The Barbados Rally Club (BRC), whose premier event was won by motor sport legend Ken Block in 2020, has paid tribute to the late racer who died on Monday, describing him as “genuine” and “a true rally enthusiast”.
Block, 55, died when the snowmobile he was riding in Wasatch County, Utah overturned on a steep slope. Confirming the death in a statement, Hoonigan, an apparel company which Block owned, described him as “a visionary, a pioneer, and an icon”.
BRC public relations officer Neil Barnard said on Tuesday that Block’s death was “absolute tragic news”.
“Sports people with larger-than-life public personas can sometimes be distant and detached when you meet them. Ken was the opposite of that. He was genuine, friendly, and engaging, a true rally enthusiast whose overall victory on Sol Rally Barbados seemed to truly mean a lot to him,” he said in a statement issued by the Rally Club.
“His wife Lucy and his children Lia, Kira and Mika accompanied him to Barbados in 2020, and my thoughts and deepest sympathies are with them as well as his long-standing co-driver Alex Gelsomino, Derek Dauncey and the entire Hoonigan team.”
With Gelsomino, Block claimed a memorable victory in the 2020 edition of Sol Rally Barbados, the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport event. Driving in a new Ford Fiesta Rally2 he had driven for only a few hours days before; he became the first winner of the event to come from the FIA R5 class.
Block said at the time: “It was a really great event with great competition. What struck me more was the atmosphere; it was brilliant with the competitors and all the fans.”
His participation was not his first visit to compete in Barbados. He had earlier appearances in the Red Bull Global Rallycross series and his unforgettable race during the 2014 Top Gear Festival when he pitched his Ford Fiesta Rallycross Supercar against Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 driver Lewis Hamilton.
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