1. Ken Driver + Denver
2. Ken Driver Obituary
3. Driver Ken Block

Ken Shoemaker Hammer for Hire. Courtesy of Pascal Cote This shot appears in the biography of Shoemaker. Many of our region's best - known earlier stock car drivers came right out of a post - WWII Capital District, New York [or very close thereof]. Ken Block drifting through San Francisco. Professional stunt driver Ken Block navigates his way through San Francisco in this commercial for DC Shoes.

Kenneth Block (born November 21, 1967)^[2] is a professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block is also one of the co-founders of DC Shoes.^[3] Over the years, he has also competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, and motocross. Since selling his ownership of DC Shoes, Block has shifted his business focus to Hoonigan Industries, an apparel brand for auto enthusiasts. He is currently the co-owner and 'Head Hoonigan In Charge' (HHIC) at the company.^{[citation needed]}.

• 1Rallying
• 2Racing record
  • 2.2Complete WRC results
  • 2.3Complete Global Rallycross Championship results
  • 2.4Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results
  • 2.5Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Rallying[edit]

2005[edit]

In 2005, Block began his National rallying career with the Vermont SportsCar team.^[4] Vermont SportsCar prepared a 2005 Subaru WRX STi for Block to compete. His first event of the rallying season was Sno*Drift, where he ended up finishing seventh overall and fifth in the Group N class.^[5] During the 2005 season, Block had five top five finishes and placed third overall in the Group A class and fourth overall in the Rally America National Championship.^[4] At the end of his first rallying year, Ken Block had won the Rally America Rookie of the Year award.^[6]

2006[edit]

In 2006, Block along with his DC rally teammate Travis Pastrana signed a new sponsorship deal with Subaru.^[4] Through this deal with Subaru, the teammates became known as 'Subaru Rally Team USA.'^[4] With the new rally season, Block also got a brand new Vermont SportsCar prepped 2006 Subaru WRX STi.^[4] He competed in the first ever X Games rally event at X Games XII.^[4] In the competition, Block ended up finishing third to take the bronze.^[4] He went on to compete in the 2006 Rally America National Championship, where he finished second overall.^[4]

2007[edit]

In 2007, Block competed in the X Games XIII rally event, where he placed second overall and won a silver medal.^[6] In the 2007 Rally America National Championship, Block finished third overall.^[6] During this season, Block also entered in a few rounds of the World Rally Championship; Rally Mexico and Rally New Zealand.^[5] In Rally New Zealand, Block recorded two top-five stage times in the Group N class.^[5] At the end of 2007, Block had achieved 19 podiums and 8 overall victories in rally events.^[3]

2008[edit]

In 2008, Block was provided with a brand new rally prepped 2008 Subaru WRX STi to compete. Block decided to compete in the Rallye Baie-des Chaleurs of the Canadian Rally Championship to gain some experience with his new 2008 rally car and prepare for the World Rally Championships later in the year.^[7] Block gained his first Canadian rally win at the event.^[7] This was only the second event for the new car.^[7] Block and his co-driver were unable to get any championship points at the event due to not having a Canadian competition license.^[7]Block competed in the Rally New York USA competition and finished in first place.^[8]In the X Games XIV rally competition, Block finished tied for third place with Dave Mirra.^[9] This occurrence was due to both competitors having issues with their car. Block, who made it to the semi-finals of the event, had a radiator problem after landing the car awkwardly on a jump. With both bronze place competitors in damaged cars unable to compete, the medals were awarded to both of them.^[9]

Block competed in the 2008 Rally America National championship, which concluded on October 17, 2008. In the event, he finished second overall with a strong victory in the last event. In the Lake Superior Performance Rally stage, Block finished over one minute ahead of his next closest competitor and secured the second overall position.^[10] Next up for Block this rally season is three World Rally Championship events.^[5]

2009[edit]

Block appeared in a segment of motoring show Top Gear.^[11]Block filmed the hit YouTube video 'Gymkhana 2', making the most viral video of 2009, as well as selling more DC shoes with this 'informercial'^{[citation needed]}.

2010[edit]

For 2010, Block ended his partnership with Subaru and joined Ford. Also, sponsors BFGoodrich and Motul were replaced by Pirelli and Castrol.

On January 6, 2010 the Block drove selected rounds of the World Rally Championship for Monster World Rally Team, in which he campaigned a Ford Focus RS WRC 08 run by M-Sport, who also prepare the official Ford WRC cars. Also, he ran his sixth season of the Rally America Championship in an open class Ford Fiesta, as well as his fifth X Games. Block was the first ever American driver to campaign for the World Rally Championship. On February 27, Block won the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood (Rally America) for the 5th consecutive time. This broke the record held by John Buffum.^[12] Block is currently being trained by former Ford factory driver Markko Märtin. At the Rally Spain, he won his first 2 points in World Rally Championship.

2011[edit]

On March 23, Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino were taken to hospital, having rolled their Ford Fiesta RS WRC during the shakedown stage of the 2011 Rally de Portugal in Faro, Portugal.^[13] A representative of the Monster World Rally team later stated that both men were fine.^[14]

2013[edit]

On his first race of 2013 season, Block scored well, entering top-ten in the Mexican rally, thus receiving his first six points for the championship and score a best-ever 7th overall finish.^[15][16]

2014[edit]

Castrol returned as Block's sponsor. He participated in the WRC located in Catalunya, Spain. He was in 10th place until the last stage where he suffered a tire puncture and lost a significant amount of time. He finished in 12th.

2015[edit]

Block continued to compete in the Global RallyCross Championship. He also put more time into managing the Hoonigan company. He announced that he would not put any time into the World Rally Championship, a first since 2009.

2016[edit]

On March 13, Block together with actor and television host Matt LeBlanc performed donuts at the Cenotaph War Memorial in London in a Ford Mustang, while filming a segment for the show Top Gear, which drew significant negative media attention in the United Kingdom.^[17]

Block will be competing full-time in the World Rallycross Championship for the 2016 season.^[18]

At Hockenheimring, Germany, Block finished third in the Supercar Final and achieved his second podium in the series.^[19]

Racing record[edit]

Complete Rally America results[edit]

(key)

Complete WRC results[edit]

(key)

PWRC results[edit]

Complete Global Rallycross Championship results[edit]

(key)

Supercar[edit]

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results[edit]

(key)

Supercar[edit]

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results[edit]

(key)

Supercar[edit]

^† Five championship points deducted for receiving three reprimands in a season.

Other motorsport activities[edit]

In 2005, Block along with his DC Shoes associates participated in the Gumball 3000 Rally. For the event they sent out three modified 2004 Subaru WRX STi's sponsored by DC Shoes.^[20][21]

In 2006, Block competed in the One Lap of America competition along with Brian Scotto. They were teamed up in a 2006 Subaru WRX STi and finished forty-fifth overall.^[22]

In 2006, for the Discovery Channel show Stunt Junkies, Block jumped his Subaru WRX STi rally car 171 feet (52 m) and a max height of 25 feet (7.6 m).^[4] The whole episode was dedicated to Block attempting this stunt.

In 2007, Block joined the DC Shoes Snowboarding team at New Zealand's Snow Park.^[4] Block did massive jumps and assisted in snowboarding tricks while driving his rally car on the mountain alongside the snowboarders. A crash after landing a large jump cracked one of the vertebrae in his spine, he was flown to the hospital. The session made the cover of the December 2007 issue of Snowboarder Magazine and closed out the MTN.LAB 1.5 DVD.^[4]

In 2009, for the BBC show Top Gear, Block took James May out for Gymkhana-style driving at Block's stunt course at Inyokern Airport, an operational California airport, also starring Ricky Carmichael. In 2010 Block took the feature car from the previous episode (a Reliant Robin) for a lap of the Top Gear test track. He rolled the car and was unable to complete a lap but was unhurt.

On October 15, 2009, it was reported that Block was close to a deal to join the World Rally Championship in a new Ford team. Long time co-driver Alex Gelsomino was also reportedly involved in the deal. Former Subaru WRC driver Chris Atkinson has been reported to be lined up as Block's teammate in the all-new Monster Energy Drink Ford World Rally Team.^[23]

On January 6, 2010, the announcement is made as Block joins up with Ford and begins his WRC career driving both a Ford Fiesta and Focus RS WRC.

On August 24, 2010, Block released the first of a three part Gymkhana 3 video release featuring his new Ford Fiesta.^[24]

On September 14, 2010, Block's third Gymkhana video, featuring a Ford Fiesta, was released on YouTube.^[25] The video got more than seven million views in its first week. This vehicle is now on display on the Petersen Automotive Museum.

On August 16, 2011, the fourth Gymkhana video, The Hollywood Megamercial was released on YouTube, featuring Block driving around the Universal Studiosbacklot.^[26]

On July 1, 2012, Block took the Silver Medal for Rallycross at X Games XVIII behind Sébastien Loeb.

On July 9, 2012, Block released his fifth Gymkhana video on YouTube, featuring Block driving his Ford Fiesta in San Francisco and Travis Pastrana on a dirtbike. After 24 hours, the video was viewed 5.1 million times, making it the top-viewed video of the previous week.^[27]

In late 2014, Block battled through to the Spanish finals of Gymkhana GRID, eventually beating Jake Archer to take the win. He donated the €10,000 prize fund to the Keep A Breast Foundation charity.^[28]

Block also holds the world record for the world's fastest snowcat, a modified Ford Raptor called a Trax STI.

Block appears in the 2015 Need for Speed video game as the style icon.

Involvement in Colin McRae: Dirt 2, Dirt 3, and Dirt: Showdown[edit]

Block is featured as a driver in CodemastersColin McRae: Dirt 2, along with his Subaru Rally Team USA Impreza. In Dirt 3 he is seen as a driver and Gymkhana teacher, his Monster World Rally Team vehicles are available in the game, including the Ford Fiesta GYM 3, and the Ken Block Ford Focus WRC. Ken's Ford Fiesta and his Hoonigan/Monster livery appear extensively in Dirt: Showdown another Codemasters racing game with a more arcade feeling and demolition derby style Knockout and 8-Ball crossover racing events. His trademark gymkhana style of driving dominates the Head-to-Head and Trick Rush race modes as well as the Freestyle section.

References[edit]

1. ^https://www.donegaldaily.com/2019/06/21/ken-block-crashes-out-of-donegal-rally-on-ss3/.Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. ^'Catching Up With DC's Ken Block'. Jeff Emig. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
3. ^ ^ab'Official Site: Bio'. kenblockracing.com. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
4. ^ ^abcdefghijk'Ken Block'. auto.dcshoes.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2008.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
5. ^ ^abcd'Interview: Ken Block - Part 2'. Carolyn Schonafinger. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2008.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
6. ^ ^abc'2008 Subaru Rally Team USA'. rally.subaru.com. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
7. ^ ^abcd'Ken Block Flies To His First Canadian Rally Win'. snowboard-mag.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2008.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
8. ^'Rally New York USA:USRC Results'. rallynewyork.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
9. ^ ^ab'Travis Pastrana wins gold medal at 2008 X Games 14 Rally, Tanner Foust silver, as Dave Mirra and Ken Block share bronze'. rallybuzz.stagetimes.com. Retrieved November 2, 2008.^{[dead link]}
10. ^'Subaru Driver Ken Block Wins Rally Finale at LSPR, SRT USA Finishes 1-2 in Rally America Championship'. specialstage.com. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
11. ^Top Gear, Season 13, Episode 3.
12. ^'Rally America'. Rally America. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
13. ^'Ken Block has Massive Wreck on Shakedown Stage'. Rally World News. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
14. ^'WRC: Ogier rocks, Block rolls on Portugal shakedown'. crash.net. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
15. ^'Driver Standings - WRC Results, Positions & Stage Times - wrc.com'.
16. ^'WRC.com®- FIA World Rally Championship - Official Website - wrc.com'.
17. ^Dathan, Matt; Robinson, Martin; Tozer, James (March 13, 2016). 'Top Gear host Chris Evans is forced to apologise 'unreservedly' for Matt LeBlanc's 'gravely disrespectful' wheelspins around the Cenotaph as Army veterans say even Clarkson would not stoop so low'. MailOnline. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
18. ^Evans, David (January 13, 2016). 'Ken Block commits to World Rallycross Championship for 2016'. Autosport. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
19. ^'Mattias Ekström vann på Hockenheim' (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. May 8, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
20. ^'Teams 31 - 60'. GTspirit.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2008.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
21. ^'Rob Dyrdek back on the rally'. gumball3000.com. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
22. ^'2006 Tire Rack One Lap of America: Final Overall Results'. onelapofamerica.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2006. Retrieved November 2, 2008.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
23. ^'autosport.com'. autosport.com. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
24. ^'Gymkhana 3'. DC Shoes. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
25. ^'Ken Block: Gymkhana Three'. AUSmotive.com. September 15, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
26. ^Sanchez, Karla. 'Gymkhana Four – Ken Block Hoons in Hollywood'. Motor Trend. Retrieved August 17, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
27. ^Hardigree, Matt. 'Gymkhana 5 Viewed 5.1 Million Times in 24 Hours'. Jalopnik. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
28. ^Gratton, Ian. 'NEWS: Ken Block wins Gymkhana GRID 2014'. Drifted. Retrieved November 3, 2014.

• Davies, Steve. 'The Accidental Hero – An interview with Ken Block'. SkiddMark. Fitch Media. Retrieved December 9, 2011.

External links[edit]

• Gymkhana racing improved by Ken Block, Video, ~4min

Kenneth Henry Miles (1 November 1918 – 17 August 1966) was a British-born, naturalised American sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the US, and with American teams on the international scene.

• 5Racing record

Career[edit]

Miles raced motorcycles before he served as a tank commander in the British Army in World War II.

After the war he raced Bugattis, Alfa Romeos and Alvises with the Vintage Sports Car Club. He then turned to a Ford V8 Frazer-Nash.

Miles then moved from England to the Los Angeles, California area. In 1953 he won 14 straight victories in SCCA racing in an MG-based special of his own design and construction.

For the 1955 season, he designed, constructed and campaigned a second special based on MG components that was known as the 'Flying Shingle'. It was very successful in the SCCA F modified class on the west coast. Miles raced the 'Flying Shingle' at Palm Springs in late March, finishing first overall against veteran driver Cy Yedor, also in a MG Special, and novice driver, actor James Dean in a Porsche 356 Speedster. Miles was later disqualified on a technical infraction because his fenders were too wide, thus allowing Yedor and Dean to get 'bumped up' to first and second. During 1956, Miles raced Johnny von Neumann's Porsche 550 Spyder at most of the Cal Club and SCCA events.^[1]

For the 1957 season (in co-operation with Otto Zipper), Miles engineered the installation of a Porsche 550S engine and transmission in a 1956 Cooper chassis and body. It was the second successful race car to be known on the West Coast as 'the Pooper', the first being an early 1950s Cooper chassis and body powered by a Porsche 356 power train that was built and campaigned by Pete Lovely of Tacoma, WA. The resulting car dominated the F Modified class of SCCA on the west coast in the 1957 and 1958 seasons with Miles driving.

Due to his great skill and talent, both as a driver and mechanic/engineer, Miles was a key member of the Shelby/Cobra race team in the early 1960s. With a very pronounced Brummy accent (from his hometown of Birmingham, renowned for car manufacturing) combined with a seemingly obscure and sardonic sense of humour, he was affectionately known by his American racing crew as 'Teddy Teabag' (for his tea drinking) or 'Sidebite' (as he talked out of the side of his mouth). He played a key role in the development and success of the racing versions of the Shelby Cobra 289 in SCCA, USRRC and FIA sports car racing between 1962 and 1965 as well as the Daytona Coupe and 427 versions of the Cobra and the Ford GT (GT40).

In 1966 he won the 24 Hours of Daytona (pictured) with Lloyd Ruby, and then the 12 Hours of Sebring in the Ford GT Mk.II. Several months later, near the end of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Miles was in the lead, but Ford management, desiring a publicity photo of three of their cars crossing the finish line together, instructed Carroll Shelby to order him to slow down. Accordingly, the next car (Bruce McLaren/Chris Amon) and the third place car drew up, and they cruised to the line together. It is rumoured that Miles, with his considerable commitment to the Ford racing programme, registered a protest at this perceived slight by allowing Ford #2 car to cross the line first. A rather more plausible version, apparently admitted to by McLaren, is that despite the team orders he suddenly accelerated ahead just before the finish line, and crossed it first. Either way, Miles was denied the unique achievement of winning Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans in the same year, as Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon were declared the winners.

Test driver/car developer[edit]

His early career got Carroll Shelby's attention, who hired Miles as a test driver in the early 1960s. Miles helped Shelby develop the Shelby Cobra. Miles also developed the first Sunbeam Tiger prototype, in which he was approached by The Rootes Group, for the sum of $800 , which he completed in one week. He also is credited with helping Shelby develop the GT40 and the Mustang GT350.

Ken Driver + Denver

Death[edit]

The Ford J-car was intended to be the successor to the all-conquering Ford GT Mk.II and, despite reliability problems, showed potential in the springtime Le Mans trials. After the death of Walt Hansgen in a Mk.II. Ford, the decision was made to shelve the J-car and focus on the proven Mk IIs, and little development was done for the rest of the 1966 World Sports Car Championship season. Finally, in August 1966, Shelby American resumed testing and development work with Miles serving as primary test driver. The J-car featured a breadvan-shaped rear section that experimented with Kammback aerodynamic theories, as well as a revolutionary (but untested) honeycomb panel design that was supposed to both lighten and stiffen the car, but the design remained unproven with high-speed prototype sports cars.

After almost a day of testing at Riverside International Raceway in the brutally hot Southern California desert summer weather, Miles approached the end of the track's 1-mile (1.6 km), downhill back straight at top speed (200-plus mph) when the car suddenly looped, flipped, crashed and caught fire. The car broke into pieces and ejected Miles, killing him instantly. The car had suffered precisely the sort of crash damage the honeycomb construction was designed to prevent. As a result, the aerodynamics of the J-car were heavily modified to correct the rear-end lift generated at race speeds. Ford officials, under pressure after the second of two fatal accidents in the programme in five months, also ordered a NASCAR-style steel tube rollover cage to be installed in future versions of the car. The death of 47 year old Miles, following that of 46 year old Hansgen, led Ford to favour younger drivers in subsequent race entries. The significantly revised J-car, renamed the Ford Mk IV, won the only two races in which it was entered: the 1967 Sebring (Fla.) 12 Hours, and the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. The steel roll cage in the Mk IV (mandated as a direct result of Miles's death) probably saved the life of Mario Andretti, who crashed violently during the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans but escaped with minor injuries.

Award[edit]

• Miles was posthumously inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.^[2]

Racing record[edit]

Career highlights[edit]

Complete Formula One World Championship results[edit]

(key)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[edit]

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results[edit]

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results[edit]

Film adaptations[edit]

Ford v Ferrari is an upcoming film about the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans auto race. It is produced by 20th Century Fox and is being directed by James Mangold. In the movie Ken Miles will be portrayed by Christian Bale.^[5] His wife Mollie Miles and his son Peter Miles, both race car drivers in their own right, will be portrayed by Caitriona Balfe and Noah Jupe respectively.^[6] The movie began shooting in the summer of 2018 and is set for November 2019 release.^[7] His closest acquaintance Carroll Shelby will be played by Matt Damon.

Ken Driver Obituary

References[edit]

1. ^Raskin, Lee (2005). James Dean: At Speed. Phoenix, Ariz.: David Bull. p. 70. ISBN978-1893618497.
2. ^BiographyArchived 13 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
3. ^'SPAM protection / Ochrana proti SPAMu'. Wsrp.ic.cz. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
4. ^'USAC Road Racing Championship - Championships'. Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
5. ^'James Mangold to Direct Ford vs. Ferrari Film as 'Logan' Follow-Up'. variety.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
6. ^''Outlander' Star Caitriona Balfe, 'Quiet Place' Breakout Noah Jupe Join Ford vs. Ferrari Movie'. hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
7. ^''Ford v. Ferrari' Trailer: Matt Damon, Christian Bale Team Up to Design Race Car'. hollywoodreporter.com. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.

Driver Ken Block

8. Self published self financed 'Ken Miles the Motoring Maverick 'His Early Life Around Cars' a self published self financed book authored by Paul House in the UK 2017.