The viral success of Ken Block’s Gymkhana videos gave rise to the Gymkhana GRID competition, which is basically a bunch of fancy driving stunts masquerading was a real motorsport. The first one achieved commercial success, and a second event was planned for the end of October in Hollywood, Ca. Now, the event has been cancelled due to a pending legal dispute.

Gymkhana GRID’s founder Chris Willard had originally approached Ken Block and DC to collaborate on the events, and Block gave Willard his blessing to run the events. Somewhere along the line, things changed and DC Shoes attempted to trademark the name, while simultaneously issuing a cease-and-desist order to Willard to prevent him from using the name for his events.

While Willard seems unsure of why DC decided to pursue this course of action, a legal representative for Block told Autoblog that his client wanted to make sure that Gymkhana GRID was at a “… level where it’s supposed to be, and that it’s ran right and ethically.”

Without wading into murky legal territory, it’s safe to assume that there’s a serious case of not seeing eye-to-eye here and with a dearth of facts, it’s prudent to avoid making any judgement calls this early in the game.

[Source: Autoblog]

Ken Block has released the fourth installment of his Gymkhana video series, aptly titled Gymkhana 4, for the flatbill wearers of the internet to enjoy and play ad nauseam.

We won’t spoil any of the video for you, but it’s an appropriate follow-up to the last three mini-films. Check it out below.

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Ken Block’s Gymkhana 4 has been filmed and is ready for release in a few days, on August 16. To hype up the release of the video, a teaser trailer has been released, getting us ready for some serious hoon action. In the video, we get a thirty second taste of the turbocharged rally monster. Nine GoPro cameras catch the half-metre long flame flowing out of the Ford’s titanium exhaust. We are very excited to see what Ken has up his sleeves for us.

Check out the video after the jump!

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Ken Block, the man who knows a thing or two about getting a car to go sideways, has revealed the release date for the long awaited Gymkhana 4.

Ken Block posted the following on his Facebook page this week, “I am exhausted, but almost done with filming Gymkhana FOUR, which is coming out August 16th. I traveled the globe for it, and am positive of this: GYM4 > GYM3.” Block also release a few sneak peak pictures of the video and there have been sightings of his Fiesta complete with “Gymkhana FOUR” decals in Brawdy South Wales last month.  There is a strong possibility that the filming took place at RAF Brawdy in South Wales, and in one of the pictures the Fiesta is accompanied by a military vehicle. Regardless of where it was filmed, we are all pumped to see some serious hoonage!

[Source: Fast Car]

The BullRun is here and you don’t need any more evidence that this – a Ferrari F430 Spider doing some gymkhana-style hooning on the top of a parking garage.

According to the YouTube posting, the BullRunner used to drive rally cars in Europe and certainly isn’t afraid of showing off his skills, even if he has more than a few close calls.

At the start of this video the F-car has a brand new set of tires, by the end, they’re completely corded.

With today marking the start of the BullRun rally from Las Vegas to Miami, look for more automotive shenanigans to come.

Watch the video after the jump:

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Whether you know Ken Block from his infamous Gymkhana videos, or his other antics, there’s no denying his penchant for causing a stir among automotive enthusiast. And this time he got a lot of people’s attention simply by posting a photo on his Facebook profile and adding this as its caption: “Testing one of my ‘secret projects’ in the UK right now, the “Hybrid”. Who says the word “hybrid” has to mean boring?”

Now there’s no doubt in anyone’s minds that every automotive manufacturer developing hybrids right now want to push the technology and platform to the general consumer. So does this mean that Ford is working with Block to promote a Fiesta hybrid? Or maybe Ken’s definition of a hybrid is shoving in the STi’s powerplant under the hood of a Ford Fiesta. We’re sure it’s just a matter of time before Block reveals “The Hybrid” in its full glory.

[Source: Ken Block's Facebook]

Gymkhana expert, flat-bill cap aficionado and a man who knows the importance of thanking his sponsors, Ken Block, will drive a Formula 1 car.

Wait… what? OK, Block won’t actually race a car, he’s just going to drive one. The car will be the Pirelli F1 test car, and Block will drive it on August 5th at Monza in Italy. The stunt is being arranged through Pirelli, which signed on as one of Block’s sponsors in 2009 and is the current tire supplier for Formula One.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do some pretty spectacular stunts in my career so far,” said the stunt-driver turned WRC pro, “but this is something else! Everybody talks about Formula One being the pinnacle of world motorsport so I can’t wait to discover it for myself. I’m very grateful to Pirelli, which has been one of my partners since 2010, for this amazing opportunity. These cars are so specialised that I need to be realistic about what I can do, but I know that it’s going to be a lot of fun and take hooning to a whole new level…”

If you think it’s not possible to have fun in a hybrid, then you need to take a good look at this Gymkhana-prepped Honda CR-Z out in Japan. It looks like this CR-Z was out competing at a Gymkhana event when its really stiff suspension was put to the ultimate test.

From what we can observe from the decals on the CR-Z, it’s obviously running on Dunlop Direzza rubber wrapping a set of lightweight Ray’s wheels and has plenty of support from some of Japan’s finest manufacturers including 5Zigen, Blitz, Cusco and Kansai service. Whatever modifications it has done to it, we’re willing to bet it was a pretty fun ride to pilot around the course.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: Farm of Minds]

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Ken Block and Tanner Foust are becoming household names in the world of motorsports, with Ken Block’s infamous Gymkhana videos and Tanner Foust being on every other automotive television show, rally race and former Formula Drift champion. Both are stars in their own way and both drivers have a cult fan following while campaigning their Ford Fiestas through motorsports mayhem.

This time around both Foust and Block (and their Fiestas) star in a promotional video for the upcoming DiRT 3 video game in a wicked, virtual gymkhana battle. And while DiRT 3′s Gymkhana mode has mostly been revolved around the presence of Ken Block, there’s no denying Foust’s presence after beating Block at the invitational Gymkhana Grid.

We’ll all be looking forward to campaigning either one of these awesome machines virtually on May 24th, when DiRT 3 is released.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: Autoblog]

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After claiming this year’s Formula Drift championship, Vaughn Gittin Jr. is looking to further expand his driving resume by participating in this weekend’s Gymkhana Grid event at Irwindale Speedway. His weapon of choice will be Ken Block’s old 1978 Ford Escort Mk2, now sporting Monster Energy Drink livery.

For those not in the know, Gymkhana Grid is presented by Ken Block, known for his ridiculously awesome gymkhana videos. Several of Formula Drift’s top drivers will be in attendance, including Gittin Jr.’s Falken teammate, Daijiro Yoshihara, Matt Powers, Ross Petty and Joon Maeng, just to name a few. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by Irwindale Speedway to get your motorsports fix until next season starts.

[Source: Wrecked Magazine]

Still confused about Gymkhana Grid? See after the jump for a quick promo video:

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This weekend Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, CA will host the first ever Gymkhana GRID Racing Series – the Ken Block Invitational.

Bringing together racers from different series, the GRID Invitational will see the pros compete on a course designed by Ken Block – the man who popularized the Gymkhana fad.

And even if you don’t like Gymkhana, or Ken Block, or just can’t make it to the event, Block’s marketing folks have struck gold once again, with a commercial for the Invitational that’s definitely worth a watch and is sure to give you a few laughs. It even takes a swing at long-time Block rival Travis Pastrana, who recently left his rally ways for the NASCAR circuit.

Check out the video after the jump:

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The marketing forces that control Ken Block’s driving career have taken the legendary Gymkhana video series that he stars in to a whole new level. The problem is, that new level isn’t in the direction we’d hoped.

The genius of the Gymkhana videos is that they marketed Block’s sponsors like DC Shoes and Monster Energy Drink using a clever and entertaining bit of automotive shenanigans that achieved internet fame in a truly viral way. Having left Subaru and moved over to Ford, there’s been quite a buildup to the Gymkhana 3 video. Instead of delivering as promised, the new installment isn’t the paint-splattering, florescent light-busting, tire shredding insanity of the past two. Instead its a music video previewing the actual nonsense (Part 2) that is set to drop in September. Worse yet, its an incongruous mix of urban pop culture with the rather un-urban DC Shoes brand.

The video itself is really just a music video by a group called The Cool Kids, with very little Ken Block hoonage and plenty of offensively obvious logos. Like past Gymkhana’s the video starts with a disclaimer that states it is, “a blatant but cleverly crafted marketing scheme to sell products.” Blatant, yes. Clever, hardly.

I you’re still interested, check out the video after the jump:

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