Q & A with Ken Block

AUTOSPORT caught up with the American.

Q. How was the test?

Ken Block: Amazing! Excellent. I struggled really badly in Germany and couldn't figure out why. In the end I realised that I just wasn't comfortable in the car. It was really frustrating because Germany last year was my first ever WRC event on Tarmac and I was actually closer to the guys at the front than I was this year. The car just wasn't set-up well for me. So, I spent Saturday getting the car right.

Q. Did you get much done during the test?

KB: We did about 120 kilometres (75 miles) on some really good roads which were a lot like the stages here. I got the feeling with the car and I was able to get good feedback from the car. I'm much more positive than I was in Germany, I don't like going backwards, it's not fun for me. I'm very happy now.

Q. What's a good result this week for you?

KB: I'd like a good top 10. There are a lot of good World Rally Car drivers, so to make the top 10 would be great. But, what I really need is Tarmac experience in the car. Last year was frustrating and really quite scary here. I'd driven so little on Tarmac and then to be here in such tough conditions with the mud and everything, it was really tough.

Q. It looks like we're going to have a completely dry event this year, does that make it a little easier?

KB: It should do, yes. It should be a much better experience for me in the dry, I'm going to learn a lot more and take a sharper approach. Having said that, we still have to be careful here. On the recce there was still quite a lot of wet under the trees and in the forests, so you have to be good with your gravel crew.

Q. You've got Production Car World Rally Champion Hayden Paddon as a gravel crew here, how did that happen?

KB: I've know Hayden for a lot of years, since I was competing against him in his national championship and we became friends. He offered to be our gravel crew if we needed him and Chris [Atkinson, Block's usual gravel crew driver] is away on another event this weekend [Rally Hokkaido with Proton]. I'm stoked to have Hayden here, he's a great driver with a great personality and if there's any way that I can help him progress then I'm going to do that.