100 ACRE WOOD: TOO FAST TO RACE!

Kicking off their 2012 season in a big way, MWRT’s Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino took to the fast and flowing stages of Rally America’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood on Friday for their first competition of the year. Taking first place on five of the six stages ran during leg one of the rally, the duo ended their day sitting in first overall with an 18.6-second lead on David Higgins in the number two spot.

“It felt awesome to be back out on the stages here at 100 Acre Wood,” said Block. “Not only do I know these roads well, but my Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V. was running amazing out there. The team has done a great job prepping the car for competition and to have it so dialed-in for our first-ever stage rally with it is great. We’ve got a long day on Saturday with eleven stages to go, but after today, I’m feeling very confident that we’ll be able to keep up the pace and maintain our position.”

In addition to having a successful day during the rally’s first six stages, Block also managed to prove that the combination of himself and his H.F.H.V. may actually be too fast to race, as he incurred a time penalty on stage TKTKT for going too fast—averaging a time on the stage higher than permitted by event insurance. Despite the penalty however, Block still finds himself in the lead moving into day two.

To see how the remainder of Rally in the 100 Acre Wood plays out for Block, Gelsomino and the MWRT Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V., be sure to follow along here, on Facebook, Twitter (@kblock43) and Instagram (kblock43).