Motorsports history is littered with sons of famous fathers following in Dad’s footsteps and trying to make their own names. But motorsports isn’t just a man’s world anymore. One of the women rising through the racing ranks is F1 Academy driver Lia Block. She’s the 18-year-old daughter of Ken Block, who made his name with his rally racing, the popular “Gymkhana” video series and brands such as Hoonigans before dying in a snowmobiling accident in January 2023.
Lia grew up in paddocks and naturally drifted towards off-road racing, eventually becoming a rally champion and later winning the Pro-Stock division of the Baja 1000 with her mother Lucy and the Block House Racing Team just over a year ago. Having become successful in her own right, the Williams Academy driver is now staring down her second full season in single-seaters, wanting to fight for the F1 Academy title.
Block is grateful that her father and his reputation opened doors to the motorsports world early in her career, but “it’s been really hard” navigating her career as ‘the daughter of.’ “I don’t want people (to) think that I’m cheating my way through it because I have a leg up. I do have a leg up into the sport because he was so renowned, and he gave me the opportunities to pursue my career,” Block told The Athletic.
She learned how to drift in other cars but what kickstarted her career and brought her into the media was hopping into Ken’s famous 1,400HP Mustang ‘Hoonicorn’ to drag race at 14. She followed in her parents’ footsteps in 2021 when she made her national-level rally debut at age 15, competing in the final round of the American Rally Association Championship for the Hoonigan Racing Division. Bitten by the bug, she progressively added more rallying appearances before winning the American Rally Association Open Two-Wheel-Drive (ARA O2WD) championship in 2023, becoming the youngest ARA champ in history at 16. She was the first woman to compete in Group E for Nitrocross and also drove Pikes Peak in her father’s car (the Hoonipigasus).
At 16, Block won the American Rally Association championship, becoming the youngest ARA champ in history. She was the first woman to compete in Group E for Nitrocross and also drove Pikes Peak in her father’s car (the Hoonipigasus).
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