Ken Block marked his return to the FIA World Rally Championship in style by claiming two WRC points on Brother Rally New Zealand yesterday.
The Gymkhana internet sensation finished ninth overall on the Auckland-based round in his Ford Fiesta WRC, his first appearance in the series since he claimed an identical result on Rally Guanajuato Mexico back in March.
“We absolutely loved the rally,” said the Monster World Rally Team driver. “After three months without rallying, it feels really good to get back into it and be competitive. It was a little slippery [on Sunday] morning so I was just taking a conservative drive. The car was excellent, we had a big gap to the guy in front so there was no reason to push too hard.”
Block has spoken several times of his love of the stages in New Zealand and said that Saturday’s route around around Whangarei was the best experience of his career so far.
“I absolutely love these roads,” said the American. “They’re seriously some of the best roads in the entire world. Saturday was amazing. I drove well, the car ran great and the roads were the best I’ve ever driven. It was definitely the most awesome day of my driving career in terms of having fun on stage roads.”