He didn’t even want to believe the news. So many dangerous racing situations, so many risky stunts… And in the end he lost his life superficially accident while driving a snowmobile. This is how the cynical life is – you can go full throttle and be seriously injured in a car crash in normal traffic (Mike Hawthorne), a helicopter flight (Colin McRae) or normal downhill skiing (Michael Schumacher).

But instead of mourning, let’s celebrate Ken’s life interspersed with a love of cars and driving on the side of the road. He started racing relatively late, only at the age of 37. That’s because before he sits in the rally special Subaru Impreza WRX STi, he has to get one first – and as co-founder of DC Shoes (a footwear company focused on modern freestyle sports like skateboarding or snowboarding), it takes him all ten flights. .

Early on, however, he proved he could get behind the wheel in the Rally America Championship – in his debut season he finished fourth overall, in later years he also began winning individual events and even picking up multiple overall podiums. position (three seconds and a third ), although he never reached the summit himself.

This motivated him to try his luck at the World Rally, which most of you probably remember. He always rode only a select few races and ended up at the top or bottom of the leaderboard. Many laughed at him, but Ken just shrugged: “The guys I fight have been driving since they were kids.” He was not only a pretentious man, but a realist who went out into the world to gain experience. and just want to enjoy his life behind the wheel and make your dreams come true.

He didn’t let failure in the WRC poison him and continued to race, for fun – either in rallies on the American continent or in rally cross, where he won several medals at the famous X-Games. Over time, he has also appeared on the Top Gear European and American TV shows, supporting many other sports and charity events with his participation.

But he gained worldwide fame when he decided to film one of his training sessions at the airport on an “obstacle course”, and thus the Gymkhana phenomenon was born, a series of over ten videos today, in which Ken is with a rally car and later a drifting monster. Specially geared up (like the 1,400-horsepower four-wheel drive Mustang and many other craziness) demonstrate impeccable car control and spectacular skids and jumps. All of this is perfectly prepared and filmed in action. Each episode is more spectacular, each bolder and each one comes with new ideas on how to approach a given topic and entertains the audience – and therefore each episode is a joy to watch.

Each of his videos receives millions of views and draws the attention of many young people from all over the world to the car that fell into the world of four wheels forever. Ken Block shows cars from an unusual angle that impresses a whole new generation more interested in computers and phones than cars. And for that he is very grateful.

He has also shown his love of cars to his children, he and his wife Lucy have three – a boy and two girls. And he helped his eldest daughter buy and rebuild a beautiful Audi Quattro. Just for fun.

Of course, behind this “just for fun” there is always a lot of thoughtful marketing thought – the DC Shoes brand is known all over the world thanks to the skids in its cars, as well as from the “Hoonigan” label (namely the madman in the car who likes skid, burnout and donut) became not just terms, but successful brands. Ken Block is definitely a better businessman than a driver, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of his lifelong achievement.

Have you got it yet? That’s why it’s so hard to believe that a snowmobile accident claimed his life at the age of 55 on Monday, January 2, 2023, in Utah, USA. We are very sorry and sympathize with his family, partners and colleagues. Thanks for everything and rest in peace Ken.