Last weekend Ken Block entered and won his first all-tarmac rally, the Rally New York USA event in the state's Catskill Mountains. Although some events throughout the year have select tarmac parts or stages, this all-tarmac event was a new competitive driving experience for Ken.
Though the Rally New York USA event doesn't count towards Ken's bid for the '08 Rally America National Championship, he entered it just for fun and to get reconnaissance experience (recon does not exist for Rally America events).
Ken absolutely dominated the event. After some slick rainy conditions and mechanical issues KO'd his stiffest competitors early on, he went on to win 23 of 27 stages and chalk up a 4 and a half minute lead by the end of the rally.
"I really enjoy the tarmac form of rally because it is so different and more technical than gravel, you have to be so precise, but that challenge is what made it such an amazing experience," said Ken. "I adapted better than I expected to the tarmac and I am looking forward to racing some more tarmac events again sometime in the future."
The next rally for Ken will be the Olympus Rally in Washington on April 19-20. Check out rally.subaru.com for more info and photos from last weekend's unique all-tarmac rally.
