"I'm NOT a stunt driver, I'm a rally driver who does some fun stuff on the side!"
Last week I questioned whether Ken Block's Gymkhana thing had run its course and maybe it was time to try something new. And it provoked a lot of discussion, not least among those who thought I was having a go at him. Who must have missed the bit where I said "he's clearly hugely talented at the wheel, a very smart businessman and, by all accounts, a very nice chap to boot with a genuine passion for rallying."
Parente's chat with Block reveals much
Don't take my word for it though - you can hear it from the man himself in this really, really interesting interview put up on Friday on the YouTube Drive channel. It's just a straightforward chat twixt Block and ... excitable ... Drive presenter Leo Parente. But all the better for it. No flashy edits, no footage, just a few stills and Block demonstrating both how smart he is and how deeply his passion for rallying runs with thoroughly disarming honesty and humility.
You almost get the impression that he too could happily watch in-car videos of WRC stars at the limit on 'real' rally stages all day long. But he knows that's not going to score tens of millions of YouTube hits.
I do stand by my original point though and I think he needs to channel that talent and creativity into doing something more than Gymkhana Six, Seven, Eight and Nine. I'd just love to see what that might be! Our friends over at Axis Of Oversteer have suggested maybe a change of footwear would be a good start. Could be something in that...
