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The 2009 OMSE Ford Fiesta used by Marcus Gronholm at last year’s Pikes Peak hill climb Fiesta is officially Ken Block’s new rally car for the 2010 season. Ken wil be entering 6 Rally-America events with Alex Gelsomino as his co-driver. The RA events that Ken & Alex will be attending include:
Sno*Drift – January 29-30, 2010
100 Acre Wood – February 26-27, 2010
Olympus Rally – April 24-25, 2010
Oregon Trail Rally – May 14-16, 2010
STPR Rally – June 4-5, 2010
New England Forest Rally – July 16-17, 2010

And here’s the official list of WRC events that Ken will be crashing in a Ford Focus RS:
Mexico – March 5-7, 2010
Turkey – April 16-18, 2010
Portugal – May 28-30, 2010
Germany – August 20-22, 2010
France – September 30-October 3, 2010
Spain – October 22-24, 2010
Wales – November 11-14, 2010

Last, but not least, Ken will be crashing X-Games 16 in LA on July 29-August 1, 2010.

There are plans to shoot the Gymkhana 3 video later this year with a OMSE Ford Fiesta. “To build the Gymkhana car feels thrilling. It is something over the top where we have totally free hands engineering wise which is very inspiring”, says Andréas Eriksson of OMSE Ford.

Ken’s new rally-car looks stunning and the Gravity Bureau team can’t wait to get some coverage of the 2010 Fiesta in action at Rally-America events this season!

Source: RallyBuzz, Rally-America.

Ken Block's 2010 Ford Fiesta

#43 Rally-America Ford

Alex Gelsomino at LSPR'09 - Ken Block's Co-driver for the 2010 Rally-America season

Rally driver extraordinaire and YouTube sensation Ken Block announced today that he will compete in the World Rally Championship circuit in 2010. He signed a deal with Ford and will be piloting one of two Monster Energy World Rally Team’s Fords. His rally weapons will be prepared by UK-based M-Sport. Ken will be the first American ever to participate in the WRC.

Ken said: “Racing in the World Rally Championship has always been a dream of mine but I’d still be dreaming if I promised podiums in the near future. I will be going head-to head with the greatest drivers on the planet. And sure, I will be giving it my all but my main objective for 2010 is to develop into a competitive driver for 2011 and beyond.”

Block is still planning to compete in the Rally-America circuit, where he will be driving a Ford Fiesta rally car. We look forward to covering Ken’s progress in the new car at the 2010 RA events. The biggest question on our minds is whether Alex Gelsomino will remain Ken’s co-driver. We’re also betting on the fact that ex-Subaru World Rally Team driver will be piloting the second Monster WRC Ford.

All of us here at Gravity Bureau are wishing Ken all the best on the WRC circuit and we can’t wait to take photos of the new Monster Energy World Rally Team’s Fords here in North America. We would also love to see a WRC event in the US or Canada in the next few years. STPR would be a great venue for an event of this caliber.

Ken Block enters the WRC in a Ford ©Monster Energy World Rally Team

Historic shot - Ken Block as a member of the Subaru Rally Team at LSPR'09 ©GravityBureau.com

At midnight on New Year’s Eve action sports icon Travis Pastrana shattered the world record for the longest rally-car jump. He lunched a Red Bull Subaru Impreza STI off the Pine Avenue Pier in Long Beach at 91 MPH, flew over 269 feet over Rainbow Harbor and landed on a floating barge. After successfully executing the stunt, Travis performed a double back flip into the Rainbow Harbor off the landing ramp.

“I was really nervous all day long, but when I got in the car I felt really calm” said Pastrana. “It was definitely a lot more fun than any of my practice runs, and when I landed, man did that retaining wall come up fast! I’m just happy the car and I didn’t end up in the drink. What a way to head into 2010!”

See below for a few photos and a video of the event. For a full event gallery and media see www.redbullnewyearnolimits.com.
You can find more info on Travis Pastrana and his craft at: www.travispastrana.com.

Subaru Impreza STI soaring over the Pier Avenue Pier in Long Beach, CA - © Red Bull

Red Bull. New Year. No Limits rally car ramp - © Red Bull

Travis Pastrana shatters the world rally car jump record - © Red Bull

Travis Pastrana wrapped in measuring tape before the jump - © Red Bull

Travis Pastrana back flips into Rainbow Harbor - © Red Bull

Travis Pastrana in his element - © Red Bull