Ken Block won’t star in 2020 Gymkhana 11 – Travis Pastrana to take over lead role with modified Subaru

The latest entry in the Gymkhana video series (Gymkhana 11) is set to arrive this year, but with a difference as Travis Pastrana will be in the leading role instead of Ken Block, as announced by Hoonigan.

This will mark the first time in the series that Block isn’t the focal point in an episode, although Pastrana isn’t exactly a stranger to Gymkhana either, having appeared in a few previous instalments.

The announcement comes following the “Gymkhana Grid: Stay at Home Edition” challenge, where Block created a “mini Gymkhana” video with his family at the Hoonigan shop, and challenged Pastrana to do the same.

“I’d love to see your take on a real Gymkhana now we’ve seen what you do with a Can-Am. It’s time to see a full Gymkhana video from Travis “I will give you my entire crew, I will give you my entire editing … everything. I think it’s time,” Block said to Pastrana in a call broadcasted live on Hoonigan’s YouTube page.

Brian Scotto, Hoonigan’s co-founder and chief creative officer also chimed in the call, adding, “we’re going to send you the rulebook. You’ll have to read it, you’ve got to sign off on it, but that’s it. Gymkhana for 2020 is yours. You’re officially taking over Gymkhana.”

According to a report by DirtFish, the plan has been in the pipeline for a while, with Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division operation, Subaru, and its factory racing partner Vermont SportsCar all collaborating on the project. However, Pastrana has not been made aware of his more active participation in Gymkhana 11, until now.

For now, details about the project like the setting have not been revealed but it is believed that Subaru has already started work on a specialist car for the project, which is likely to be a modified WRX STI.

Despite the substitution, Block isn’t leaving Gymkhana altogether and could return in future instalments, as he recently teased the Hoonifox, a heavily modified Fox-body Ford Mustang that has yet to be built.

The post Ken Block won’t star in 2020 Gymkhana 11 – Travis Pastrana to take over lead role with modified Subaru appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.

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