Ken Block on Top Gear: Utterly Awesome
Season 13 of Top Gear returned to BBC Two last month, and episode 106 hit the airwaves (and YouTube) a few days ago. Despite being chock full of excellent content (Jeremy Clarkson gives his thoughts on the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black), the highlight of the episode was undoubtedly Captain Slow (James May) visiting California to take a drive with rally/stunt driver Ken Block.
What ensues is arguably one of the best Top Gear segments ever, with May taken on an eye-popping, white-knuckle ride with Block (and his 380hp Subaru Impreza STI rally car) around, across, through, and then out into the wide open spaces around Inyokern airport in California. Former motocross champion Ricky Carmichael also makes a cameo, but the real stars here are behind the camera: the Top Gear film crew should be given a boot full of awards for their efforts here. Fantastic stuff.
That was one of my all-time favorite episodes as well. Racing the dirt bike was a nice touch. Can’t beat James May’s face during the slow motion jump shot. Must have been an awesome ride.