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Ken's friggin' awesome................ as long as we're not talking about his WRC career. In fairness, though, rally does boil down to how much experience you have with a track and this is his rookie year. Just nice to see someone flying the Stars n Stripes over there, I guess.
I don't agree that rally boils down with experience with the track. Rally courses can change from year to year even at the same event. In WRC in particular, what benefit might come from familiarity is ameliorated by allowing recon runs. What rally really boils down to is driver talent, co-driver competence in creating (WRC) or interpreting (RA) pace notes, and the ability of driver and co-driver to communicate on the fly.
Communication is indeed key, as well as talent and a lot of practice, but stage familiarity goes a long way too, which is why you'll see privateers sometimes do very well when they attend, local to them, WRC stages.
I don't agree that rally boils down with experience with the track. Rally courses can change from year to year even at the same event. In WRC in particular, what benefit might come from familiarity is ameliorated by allowing recon runs.
Eh, yes and no. I mean, yeah, they can always vary up the track (as they should to make it fair IMO), but in the few years I've been following it (admittedly this is only my 2nd full season of watching), it seems like they really like to run the same stuff over and over again.
And while they do allow recon runs, there's a big difference between Sebastian Loeb making a note that a cut path is about 3 mm wider than he remembers it last year vs Ken Block going 'Oh, OK. Lefthand turn. Got it.'
But I do agree that, at the end of the day, the qualities that make Ken so friggin' awesome at all these Gymkhana and smaller rally events don't always translate to WRC because it really is a different skillset.
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