Ken Block’s Gymkhana World Tour

By now many of you all know who Ken Block is. After all, Mr. Block’s Gymkhana videos (1,2, & 3) have all had more than 10,000,000 views each. And, why not? How much hooligan antics going on in those videos? Likewise, there’s quite a bit of talent that Mr. Block showcases. He truly knows how to handle those cars.

Now that his videos are globally known, he has just announced a Gymkhana World Tour, and one stop will be Dodger Stadium on July 23rd! Awesome! Two things I love- Dodgers stadium and wacky motorsports!

Below is the press release as posted on Autoblog

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/11/dates-for-ken-blocks-gymkhana-world-tour-announced/

We were very fortunate to have our own Super Racing coilovers grace the Gymkhana 1 (GDF-E STI) and 2 (GRF STI) vehicles. And ever since his Gymkhana Grid, a few of our sponsored drivers have joined in on the festivities. One such car was the Zenkai Motorsports/Crawford Performance built GRF Subaru STI. We are definitely glad to see how much of an impact Mr. Block has put into this motorsport. I hope to make this upcoming event, being that it is so close to home. Get ready for some fun, boys and girls!

GO KEN BLOCK!! AND GO DODGERS!!!!

P.S.- Does Ken Block get any sleep?! With him being involved in WRC, being a family man, and now promoting a gymkhana world tour, where the heck does he find the energy to do all of this?! Straight up hero status!

Go Dodgers.

In case you haven’t seen the vids, or have been living under a rock (JUST KIDDING!), here are his previous gymkhana videos.

Ken Block Gymkhana 1

Ken Block Gymkhana 2

Ken Block Gymkhana 3

Gymkhana driving technique

Over the past 2 years the word Gymkhana has been made famous in the US by Ken Block in his two Subaru STIs. We think Ken is an awesome driver and his videos are incredibly entertaining. Both of Ken’s Gymkhana cars were prepared by TEIN Authorized Dealer – Crawford Performance and use custom valved TEIN SRC coilovers.

Our Japanese staff found some awesome videos from Japan of Gymkhana competition and driving technique. We found the videos to be interesting in terms of vehicle setup and driver skill. Check them out.

First Video. All Japan Gymkhana Championship multiple time champion Tetsuya Yamano in a DC5 showing some precision driving technique. He makes it look too easy.

Second Video. Amateur video taken of some of the AWD Gymkhana competitors. Check out the acceleration and tight radius of the spin turns. According to class rules the engines and turbos are pretty much stock. Most cars have about 400HP and tons of torque with a lot of emphasis on throttle response.

TEIN Japan has supported various drivers in the All Japan Gymkhana Championship from 1997 – current with Championships in various classes. Most of our supported drivers use our Gymkhana specific Type HT coilovers which are setup specifically for vehicle agility via spring rates and valving (Example – HT for DC2 has spring rates of 22kg front and 7kg rear).