Photo: Subaru Rally Team USA

Ken Block is said to be close to a deal which would see him compete in the World Rally Championship with a new M-Sport Ford team, according to Autosport magazine.

Former WRC Subaru driver Chris Atkinson is set to be Block's team-mate in the proposed Monster Energy Drink World Rally Team.

Block's management team Wasserman Media Group are putting the three-year deal  together, which, if it comes off, could prove be a watershed moment in the WRC's history.

WRC promoter Simon Long said: "Ken Block is an iconic figure in US motorsport and a major box office personality. It wouldn't get much better than this for the WRC going into North America. We talk about an epic motorsport adventure in the WRC and Ken is certainly an epic kind of guy. His gymkhana videos have achieved something like 22 million impressions on the 'net; okay, this is not traditional rallying, but it's using rally cars in a way the man on the street understands. That's what we're trying to achieve."

Block and Atkinson would contest selected WRC rounds next year in '09-spec Ford Focus WRCs. The aim then, is to complete a full championship season in 2011.

M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson admitted he had held negotiations with Block and Monster, stating: "We've been in good discussions with Ken for some time. There would be a lot of excitement around this deal, if it happens, and it would bring a new dimension to the WRC as a global sport."

Photo: Mark Cadogen / Attention Seekers

Source: autosport.com

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Scott Coursey is the editor-in-chief of RallyBuzz.com and can be found on Twitter or on Facebook