Ken Block: stunt-driving Gymkhana star who pushed all the limits

Ken Block, the Gymkhana star, rally driver and car modifier has passed away at the age of 55

display_b67c92e0fe

January 3rd 2023

Block thrilled fans with his driving skills and stunts

David Ramos/Getty Images

Ken Block, 1967 – 2022

Ken Block, the renowned Gymkhana video star, stunt driver, car builder and rally competitor, has tragically died at the age of 55 after a snowmobile accident.

Motor sport names from around the world have paid tribute with Sébastien Loeb, the most successful WRC driver of all time, calling him a “legend”.

Block himself raced in the World Rally and World Rallycross championships, but his motor sport legacy are the Gymkhana videos that combined inch-perfect car control with daring stunts and outrageous manoeuvres, consistently wowing fans by pushing the limits of what a four-wheel vehicle can do.

Born on November 21, 1967, Ken Block began his career as a draughtsman before discovering snowboarding in the Colorado mountains, where he spent two years working in ski resorts.

Ken Block competing in WRC Spain 2018 — Block on his last WRC appearance in Spain in 2018

Getty Images

Looking for a business that catered to the adventure sports crowd, he set up fashion brands, including DC Shoes in 1994 alongside Damon Way, the brother of professional skateboarder, Danny Way.

It grew rapidly and was sold to Quicksilver for $87m (£47m) in 2004. It was the same year that Block went to a rally school and became hooked, having been a fan of Audi’s Quattro in the 1980s, as well as the exploits of Colin McRae and Tommi Mäkinen in the 1990s.

“I took to it quite easily because I had been a fan of it since I was quite young,” Block told Motor Authority in 2016. “I mimicked that driving style. I lived on a twisty road at one point in my life. I drove down the road cutting across the line.

From the archive

“That interest was there. I just needed to learn to apply it properly to a car. Once I was instructed on how to do that, I just really, really fell in love with it.”

Wanting to cut his competitive teeth, Block first competed in the Rally America series’ inaugural season, finishing fourth overall and taking top rookie honours.

While he would ultimately win 16 rallies in the US championship over ten seasons, the flamboyant Californian soon moved on to competing on the world stage.

With an eye on WRC, Block looked for more experience on asphalt, which wasn’t part of the US scene – eventually taking him down an unexpected avenue:

“I wanted to learn to slide in an all-wheel car around the tarmac so the easiest way for me to do that was a small Gymkhana series in Southern California,” he said. “I did two of those events. They were these grassroots events, parking lots with cones.

“I had this really fun car, but nothing to do with it now. We went back to one of the places where I did a gymkhana race, El Toro airfield, which is in Orange County.

“We just played around for a day and filmed it, testing and practice. If you look at that video online, it doesn’t say ‘Gymkhana 1,’ it says ‘Gymkhana Testing and Practice,’ because that’s what I was doing.

“We put that video out as something for fun, and didn’t think it would get the views that it got. It just skyrocketed.”

From there, viral Gymkhana and stunt videos became a staple of Block’s career, building his four-wheel brand whilst he also competed in WRC, WRX and the X-Games.

His associated YouTube channels would generate billions of views, with his iconic Gymkhana Five video getting 113 million plays alone.

Ken Block competing in WRX Portugal 2018 — Competing at the Portuguese WRX round in 2017

Getty Images

Block’s thrilling off and on-road antics would see him also feature in three instalments of the popular Dirt video game series, a continuation of the original Colin McRae franchise – the Scot being one of the Californian’s initial inspirations.

Emulating his hero, Block first entered a WRC round in 2007, finishing 28th on his debut in Mexico driving a Subaru WRX.

Entering selected events in a Ford Focus in 2010, he impressively picked up his first points with a ninth-place finish in Spain.

Block would score points on five more occasions, with a highest finish of seventh at Mexico 2013, his final entry ending in retirement at Spain 2018.

The American would also compete in rallycross, taking podiums in WRX, a win in Norway for his only European Rallycross entry and was a regular winner in the Global Rallycross series.

More recently, the Californian announced he would keep up his modification projects in a new association with Audi, the self-confessed Quattro fanatic unveiling the Audi S1 e-tron quattro ‘Hoonitron’.

The all-electric monster featured two motors generating 1400bhp, with electronic driving aids helping Block to pull off even audacious manoeuvres.

Block remained busy until his tragic passing, posting more video content just days before his death.

Motor sport legends from around the world expressed their sadness at the news, with Sébastien Ogier and Petter Solberg among many paying tribute.

“Ken was a visionary, so passionate and inspiring,” said Ogier. “He knew like no other how to combine motorsport and a big show. He lived his life to the fullest and I’ll never forget his smile and laugh.”

“A top driver, a great friend, a family man, and an inspiration to millions all over the world,” wrote Solberg.

Motor Sport sends its sincere condolences to Ken Block’s family and friends.