Everyone's favorite drifter is putting an end - or maybe he's just taking a break? - to his World Rallycross Championship career for now as the Hoonigan Racing team just announced it is dropping out of the competition next season.
Ken Block, the more famous of the team's two drivers (the second one being Andreas Bakkerud), isn't severing his long-lasting ties with Ford, however. After the company's racing division - Ford Performance - had backed the Hoonigan Racing team during the two years it was involved in FIA's rallycross tournaments, the successful pair will continue to work together on other projects.
“Although we have thoroughly enjoyed competing in the exciting FIA World Rallycross Championship, it’s a natural time for us to take a break as the future of the series takes shape,” said Dave Pericak, global director of Ford Performance. “To continue in [the championship] would have required the development of a new race car, and with so much discussion happening around the future of rallycross from a powertrain package standpoint, it made sense for us to pause until it’s better defined.”
That clearly leaves an open door for Ford's return to the competition one day, and after the sustained efforts for developing the Focus RS RX rallycross car, we can only imagine it wasn't an easy decision to make.
Ken Block also tackled the news by posting a collage of rallycross photos on Instagram together with a text meant to ease the worries of his fans and express his gratitude toward everyone involved with the team.
He made it quite clear that there will be no significant drop in the number of ways we can see him going sideways as he's going to keep featuring in "some stage rallies, Gymkhana GRID races, plus more rad video projects with Ford as usual." And if you don't know what he's on about, then maybe you should watch his latest clip: a heart-stopping Pikes Peak climb in a 1,400 hp heavily modified Ford Mustang.
“Although we have thoroughly enjoyed competing in the exciting FIA World Rallycross Championship, it’s a natural time for us to take a break as the future of the series takes shape,” said Dave Pericak, global director of Ford Performance. “To continue in [the championship] would have required the development of a new race car, and with so much discussion happening around the future of rallycross from a powertrain package standpoint, it made sense for us to pause until it’s better defined.”
That clearly leaves an open door for Ford's return to the competition one day, and after the sustained efforts for developing the Focus RS RX rallycross car, we can only imagine it wasn't an easy decision to make.
Ken Block also tackled the news by posting a collage of rallycross photos on Instagram together with a text meant to ease the worries of his fans and express his gratitude toward everyone involved with the team.
He made it quite clear that there will be no significant drop in the number of ways we can see him going sideways as he's going to keep featuring in "some stage rallies, Gymkhana GRID races, plus more rad video projects with Ford as usual." And if you don't know what he's on about, then maybe you should watch his latest clip: a heart-stopping Pikes Peak climb in a 1,400 hp heavily modified Ford Mustang.