block] was consistently only 1.1-seconds per kilometre off of the fastest Ford driver and 1.3-seconds per kilometre off the top time on each stage, which is an excellent pace for a driver who hasn’t even completed a full season of events yet.”
M-Sport Stobart Ford’s Norwegian ace Mads Ostberg has surprised all with his outright pace and adaptability at slotting in at the sharp end of the field in brand new Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Finishing runner-up in Sweden last month, Ostberg made no qualms that his blistering pace in Sweden would not be replicated on the hot and dry gravel stages of Mexico as he’d not tested the new Fiesta RS WRC in these conditions before. Like his fellow Ford driver Block, Ostberg made an unfortunate start to his Mexican fiesta with a puncture early on Day One’s stages in the rocky Sierra de Lobos Mountains. Losing four minutes in the process, Ostberg pushed throughout the remaining stage kilometres of Day One to move up to 11th overall.
Over the following two days of rally action, the 23-year-old Mads Ostberg kept his right foot planted firmly to the floorboard to steadily reel in the top runners of the rally. Belying his complete lack of experience on this event, for it was his debut on the Rally Mexico, he powered to an impressive fifth position overall at the end of Day Three. Leaving no doubt in the minds of his rivals, Ostberg would have been a contender for more points on this rally had it not been for that early puncture. In this sport, it is the recovery that crews make after such an incident that highlight their abilities and Ostberg has once more proven he belongs in the topflight category of rallying.
“I didn’t feel like taking any risks [on Day Three], our result was more than we had hoped for,” said Ostberg. “We gave away some positions after our puncture on Friday and we won some back [on Saturday and Sunday], so that is good. You cannot expect to come to a rally like this without much experience and to be at the top. The character of the roads was so changeable with some very different types of gravel. It is all about learning where you can push and how to drive on those types of conditions. We have come here to gain experience of every stage, to improve our pacenotes and to learn as much as we can for future years. We really didn’t expect to finish this rally in this position, so we are very happy.”
M-Sport Stobart Ford Team Principal Malcolm Wilson said: “Mads was very unlucky with the time he lost from Friday’s puncture, but he has done remarkably well to battle back and to finish fifth [on Sunday], especially as it is his first time here.”
With the likes of Block and Ostberg wowing spectators and challenging their rivals in the Service Park, the World Rally Championship lacks not in entertainment or competition. Their different driving styles, one with neat and fast corner entry speeds and the other with a more aggressive and adrenalin-fuelled style, the one in his 30s and the other still in his early 20s, it adds yet more appeal to this demanding Championship. With both in Ford Fiesta RS WRCs, it is plain to see that they are on the pace in terms of speed with their factory colleagues and will surely give the Citroen crews sleepless nights in the future. The remaining 11 rounds of the series can but only get more exciting; roll on Rally de Portugal!
