Photo: DC Shoes
Ken Block: The man knows how to drive

Early last week a video started making the internet rounds and creating a buzz. It wasn't just any video, it was the highly anticipated second installment of Gymkhana THREE featuring driver-extraordinaire Ken Block. DC Shoes & Ken Block had big shoes to fill (no pun intended) with this video; previous Gymkhana videos have been viewed more than 70 million views and Gymkhana TWO was named a top-10 viral video of 2009.

The gang decided to roll out Gymkhana THREE in 2 parts. Gymkhana THREE: Part 1 is a music video infomercial featuring hip-hop duo The Cool Kids. It's more lifestyle-esque and features high production aesthetic. Gymkhana THREE: Part 2 showcases incredible driving on a 1.58 mile oval track with banks as steep as 51 degrees (more than double the incline of most NASCAR ovals). These two vids are quite intriguing to say the least, so I hit up Kenny from the Block to explain further.

- Danny Spyra
Photo: DC Shoes
Ken Block racing towards awards, accolades and tons
of views

1. Gymkhana TWO received over 25 million views and was named to Ad Age's top-10 viral videos of 2009. So now we have Gymkhana THREE: any pressure?

KB - Ya, well the funny thing is I started out just doing this just for fun. We put out the first video just expecting a couple hundred thousand views and it now has something like 25 million views. It's one of those things that's great because it started from something that I just loved to do. When we did Gymkhana TWO and now THREE there's been this pressure of expectations, which is fine. I enjoy doing what I do and enjoy trying to do things better and better but the pressure sometimes takes a little bit of the fun away. I always love the end result and I'm a lucky bastard that I get to go out and do these things.

2. Who came up with the idea to film Gymkhana THREE: Part 2 at the 86-year old L'Autodrome?

KB - That was me. I'm constantly searching for fun places to drive my car and we had several locations last year we looked into. One we got pretty far with but got turned down with some of the things I wanted to do (laughs). I found L'Autodrome on a website called Jalopnik and went there for a site visit, fell in love with the place and planned out everything I wanted to do and went and did it.

Photo: DC Shoes
L'Autodrome features 51 degree banks, more than
double the standard incline of most NASCAR ovals
3. L'Autodrome features 51-degree banks. What kind of a challenge did this present?

KB - Well dealing with the banks was the most challenging part. It was something I didn't really know how the car would work, trying to slide around that steep of a bank. There was a big fear the car might roll because the banking is so steep but we were able to work out everything and I was able to do what I wanted to do.

Photo: DC Shoes
Ken Block circles segway stuntman Brian Scotto
4. I love the Segway stunt scene. Were you nervous about knocking Brian Scotto over?

KB - Um, you know that sort of thing is always a risk. I think that's part of what makes it enjoyable to watch too. The fact that someone's willing to get on a segway and risk getting hurt like that, it kind of makes it more interesting. It was kind of fun doing that because doing a donut around a moving object like that is very difficult to get the timing right and to make it look good. It's definitely a unique thing and I'm proud we were able to get it done and done well. But ya, I'm glad I didn't hurt Brian (laughs).

5. In the past you drove a Subaru STI and now you're on a 2011 Ford Fiesta. What can you tell us about this car?

KB - Well the good thing about this car is that this is my third generation of making these cars to do this style of driving. Because it's now my 3rd time of directing the guys building the car, I'm very specific on the needs that I have. The first car in the first video was sort of a modified street car and the second car for Gymkhana TWO we upped the level of the performance and build, but this car is the ultimate car for me for doing this style of driving. We were able to build exactly what I wanted from the ground up with the paddle shift, extremely light car and the right balance of the car...everything. The Ford Fiesta I have for doing this is just incredible.

Photo: DC Shoes
Ken Block's car features a 2 liter turbo engine with
a sequential gear box and paddle shifters
6. How did you get the Fiesta to go 0-60 in 1.9 seconds?

KB - Well that car is based off a rally cross car that is built in Sweden. The team is called Olsbergs and they are very, very good at building very quick Duratec Ford engines. So we took their Rally cross car and made a lot of changes to get it to work well for what I do in Gymkhana. It's a 2 liter turbo engine with a sequential gear box and a paddle shift that's on my steering column. It's incredible what they're able to do with just 2 liters and a turbo. That car is actually de-tuned; with a different turbo it can actually put out about 1000 horsepower. But for the type of driving I do, I need a very broad powerband. It's a very specific set-up that works exceptionally well for what I do.

7. Looks like you tore a few tires on that final donut scene. How was the condition of the car after filming?

KB - Haha, ya it was a little abused. We definitely put it through it's paces during 3 days of shooting and the car worked exceptionally well. Ford and the Olsbergs team put together a great package for me to do what I do. I abuse the hell out of it and it withstood all of it with the rims really taking the worst brunt of it.

Photo: DC Shoes
Ken on the set of music video infomercial, Gymkhana
THREE: Part 1
8. Regarding Gymkhana THREE: Part 1, when you were a grom did you ever think you d be in a rap video?

KB - Haha no, that's what s really funny to me. There's been a lot of those moments in the last couple years. One of the craziest things for me is that I grew up snowboarding and that ended up getting my rally car on the front cover of Snowboarder Magazine. There's these funny moments now including being in a rap video that if you told me 5 years ago these things would've happened, I'd laugh my ass off. That's what s really cool and it's been a great ride.

9. What kind of a team did it take to film Gymkhana THREE: Part 2?

KB - Well the production company we worked with is a company called Mad Media. DC creatively had a very specific look and story that we wanted to tell and Mad Media was able to take that direction and what we wanted and really translate it well into what kind of cameras they wanted to use and the angles and all that. I think there were 4 main cameramen they used and 1 guy specifically just on the in-car camera, so it was quite a production. But you know, if you really want a quality product you need the right people to do it for you and Mad Media did a great job for us.

Photo: DC Shoes
The car that handles it all, the 2011 Ford Fiesta
10. Final question: how about we film Gymkhana FOUR in my 2007 Civic?

KB - Hahaha, uh I don't think that would work so well.