Last weekend Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino finished 18th in rally Mexico in their Ford Focus WRC, but the event was far from trouble free. Here's some on-board footage from Day One, which concluded with the pair in 10th position overall.
Day Two, however, ended with Block, Dani Sordo and Malcom Wilson all leaving the road on Stage 10. Block was out for the day but returned to the race on Sunday (with penalties).
Even so, the weekend was sprinkled with hope that additional time in the car will make him a top-five contender. He was inside the top five at several splits throughout the weekend and he finished eighth on Sunday's first stage. And that's with only 170 test kilometers in the car before the event.
It's occurred to Inside Line that Block is probably the only American to pilot a WRC-class car in international competition since the category came to be in the late '90s. Can you think of another?
felonious says:
03:28 PM, 03/ 8/10
According to this page, he's the first American in WRC history:
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/wheeldeal/2010/01/07/ken-block-locked-and-loaded-for-2010-wrc/
However, John Buffum was in the precursor to the WRC and did quite well.