THE WEEKLY HOON #6: RACING STRIPES

I’ve been busy this week with that awful thing called ‘school’, so unfortunately I haven’t been able to collect as much notes as I usually do about what’s gone down in the world of hooning. This week’s entry only really consists of a couple of things, and for that I am deeply sorry. I’ve got a week off next week so I’ll try to note down more stuff.

 

RACING STRIPES

Earlier this week, Kenny from the Block finally unveiled his 2014 livery to us all. If you read last week’s Weekly Hoon, you’ll know that on Instagram I predicted a pixel-inspired livery… and I was pretty close! Although digi-camo zebra stripes weren’t exactly what I was thinking, I still love it. I’m also loving the return of the Turbomacs and turbofans!

As well as a new livery, the Hoonigan Racing team have also refurbished their website and made it look like one of those there professional site thingys. They’ve also given us some exclusive content, containing insights on to the new livery and the RaptorTRAX! You should totally head on over to hooniganracing.com and check it all out for yourself! You can also pre-order the 2014 team t-shirt NOW at hoonigan.com (and if you order before midnight (PST) tomorrow, you’ll get a FREE shiny shiny sparkle sparkle gold Hoonigan sticker, because a certain someone won a certain rally in a certain 100 acre wood)

 

SAFETY FIRST

Safety has come a long way since the start of rallying. Modern rally cars can withstand the most brutal of wrecks, such as the crash Ken and Alex suffered at the Lake Superior Performance Rally last year, which resulted in a devastating end to their battle for the championship. Watch the HHIC and Alex explain the crash that ended it all.

 

LUCKY SEVEN

The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood was this weekend, and Ken Block wanted to take his new digital zebra for its first run out in the open. Last year wasn’t the best result for him and co-driver Alex Gelsomino, they crashed out and then suffered throttle issues during their attempt to win the rally for the 7th year running. However, that didn’t dampen their mood, as that night the HRD hosted a party in a car park and invited everyone in the area to come down and partay! But 2014 was much better, and they managed to finally grab that 7th win!

As well as the 100 Acre Wood Rally being Block’s first race of the season, it was Travis Pastrana’s first race back in the Subaru! Still recovering from a broken foot, Pastrana and co-driver Chrissie Beavis battled it out amongst the trees against old rivals like Ken, David Higgins and Antoine L’Estage. After the first day, Block was leading the pack with Higgins in second, L’Estage in third and Pastrana in fourth.

However, unfortunately for David Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew, disaster struck on the second day with an engine failure on SS9, resulting in them pulling out of the rally and ending their streak of 22 consecutive podium finishes. Antoine L’Estage and Marshall Clarke moved up into second, but later had to call it quits too after their Evo X overheated on SS13, meaning Travis Pastrana occupied second, a place he managed to maintain until the end. FY Racing’s Adam Yeoman and Jordan Schulze earned a well-deserved third place finish, marking only their second podium since joining the national series in 2011.

In the Super Production class, Nick Roberts and Rhianon Gelsomino managed to take the top spot, taking full advantage of some of the top SP drivers retiring and finished fourth overall, just missing out on two podiums. fifteen52’s Dillon Van Way and his co-driver Andrew Edwards took second place, and 2013 SP champions David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski rounded off the SP podium in third place. Sno*Drift SP winners and 100 Acre Wood favourites Lauchlin O’Sullivan and Scott Putnam ruined their chances of a second win before the rally even started, hitting a tree and wrecking the car on a practice stage.

In the 2WD class, Andrew Comrie-Picard and Ole Holter took the top spot, with Scion Racing’s Matthew Johnson and Jeremy Wimpey finishing second, and third place going to brothers Troy and Jeremy Miller, taking their second podium on only their second national rally.

 

BOOKFACING

The Hoon Platoon got a likeable Facebook page! Head over to facebook.com/hoonplatoon to like it and receive a free 30 day trial. After that it’s still free and I’d really appreciate you still liking it after 30 days.

 

THE WEEKLY HOON PIC OF THE WEEK

<Insert badass-sounding rap song of choice here talking about money and cars and a few derogatory statements towards the haters>

We all know the HHIC loves racing, and huskies, so in this awesome new profile-pic he combined the two and brought along his furry companions Bentley and Yuki Block to the 2014 livery shoot. Chicks dig race suits and huskies. I know I do.

 

 

Big up Tony Harmer, Hoonigan, Ken Block and Alex Haugen for the photos!

THE WEEKLY HOON #5: LAY DOWN SOME RUBBER

Tomorrow is Monday. You’ve got to go back to work. To cheer up, you should definitely read this blog entry written by a kid, because we all know kids are hilarious, right? Just as hilarious as this little girl…

 

GO DADDY

Although I might not be quite that young, I’d certainly still do the same thing.

 

NOT ALL MONDAYS ARE BAD

Monday is almost always bad news. It usually means early mornings and days filled with people you’d rather not have in your life. Unfortunately, unless you have the day off tomorrow or have an awesome job, that will still be the case. But, don’t feel too bad, because tomorrow the Head Hoonigan Ken Block will be releasing his 2014 livery! What could it be? Well, earlier this week I posted a photo on Instagram, indicating that it could be something pixel related…

 

And what’s that at the top of Ken Block’s photo of Yuki and Bentley? A pixel/digi camo bumper? CALLED IT.

 

THEY GROW UP SO FAST

It only seems like two minutes ago that Professor Martin Issle and his terrible British accent were talking us through the rebirth of Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck’s 240 missile. As quickly as the Drift Garage series started, it has ended, as this week’s episode was the final one. A few final adjustments to the car were some MA Motorsports ‘Awesometron 5000 Knuckles’ (are they really called that?), some Voodoo13 tension rods for dat angle, some Square wheels (not actual square wheels, that wouldn’t be very good), some Hankook tyres, an extra seat for your drifting buddy to sit in who just killed his missile doing tandem with you (or for your boyfriend/girlfriend/mother/father/dog to sit in and be terrified). The final touch was a lick of fresh paint, and then it was time to take her to the track. Chris Forsberg and Brian Wilkerson took the missile to Club Loose and added some stickers (more stickers = more power, obviously). The missile didn’t disappoint, and slid through the corners with ease. Check out the video and see the finished $5,000 (actually $6,589) product for yourself! Then go and scout eBay and Craigslist and find your own 240 and do it all again.

 

BURNOUT NOMINATIONS

Everybody loves an excuse to do a burnout. When the ‘NekNomination’ trend came about (for those who don’t know, a ‘NekNomination’ is where you’re nominated to drink a concoction of alcoholic drinks to show your friends how much of a man you are and how your body can withstand the same percentage of alcohol as an alcoholic Russian), the hoonigans answered. I present to you… burnout nominations.

Phil Morrison (of Driftworks):

Fredrik Sørlie (with added roof rack (seewhatididthere)):

Team Japspeed:

Chris Forsberg:

Julian Smith (of Garage D):

There’s a whole lot more on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Just search ‘burnout nomination’ or ‘#burnoutnomintation’ to enjoy the smokin’ hot madness!

 

THE WEEKLY HOON PIC OF THE WEEK

This week’s pic of the week comes from the ever awesome Tony Harmer, who shot this cool photo of Hoonigan’s founder Brian Scotto answering to the burnout nomination calls in his Napalm Nova.

 

Apologies if this week’s Weekly Hoon was a little underwhelming, but again, it was a bit quiet in the world of hooning. Unless I missed something. Which I probably did. So let me know if I did!

 

Big up Ken Block and Tony Harmer for the photos, and Network A, Max Fuerst, Driftworks, Fredrik Sørlie, Team Japspeed, Chris Forsberg and Fueltopia for the videos!

THE WEEKLY HOON #4: RALLY MANIA

It’s that time of the week again – time for the Weekly Hoon! This week, there’s much more to talk about than last week. Drift Garage, Rally Sweden, North West Stages, and even more. Scroll down and fill yourself in on all of the action this week!

 

OH KEN, YOU TEASE

What’s this? Fancy lights and other expensive photography guru stuff? It’s February, which means a new livery from the Head Hoonigan is due. Tony Harmer has payed a trip to the Hoonigan Racing HQ to work his camera magic and take some awesome shots of whatever Ken and his livery-designer elves have come up with. Unfortunately, no date of release has been confirmed yet, so all Ken has given us this week is various shots of Tony’s set-up. Hurry up and release it, Kenny! I need to know what it looks like for my prom dress! …Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. My prom is in July and my dress is going to be inspired by Ken’s livery. It’s the only way to get me to wear a dress.

 

THROW HER SIDEWAYS

In the third episode of Drift Garage, Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck weld the diff, install some bucket seats, harnesses (Takata? It’s all about TRS *cough*becausemymummakesthem*cough*), downpipe, then they test out the horses on their missile machine on the dyno. Chris Forsberg also showcases his absolutely, absurdly, outstandingly, inhumanely sexy Datsun in this time. I think he went to get some washers or something but I was distracted by DAT ASS.

The missile manages to throw out 298bhp, much to Chris’ excitement. The final touch was some coilovers, and then the car was ready to slay some tyres! Ryan departed and was replaced with Brian Wilkerson from MA Motorsports, and together they stretched the missile’s legs and threw it sideways. Watch the video and see it all for yourself!

 

AMERICA, YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU BUT…

…sometimes you do things like this and it really makes me question our relationship. Earlier this week, Global Rallycross released their 2014 schedule, which isn’t very… global. Granted, the first round is in Barbados, but the rest of them are in the US! Now, let me stress that I’m not complaining that the rest of the world, or at least the UK/Europe doesn’t get enough rallycross. We have the British Rallycross Championship, and this year the European Rallycross Championship has been renamed to the World Rallycross Championship, but at least that is worldwide. America, when something is ‘global’ it usually means around the globe. Same with your baseball and your ‘World Series’. If it’s a ‘World Series’, it usually means it’s a series around the world, or at least containing baseball teams from around the world. Not that I really care about baseball, which is just rounders with a longer bat. But apart from the flaw in the name, it’s quite nice to see the dates of this year’s season. Even if they are mostly in America.

 

IT’S SNOW JOKE

The second round of the World Rally Championship kicked off this week in Sweden, and there was plenty of drama throughout. Andreas Mikkelsen took the lead after the first stage, keeping the position overnight until SS2 when Sebastien Ogier worked his magic and set the pace. Mikkelsen stayed close behind him until SS6, when he snatched the lead back, and Ott Tanak also put on the pressure after a year-long break from the top tier. The competition was close, right up until the final stage of the first full day, when Ogier took the lead from Mikkelsen. Jari-Matti Latvala replaced Tanak in 3rd and made it a 1-2-3 for Volkswagen at the end of the day.

Friday brought plenty of drama from the start, with Ogier crashing into a snowbank and ruining any chances of winning the rally, and Hyundai’s luck didn’t seem to improve with Thierry Neuville having to pull out for the day because of a damaged wheel carrier. Latvala took over the top spot by SS10, but the rest of the day was filled with even more drama. Robert Kubica was stuck in a snowbank and lost a lot of time, only to pull out of the bank in front of Citroen’s Mads Ostberg, resulting in a reprimand for the Pole.

Jari-Matti Latvala stayed in the top spot overnight and into the final day, eventually taking the win and making it the third time he’s won Rally Sweden. Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier completed the podium to make it a 1-2-3 finish for VW, and Mikkelsen’s first WRC podium. Karl Kruuda took the win in WRC 2, with Jari Ketomaa taking second and Frederik Ahlin rounding off the podium at his home rally. Petter Solberg also took the Historic class win in a MK2 Escort, with his wife Pernilla as co-driver. Well done to all!

 

LOOK NORTH

As I mentioned in last week’s Weekly Hoon, yesterday I went to the North West Stages in Blackpool. Because the weather was being very British, I spent most of the day in the rally village, buying all sorts of merchandise, most of which was from We The Terrors. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – you should totally check out his stuff and his merch. Here’s all of what I picked up yesterday;

A ‘Keep calm and throw it in sideways’ mug, for when I leave school and become a mechanic and take a sip from the mug and breathe in through my teeth and look uncertainly at a customer’s car and say, “Hm… I think it’s going to cost you.” or something along those lines, three We The Terrors t-shirts (‘Child of the 80s’ is my dad’s, the rest are mine), a We The Terrors beanie (for my mum, but will probably end up on my head too), a We The Terrors Mad Manx poster, a turbo keyring from v-i-ponline.co.uk that spools when you blow into it (I fangirled hard when the woman told me it could do that), and a Ken Block sticker to replace the current one on the car (which if you follow me on Twitter/Instagram/every other damn site will know is affectionately called Bruiser) which is starting to peel and look tacky.

After spending probably too much money in the rally village, we ventured out in the freezing wind and rain and down to the promenade to watch the rally cars strut their stuff. I took quite a few photos (500 in total, but only 26 made it to the internets because sports continuous), which you can check out in a Flickr set I made here. I hope you appreciate them because I had to awkwardly lean across a large wall to take them which has resulted in my ribs hurting every time I breathe today.

 

THE WEEKLY HOON PIC OF THE WEEK

Looks like someone’s been taking tips from Ken Block. This week’s pic of the week comes from Colin McKlein, who took this photo of VW’s own take on the RaptorTRAX. TouaregTRAX, anyone?

 

 

Big up Ken Block, Global Rallycross, Andre Lavadinho and Colin McKlein for the photos, and Network A for the video!

THE WEEKLY HOON #3: SHORT BUT SWEET

Unfortunately, this week’s Weekly Hoon isn’t full of much. Unless I’ve somehow missed a week of my life, there wasn’t a lot worth noting that I could write about. Short but sweet, you could say. I’m sorry and please don’t kill me, I promise I’ll have a bit more to write about next week as I’ll be off to the North West Stages.

 

THEY GAVE THAT MISSILE A TURBO. MISSILES LOVE TURBOS.

Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck are back with the second episode of their new series ‘Drift Garage’. In this week’s episode, Professor Martin Issle and his poor British accent once again talk us through what the boys are up to. After removing the old engine, they straighten her out, strip her down, and sort out the new engine. A transfer of a throttle body, clutch fan and transmission, and a refill of fluids and filters later, it’s turbo time! Their turbotastic weapon of choice is the ISIS turbo kit, costing $1,530. Put them all together, sensually put the engine in after bringing it in like a wrecking ball, and you can start her up. Now, if this was you and me, the engine would turn, cough, then cut off. But because Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck have gained the trust of the drift gods, it started first time for them. Watch the episode and check it all out for yourself!

 

GYMKHANA 6 GOES PRO

On Friday, GoPro released their own version of Gymkhana 6, this time using only the 43 GoPros on the set. From helmet cam to Miley Cyrus wrecking ball cam, to handbrake cam and turbofan cam, GoPro covered all areas of the Fiesta for us to gawp at. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the hoonage.

 

HI-RES RAPTOR

You like the RaptorTRAX photos? You want them as your desktop wallpaper? Well now you can have them, as hi-res wallpapers were posted to the Hoonigan Racing Facebook page earlier this week. Now you can drool over the RaptorTRAX without the JPEG pixels.

 

THE WEEKLY HOON PIC OF THE WEEK

In celebration of new desktop wallpapers, this week’s Pic of the Week is one of those wallpapers. I’m currently using this as my PS3 background.

And with that, comes the end of a very short Weekly Hoon. Again, I apologise for the emptiness and if there’s anything I missed out (which I probably did), then do please tell me. Hopefully this video of Ken Block being awesome in the snow with his huskies will make you feel better about the lack of hooning news this week.

 

Big up Network A and GoPro for the videos, Hoonigan Racing/Tony Harmer/Ron Zaras for the photos, and Pierre Wikberg for snowboard/husky awesomeness.

THE WEEKLY HOON #2: WINTER SEASON IS DRIFT SEASON

It’s Sunday, which means the weekend is almost over! *Sad music*

But never fear! The second installment of the Weekly Hoon is here, and this week it’s all about winter, snow, and drifting.

HEAVY SNOW? AIN’T CARE

Earlier this week, HHIC Ken Block told us he had a surprise project in store for us, revealing small hints along the way. On Tuesday he revealed the monstrous RaptorTRAX, a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor that really ain’t care about snow. Similar to the Subaru STi TRAX car he made back in ’09, this Raptor is ready to take on anything and everything. Snow has yet to show itself here in the UK, but when it does, the Raptor just might accidentally end up over here… For now though, the RaptorTRAX is residing in Aspen, Colorado, as Kenny B took a road trip there for the Winter X Games (in his own personal Raptor, HRD trucker-guy Brian Johnson towed it down and got a lot of attention).

 

Not only does it make a great snow-hoon car, but it makes a great daily too.

READY TO ROCK RECAP

Last week I showed you Ken Block’s 2013 season recap in sloooow moootion. This week, we’ve got Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s 2013 recap video (this also wasn’t actually this week like Ken Block’s but let’s pretend it was), without slow-mo, but with more tyre smoke and burnt rubber! Last year Vaughn (or ‘Vaughngina’ as Matt Powers calls him) slayed tyres around the globe, from thrashing the Gatebil Fesitval in Norway to tearing up the streets of Mexico! Occasionally he was accompanied by Formula Drift buddy Ryan Tuerck, who stayed close to his doors in the sweet, sweet RTR Mustang. 

A LITTLE HOONING NEVER KILLED NOBODY

Speaking of Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Ryan Tuerck drifting together, this weekend they were at the Saint Louis Auto Show, throwing down some rubber for the fans! The STL Auto Show posted this awesome video on their YouTube channel, with the voice of Fergie telling us that a lil’ party doesn’t kill people. A lil’ bit of hooning never killed nobody either, and Vaughn and Ryan proved that! Here’s a sick shot from the demos yesterday, so we can all sit here and cry in envy at how we didn’t go. Unless you did. I are jelly if you did. Very jelly.

DON’T BUILD NUCLEAR MISSILES, BUILD DRIFT MISSILES!

Network A is back with another tyre-smoke-filled drift series for us to enjoy! This time bearded hoonigan Chris Forsberg (and Ryan Tuerck at some point) are showing us how to build a missile (drift, not nuclear, nuclear is bad) for a total of $5,000. The video also features Professor Martin Issle, or M. Issle, whom has a strange resemblance to Chris Forsberg and has a terrible British accent. Chris shows us how to haggle the price of a beat-up 240sx by bribing the seller with past events, and tells us that unless you have a drift car, your ‘missile’ is just your ‘car’. No, really. No matter how much you flog it off as a ‘missile’, it’s just ‘your car’. He also shows us where to buy the best JDM parts, and how to discreetly remove body panels from your car.

BAZOOKAS, BUGATTIS AND BURNOUTS

Keeping up with the trend of drift videos here, Drift Idiot finally posted Day 11! *Crowd cheers*

In the 11th day of drift idiocy, 70s porn star uniquely-moustached hoonigan Corey Hosford raided Sam Nalven’s house and told him to get off his arse and go drifting. After 7 months of no drifting due to the local track closing down, Sam’s 240 had collected a little dust, and so had his drifting skills, so Corey decided to celebrate the re-opening of the local track and refresh Sam’s mind! If you’ve never watched any of Sam’s Drift Idiot videos, you can start from Day 1 here.

4WD FTW

Irish Monster Energy drifter Buttsy Butler announced earlier this week that he was teaming up with FastJaps for Gymkhana GRID and hooning a Subaru this year! His signature Soarer is still staying, so don’t cry RWD nerds. I’m hoping to attend more events this year, including gymkhana, so hopefully I’ll be able to see his slidin’ Scooby in all of it’s glory!

SNO*DRIFT (I have no witty title for this. Sorry.)

Keeping up with this week’s Weekly Hoon title, the first round of the 2014 Rally America championship kicked off this weekend in Michigan, and the weather did not disappoint. David Higgins and Antoine L’Estage stayed true to their Impreza-Evo rivalry and fought for the top spot all weekend, but it was David Higgins who came out first, leaving Antoine L’Estage to settle for second, and third place going to Impreza driver Lauchlin O’Sullivan, who also took the win in the Super Production class. Second place in Super Production went to Dillon Van Way, and third place went to Nick Roberts, who was guided by his new co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino, who recently switched seats from her brother Brendan Reeves’ 2WD Fiesta, and is also the lucky wife of Alex Gelsomino. Round 2 of Rally America is the 100 Acre Wood Rally, where Travis Pastrana will make his 2014 season debut!

THE WEEKLY HOON PIC OF THE WEEK

This week’s picture of the week is courtesy of Classic Ford magazine, who rightfully also made it their wallpaper of the week, featuring a pretty mean looking ST170-powered Ford Anglia slaying tyres.

 

Big up Hoonigan, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Pure Photography and Scott Rains for the photos, and Monster Energy, Saint Louis Auto Show, Network A and Sam Nalven for the videos!

So Ken Block posted this and…

…I just peed.

 

Big up Tony Harmer and his awesome photoshoot skills for the pic!

THE WEEKLY HOON #1: START YOUR ENGINES

What’s this? The Hoon Platoon blog has a new entry? Is this real life?

Ah, yes, I am back, and in a poor attempt to keep this blog active I’m starting a new series here called The Weekly Hoon! Basically, every Sunday, I’ll post highlights of the past week and all the important stuff that happened in the world of hooning and hooniganism. From Formula Drift to Ken Block’s personal life on Instagram, the Hoon Platoon has got you covered in case you accidentally lived under a rock for a week. Oh, yeah, and, um, happy new year and all that.

THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS

In case you haven’t heard, in March this year, the Need for Speed movie is coming out! Everyone’s favourite childhood street racing game (well, not quite everyone’s…*cough*midnightclub*cough*) is finally hitting the big screen. At first, I wasn’t really impressed, I only recognised Kid Cudi from the actors and the guy playing the lead role isn’t even that attractive. However, my mind was made up to check out the film when it was announced that the hoon world’s very own Vaughn Gittin Jr. is starring in the film, getting some sideways action in the 2015 Ford Mustang! It’s not a major role, but he’s still in it, which is good enough for me. Hey, I only bought Need for Speed: Rivals because you could dress up the Mustang in Ken Block’s livery. The game froze after I finished the tutorial and I rage quitted and have never played it since… but… it’s there for a rainy day. I guess.

RETURN OF THE JEDI

After spending 2013’s racing season behind the wheel of a NASCAR, Travis Pastrana has pleased us all with the news that he’ll be returning to rally in 2014! Keeping true to his roots, Travis is back with Subaru Rally Team USA, just like old times. Unfortunately though, Ken Block won’t be racing a full season in Rally America this year, instead he’ll be focusing on other races (Rally GB yes plskthx) so we won’t have as much of that friendly rivalry they had. Travis will be debuting at the 100 Acre Wood Rally and will be missing out on the season opener Sno*Drift, because, he’s Travis, and… well, he broke his leg, because that’s what Travis does. He breaks things. Like his legs. But hey, welcome back Travis! We missed you. ❤

TERROR-IFIC STUFF

One of my favourite rally blogs We The Terrors showed us some new terror-ific stuff this week, including this sweet design for a new t-shirt that should be available to buy pretty soon. They also released some posters this week of their famous Mad Manx design, which is also pretty damn sick. If you’ve never acknowledged the existence of We The Terrors then you’re silly and you should check out the blog here and you can also check out the awesome merch and buy the Max Manx poster here. I keep saying ‘they’ but I’m pretty sure it’s just one guy. Which is amazing if it is. So, yeah, that can be your New Years Resolution if you haven’t made one already. Follow We The Terrors and tell them/him that Katiegan sent you!

EVERYTHING IS BETTER IN SLOOOOOOW MOOOOTIOOOON

This wasn’t technically this week but it’s still awesome so let’s just pretend it was this week. Ken Block’s 2013 season in sloooow moootiooon was posted to the X Games YouTube channel, and it’s awesome, and soothing, and awesome. And… awesome. Because everything is better in slow motion. Also, I love this:

Love it.

KICKING IT OFF IN MONTE

Yes, the 2014 World Rally Championship has officially begun! Things kicked off in Monte Carlo, with both Robert Kubica and Bryan Bouffier taking everyone by storm and fighting for the top spot, although Kubica had to call it quits after SS9 when his Fiesta slid off the road. Hyundai made their debut with the i20, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo as their drivers, however luck wasn’t on their side for the rally and Theirry crashed out just 4 miles into the rally, and Dani had to retire on SS5. But, not all is bad, Thierry was matching Sebastien Ogier’s times on the splits and Dani was in 3rd before he had to retire, so there’s still hope for Sweden. Bouffier continued to impress and gave reigning champion Ogier a run for his money, before his Fiesta decided to take tips from that of Robert Kubica’s and also slid off the road. Ogier kept his mind steady and brought the Polo home to a win in Monte Carlo. With the new kids on the block showing a lot of potential, I sense that the 2014 championship is going to be a lot more interesting…

THE WEEKLY HOON PIC OF THE WEEK

And, finally, I leave you with this. The picture of the week, the icing on the cake, the cherry on the top… a beautiful snap of Vaughn Gittin Jr. treating the Double Down Mustang RTR right at The Donut Shop.

Big up Vaughn Gittin Jr., Rally America, We The Terrors, X Games and Andre Lavadinho for the photos/video!

The Block Hate

Okay, I feel the need to clear things up a bit here, about Block hate. I’m not here to preach to you about him being ‘the best driver evarr’, because we all know he isn’t. But it seems that whenever someone finds out I’m a Ken Block fan, I’m flooded with rants about how my preference in driver is bad and I should feel bad. I’m always hit with the same things; “He can’t rally!” “Hooning isn’t a motorsport!” “He’s such a douche!”. This obviously shows that the same image is coming across of him, so this blog entry right here, is hoping to change that. Even if you cannot stand Kenny from the Block, I want you to read it and come up with better arguements as to why I shouldn’t like him. I like variety, especially in my arguements, and I’m not getting that at the moment.

 

So, let’s start with the “He can’t rally!” statement. No. Stop. You’re basing that only from his WRC results. The World Rally Championship is a championship held around the world consisting of the world’s best rally drivers. By world’s best I mean Europeans that have lived and breathed rally cars since they escaped the womb. Let me remind you, that Ken Block has only been rallying since 2005. That is only 8 years of being behind the wheel of a rally car, compared to the 10+ years these WRC drivers have. Considering he has such little experience, and he can almost always get a top 10 finish (when he doesn’t roll, or when his Fiesta doesn’t get bored and goes ‘lol I’m not working now kthxbai’), isn’t that bad at all. Rallying is a lot harder than track racing and it takes a lot longer to get good at it. Unless you’re called Sebastien Loeb. You don’t count if that’s your name, you’re just perfect at everything. In Ken’s first season of rallying, he finished 3rd overall in Group N and 4th overall in the Rally America championship standings. That got him the Rally America Rookie of the Year award. In his second Rally America season, he finished 2nd overall and won the Group N class. In his third Rally America season, he finished 3rd. In his fourth, he finished 2nd again. He entered a round of the Canadian Rally Championship to get used to a new car, and he won it. He won the 100 Acre Wood Rally 6 times consecutively from 2006 to 2012, setting a new record.

 

Now let me stress, that again, I am not trying to say ‘omg ken is best driver’, because I know he isn’t, you know he isn’t and he knows he isn’t. Yes, that’s right, he knows he isn’t. Which is why I don’t understand the people who say “He’s such a douche!” or, “He thinks he’s so good when he’s not.” He has never openly said that he’s the best. He has openly said he knows he’s not the best, and he knows he can improve, which is what he tries to do all the time. You all seem to think he’s a narrow-minded arrogant douchebag, and I can tell you, he is not. You may say “He’s only famous because he got lucky.”, and you’re right. He was up all night to get lucky. He even says that in his Instagram bio, by saying “I am a lucky bastard!” and he’s said it a few times in other places too.

 

For those of you who say, “Hooning isn’t a motorsport!” – you’re right. It isn’t. Hooning has never been considered a motorsport, it is simply an act of automotive aeronautics than anyone can do in a car park (always hoon responsibly, kids). Gymkhana, that’s your motorsport right there. No, I’m not talking about the viral videos Ken makes. That’s stand alone gymkhana. The motorsport gymkhana is a head to head competition on a set course competitors must memorise. If you still think gymkhana isn’t a motorsport, then this probably isn’t your thing and you should go back to watching F1 or NASCAR or whatever it is you’re into that isn’t rallying or gymkhana.

Now some of you may argue about his personality. It seems fine to me. Have you ever seen his posts on Instagram where he documents his personal life? Outside of the rally car he’s just an average family man with a wife, three kids and two dogs. He always makes time for his fans whenever he can, and always tries to interact with them. I once asked his co-driver why they were out of the rally last year at Rally Finland, and Ken replied to me and explained everything to me. I didn’t even ask him but he still took the time to explain it to me.

Ken Block is not the best rally driver in the world. He is talented, and the most successful American rally driver, but he is not the best in the world. I know this. But he is not a douche, or a terrible driver. Yes, he is overrated. He is also overly hated, in my opinion, for all the wrong reasons. I hope this blog entry has at least slightly altered your opinion on Mr. Block. I’m not saying you should love him now, but maybe you can come up with better arguements as to why I shouldn’t like him now.

 

Photo credit to the H.H.I.C.’s Facebook! Or whoever took it. His mum or something.

Twisted Firestarter

There I go again, using song lyrics as my title. The Prodigy is always relevant.

It’s the first day of summer, which means, in theory, it’s going to get hotter. The days are long, the nights are short, school is out, which can only mean one thing. More hooning! So why not kick off your summer by recapping on Vaughn Gittin JR playing with fire in his ‘Stang?

If you haven’t watched it yet, I suggest you remove yourself immedietly from whatever rock you have been living under and watch it. Now. Don’t even finish reading this, watch it.

Unless you live in China. If that is the case then I am deeply sorry. Instead I suggest you go and find your nearest toy car and lighter and try and replicate what you think it would look like.

In fact, don’t. That’s dangerous. Just… imagine it in your head. “NEEEEOOWWW *errrrrrr* FWWOOAM NEEEOOW!” …It goes a bit like that.

I Left My Heart In Tokyo

Down by the river don’t you know I had to let it go-

Sorry. I didn’t really, my heart is still here in my chest, I just wanted a catchy title to use to talk about Kenny B and his recent trip to Tokyo.

Alright for some, eh? Finishes filming for Octane Academy (which doesn’t air over here, Katiegan is disappoint) and heads straight to Tokyo for some gymkhana goodness? The life of a professional hoonigan sure is sweet.

Not only did Mr. Block slide his Fiesta, he pulled the moves around a tank, a dinosaur, some Silverados, his wife, photographers and whatever else Japan had to offer. If that wasn’t enough hooning madness, a drift contest was held too, won by Masanori Kohashi from Team Orange. Then, after all that, he went into tourist mode and did.. touristy things that tourists do.

Here are some pictures from his Facebook and Instagram for you to look at and cry with jealousy like I’m doing. Oh, you don’t do that? That’s just me? Oh, right… forget I said that then. *cough* >.>;

Oh yeah, did I mention he got to hang out with Haroshi, the awesome artist that makes his stuff out of skateboards?

 

I think it’s safe to say, Japan is another country to have been conquered by the Hoonigans.

 

Photo credit to… whoever took the photos. They’re awesome! 😀