Ken Block has a chance to take home his first Rally Championship again this season. Something he’s had the opportunity to do three times before. Will this be the year?
A Familiar Situation
Ken Block has never won a Rally Championship. Although he has come close on multiple occasions. Most recently, he came close in 2021. Finishing the season only 33 points behind champion Travis Pastrana. That’s not the closest Block has gotten, however. As in 2013, Block would go into a final Rally showdown with David Higgins. Unfortunately for Block, he would end up rolling and subsequently retiring. Thus not winning the championship. For Block, this experience may come into play. Ultimately the cooler head will prevail.
Ken Block’s Season So Far
Ken Block has had a pretty good season thus far. Winning three out of six events entered. As well as two more podiums. Block has only been out of the top three once. That one time came at the Olympus Rally, where Block retired on SS3. Although Block has won three events so far, he has had two wins taken away on the final stage. If Block were to win those two events, he would have won the championship already. Unfortunately for Block, rally isn’t that simple or easy, and misfortune finds a way to strike at the worst times. Luckily for Block, he is still seen as the favorite to win the championship and only has one real competitor, Brandon Semenuk. Semenuk is the only thing that stands between Block and his first championship.
What Would It Take for Ken Block to Win?
There are about half a dozen ways Block can win the championship. There are also about half a dozen where he loses the championship. For Block to win, he has to gain more points than Semenuk or win via a countback. At this stage, counting back drop points doesn’t make a difference as both Block and Semenuk drop 17. Block will most likely win the championship by winning both events. This may sound easy on paper, but STPR and LSPR aren’t the easiest rallies. They only become harder when having to push to the limit to be able to win.
Giving It All He’s Got
Ken Block is giving it his all this year to win the championship and leaving everything on the stages. Block has a good chance at winning the title this year and ending Subaru’s dominance in the American rally scene. This also may be Block’s last chance at winning a championship as next year, the competition will likely grow as the ARA is adding more regulations to the O4WD class to make them more similar to the RC2 class.
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
