DEARBORN, Mich., June 29, 2010 – The Ford Fiesta had a memorable debut at the X Games in 2009, winning gold and taking bronze in its first X Games rally competition. This year the Ford Fiesta will return to defend its title with an all-star four-man driver lineup that includes Ford rally superstar Ken Block at X Games 16 in Los Angeles, July 29 to Aug. 1.

 

Block will be joined by last year’s trio of gold medal winner Kenny Brack, bronze medal winner Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan, who edged Block in a quarterfinal matchup in 2009.

“The Fiesta’s gold medal-winning debut in the rally competition at X Games last year captured the spirit of the Fiesta as it arrives in North America,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “The Fiesta made a statement in 2009, taking two spots on the podium. This year we are ready to make another statement with an all-star, four-Fiesta driver lineup whose accomplishments speak for themselves.”

 

Block, the 2005 Rally America Rookie of the Year and three-time medalist at X Games, has cultivated a tremendous following among the action sports community with his Gymkhana videos on YouTube and his push-the-limits approach to rally racing. Block partnered with Ford earlier this year and is running the Fiesta in Rally America and the Focus RS in the World Rally Championship (WRC).

 

Block proved that not only is the all-new Ford Fiesta fun to drive and easy to maneuver, but it is also reliably fast as he piloted the Monster World Rally Team Fiesta to victory at the 2010 Rally America 100 Acre Wood Rally. It marked the first win for Fiesta in a North American stage rally and the first for a Fiesta in Rally America competition.

 

“X Games is one of the most fun and unique events of the year for me,” said Block. “I really enjoy hanging out in L.A. with all my friends and racing in a very intense and crazy atmosphere. Plus this year I get to actually drive the Fiesta at X Games, the car that beat me in 2009.”

 

Also returning to X Games in a Fiesta is the man everyone will be trying to beat, 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, who made his X Games debut and won the rally competition. Brack will again race the Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution (MSE) Fiesta representing the Swedish team that supplies Ford customer rally programs in Rally America and in European Rallycross. 

 

“I participated in X Games last year as a one-off favor to a friend, but I really enjoyed it and when Olsbergs, Ford and the X Games wanted me to return to defend my title, I was more than happy to commit,” said Brack. “It felt really good to be back in the hot seat in the U.S. last year and X Games is a phenomenal event. As I look to defend my title this year, I know I will be a target. Last year was great, but this year there will be a different track and I am looking forward to the new challenges.”

 

ROCKSTAR Energy Drink drivers Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan also return to X Games this year in the Ford Fiesta.

 

Foust took his race-prepared 2010 Fiesta five-door hatchback to a bronze medal finish last year, narrowly losing in the semifinal to Brack. He continues racing the Fiesta as he runs a limited schedule in European Rallycross with Andreas Eriksson and Olsbergs MSE. Foust is an accomplished driver, having won in a wide array of motorsport series and disciplines including X Games, rally, drift, ice racing and time attack. His career is highlighted with a track record of multiple podium placements and national championships.

 

"X Games is always a highlight of the year for me,” said Tanner Foust the 2007 X Games Rally champion. "It is a truly unique and exciting event with high visibility for all the participants and as an athlete you have to love competition in a high profile event. I am looking forward to X Games and it is great heading into the competition knowing that in the Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta I am going to be in the best equipment in the field. The Fiesta rally car is literally one of the fastest racecars with doors on the planet and I think is the car to beat. The Fiesta is absolutely perfect for the rally discipline and it has performed well for me in the European Rallycross competition."

 

Foust’s ROCKSTAR teammate and Moto superstar Brian Deegan finished last year’s X Games with a strong fourth place finish. A 10-time medalist at the X Games, including three gold medals for Moto X Best Trick (2002, 2003 and 2005), Deegan is now in his second year in X Games rally competition.

 

“I’m really excited about driving the Ford Fiesta again this year at X Games,” said Deegan, founder of the Metal Mulisha who drives a Ford truck in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. “After coming so close last year in my first run with Ford, I look forward to taking home some medals this year with the Fiesta.”

 

This year the rally competition at X Games will be comprised of two competitions: Rally Car Racing and SuperRally, a European-style Rallycross, where four cars will race simultaneously against each other. The Ford foursome of Block, Brack, Deegan and Foust will drive their Fiestas in both competitions.

 

“Not only is SuperRally new to X Games, it’s entirely new to me as well,” said Block, who is running a seven-race season in WRC in 2010. “This will be my first time racing it. I am looking forward to doing battle against all my typical competitors, plus a couple of new ones. It’s going to be a good weekend for me and my Monster World Rally Team Ford Fiesta.”

 

“The debut of SuperRally at the X Games is going to add to the excitement,” said Foust who is the only American currently running in the European Rallycross Championship. “SuperRally or Rallycross is an exciting and aggressive sport with lots of contact and I think the USA audience is going to love it. The best way I can describe Rallycross is actually like driving a vicious little 600 hp car in a real life video game.”

 

The all-new Fiesta features an expressive, vibrant design, fuel-efficient engine, high-quality materials, and a number of features and technologies not found on competitive vehicles. Designed to be versatile, personal and adaptable, Fiesta delivers best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, convenience and connectivity, and an expressive color palette.

 

The available all-new North American industry-exclusive PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission combines the responsive performance and fuel economy of a manual with the convenience of a traditional automatic in one advanced, dual dry-clutch package.

 

Fiesta delivers a number of standard and available features that increase convenience and add connectivity. Among them is Ford SYNC^®, integrating a driver’s mobile phone with Fiesta’s onboard, voice-activated communications and entertainment system.

 

Fiesta offers keyless entry and push button start, a feature unique within the segment. Fiesta also features Ford’s Easy Fuel^® capless fuel filler system, a North American industry-exclusive, as standard equipment.

 

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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln andMercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010, and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.