Handbrakes & Hairpins Issue 178

Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 08
Ken Block and Mikko Hirvonen
star at Dirt 3 launch
Words: Olivia Gauch
Pictures: Newspress
King of freestyle driving Ken Block
was at Battersea Power Station in
London for the Dirt 3 – Gymkhana
Uncovered event.
The award winning and oldest
British games developers, Codemasters,
release the anticipated Dirt 3 rally
game on 24th May 2011 for Xbox 360,
Playstation 3 and Games for Windows
Live.
Players will start as a seasoned
professional in the off-road world and
the game features more locations,
routes and over 50 rally cars. An
addition is the ‘Gymkhana’ section, made
famous by the American which involves
‘hooning’ around a specially set up route
around various stunts and obstacles.
The Monster World Rally
Team driver is a YouTube sensation –
Gymkhana 2 was 2009’s fourth most
viewed viral video and in the game,
players can publish their runs to the
video-sharing website.
As in Dirt 3, Block replicated
this part of the game in the real world
and under the sweltering sun and the
four iconic chimneys at Battersea, he
handbrake turned, jumped and drifted
his way around the obstacles in his
Gymkhana Ford Focus RS World Rally
Car, kicking up dirt and gravel in front of
the crowds.
Plenty of cameras captured the
live driving from every angle, so watch
out for the trailer coming soon! More
stunts, action and plenty of dirt! H&H