Catherine Pattison: Where does the name ''hoonigan'' come from?
Ken Block: It comes from hoon, which is from Australia and describes people driving a car in an aggressive manner, and hooligan. So, a hoonigan is one who hoons, basically.
CP: Were you an all-action kid growing up ... skateboarding, snowboarding and motocross riding?
KB: I did, in fact, do all three of those growing up. I really enjoyed those sports since they were more about being an individual. Team sports never really had the same appeal.
CP: How did you first get into rallying?
KB: I started out in 2005 doing the Rally America championship back in the States. The year before that, I began with some lessons at a rally school in America called Team O'Neil.
CP: Who taught you to drive like a hoonigan?
KB: My skills developed from racing all-wheel-drive rally cars. I then expanded on them by having some fun with those cars outside of the rally stages by driving them aggressively on tarmac to get more seat time and practise with the car sliding in corners.
CP: Where did the idea for the gymkhana series come from?
KB: It actually started from my desire to get more seat time in the car. I was living in SoCal (South California) at the time and there was a local gymkhana event that took place fairly frequently. So, I built a car to go out and use in that series, but by the time it was done, they'd shut it down. So I went out and played around with it a bit and decided it looked cool and was worth filming. Next thing I know, gymkhana videos as most people now know it were born.
CP: What brought you out to New Zealand to rally again?
KB: Well, I already had my Ford Fiesta HFHV rally car down here for Whangarei, so it didn't take a lot of self-convincing to use it again for a second event on some of the best roads in the world.
CP: Why did you choose the Otago Rally for a second time?
KB: I really enjoyed this rally when I tried it way earlier in my career and it's been a great excuse to come back down to the South Island and have some fun in Queenstown prior to the event.
CP: How many people travel with you in your team to Whangarei and Otago and what are their roles?
KB: Thirteen in total, including myself. I've got my team director, my co-driver, my communications director, my digital content guy, my lead engineer, my techs etc. It's a lot of us, but we all have different roles that all directly contribute to the overall success of a race weekend.
CP: Who built your 2015 Ford Fiesta and what are the go-fast bits on it?
KB: The car is built collaboratively between my team and the folks over at M-Sport in the UK. It's similar to the car M-Sport runs in the WRC, but we utilise a 2.0 litre motor instead of the 1.6 litre that's run in the WRC cars. That extra torque and horsepower is nice.
CP: What stands out as the pinnacle event/moment of your career?
KB: I'd say when I raced against Colin McRae in X Games and forced him into crashing and flipping his race car by putting so much pressure on him throughout the race. I felt really good being able to force a legend like Colin to make a mistake due to pressure that I was applying.
CP: Who keeps you anchored, with such a busy business schedule and driving career?
KB: That'd be my wife, Lucy. She's always done a good job keeping me balanced. There's a reason I married her!
