--- title: "Ken Block’s 14-Year-Old Daughter Drifts Better Than All of Us" description: "She has had expert training and the right tools, like a hoon-worthy 1978 Ford Escort Mk2 RS." date: "2020-12-19" modified: "2021-12-11" authors: - name: "Kristin V. Shaw" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/38294/rally-champion-ken-blocks-14-year-old-daughter-connects-figure-8s-better-than-all-of-us" categories: - "News" --- # Ken Block’s 14-Year-Old Daughter Drifts Better Than All of Us ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* Back in May, Hoonigan Racing Division owner and rally champion [Ken Block]() taught his then-13-year-old daughter how to drive a manual in a 1978 Ford Escort Mk2 RS. Shortly after that, he showed her how to do doughnuts. How many 13-year-old kids do you know who could manage that? Not to mention that she did it while healing from a fractured arm from a tumbling run during gymnastics practice. Now Lia is mastering the art of drifting and connecting figure 8s with enviable skills (I’ve practiced drifting with professional instructors and I wish I had learned it when I was a teen driver so I could really rock it now). She turned 14 in October, and her father presented her with an interest and appropriate gift: a day of driving lessons with drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. in a white 1990 Fox Body Mustang GT convertible. Of course, the whole thing is posted to [YouTube]() for everyone to watch, and it doesn’t ruffle Lia at all. ![message-editor%2F1608411422092-hooniganlia2.jpg]() **YouTube** "How much would you like to drive?” Block asks his daughter. Her eyes widen. “A lot,” she says. After a long day of karting, driving, filming, and working through some car issues and repairs, [Block]() said via Twitter, his daughter had another chance to give the [Fox Body]() Mustang at Utah [Motorsports]() Campus and made it look easy. Lia started driving a tiny motorized car when she was very small, graduating up to go-karts and UTVs. She’s even flipped a UTV during a race and says it was more surprising than scary. The first car she drove had a 350-horsepower naturally aspirated Millington racing engine, and Block says the red line is at about 9,000 rpms. It’s rear-wheel drive, and it requires a lot of clutch control and composure. This pair reminds me of X Games Motocross champion Brian Deegan and his daughter [Hailee](), who is now a stock car driver at age 18. During the 2013 Junior 2 Karts season, Hailee was the first female to win a championship at the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Lia has also competed in that series and seems to be on her way to a career in motorsports as well. Before we know it, she's going to be giving lessons to the rest of us. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1339980106412871686 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1340054313083707393 *Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Instagram]() [Twitter]()