VVV Interview Ken Block

With just a week until the launch of Colin McRae Dirt 2, Codemasters are pulling out all of the stops in gaining maximum exposure for their forthcoming flagship racer. You'll have seen our initial hands-on and latest in-game videos with lots more to follow. But now is the opportunity to meet the new man taking over this flag ship franchise, from the greatness of Colin McRae step forward Ken Block. In just 4 years he's stepped forward from rookie status to being the hot property in the US X-Games Rally scene.

So packed and ready to go I made my way to Silverstone Race Track, its a nice sunny sky but for some reason Silverstone is always a tad grey, chilly and windy, typical race track weather then. As I journey I'm keen to meet the man, find out where he came from and what developed him so quickly into this mighty racer.

Arriving at the circuit and the cab driver drops me off at the main gate, now the long walk to Silverstone's scrutineering area, while on my journey I note a range of different cars having a track day, always a great experience. Walking seemingly forever it always strikes me how big a track really is, 1 minute in an F1 car translates into over an hours walk. Finally making my way into the Dirt 2 area and Ken is sitting in his car ready to go, a crowd of journalists huddling in trying to get some unique shots. Everyone just wanted to be near the action and for the lucky few who were given a drive it must have been an awesome experience.

Left: Another lucky passenger, Right: Tons of tyres being utterly destroyed in the process.

Walking round the make shift rally circuit I meet Codemasters PR man Adrian "watch how he blasts out of the tunnel, its really something!" I stand excitedly and boom Ken's car come shooting out of a tunnel and through the air. Really attacking the circuit and having great fun too, though after running it 20 times I can imagine it would be a touch boring, on saying that he appears to improve at the course all day. In particular, when an attractive lass from Monkey magazine stepped up there was a considerable speed increase, creating a rye smile on the faces of many watching, "oh look, additional doughnuts too" notice members of the crowd.

Its time for a break in proceedings and I take a wander, drinking far too much free Monster Energy drink, I certainly needed it for the miles of walking. Strolling into the pits I notice some activity and have a nose. Spotting one of our friends from Fueltopia, James is working on a Speed Dating show. Basically good looking lasses ask the guys questions as they race round the track, then vice versa. Good fun was being had by all and I'll keep an eye out for the finished article.

Break over and Ken was back on track, I took a range of additional videos and you see some screen grabs from those in our gallery. The big highlight being a jump made for channel 5's Fifth Gear, it was good but some of us felt the tunnel leap was often the most exciting.

Nevertheless it was a fantastic days driving and I couldn't wait to catch up with the man myself. Another wait ensued and I took the opportunity to take some pictures of Colin McRaes previous rally cars including his WRC world championship WRX and his recent realisation of a rally concept car, a great man and a growing rally legend certainly missed by many in the sport.

Walking into meet Ken and he was busy playing Dirt 2, having a pop at the Gate Crasher mode and with some decent progress. Again I was keen to learn about the man, where he came from, his sudden rise through the rally ranks and some of the challenges of his career. Ken was quite jovial in his attitude to all things and grateful for his success. You can see more on that in our forthcoming video, for now I'll leave you with some pictures of the day including my nose around the BRDC VIP area.