On Monday 2nd January 2023 (US time) family, friends and the motorsport community lost Ken Block. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
Released in 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and developed by Codemasters, DiRT 3 can trace its lineage back to the Colin McRae Rally video game series. It featured stage rally, but also Gymkhana, a drift and skill driving event type, popularised by Ken Block.
Block’s Ford Fiesta was also in the game, as was a semi-open-world playground area – Battersea Park. In this location was a series of 80 challenges. In this video, watch John Munro try to complete them all in one sitting, reminiscing about one of his favourite childhood driving games and Block’s legacy.
Block’s influence on the motorsport and content creation industries was far-reaching, including racing video games. He and his Gymkhana cars appeared in titles such as WRC 2, Need for Speed (2015), Forza Horizon 3/4/5, Forza Motorsport 7 and CSR Racing 2 alongside three DiRT titles.
Ken Block is survived by his wife Lucy and three children.
