Lia Block on Her Foray Into Extreme E Electric Off-Road Racing
She’s continuing her father’s legacy while creating one of her own.
It would seem that the entire motorsport world is behind Lia Block. Not only is she a talented driver but she's the daughter of the beloved Ken Block, who tragically died in a snowmobile accident earlier this year. Now 16 years old, Lia Block has been racing since she was 11 and she just recently made her debut in Extreme E electric off-road racing in Sardinia this weekend.
Block races for Carl Cox Motorsport, in the sport that her father was a part of from the beginning. Ken Block was one of the first people to race competitively in Extreme E, at the Dakar Rally in 2020. So what was it like to race in a sport that her father was such an important part of?
“It was super cool that my dad was one of the first to drive the [Extreme E race car] Odyssey 21 at speed at the Dakar Really. It is amazing that I get to come and drive the same car that he did, and I get to race in the series which he didn't. It is a pretty cool feeling to be here," Block said in a recent interview.
However, Lia Block isn't just continuing her father's legacy. She's also carving her own path in a profession that both she and her father loved.
"The 'Block legacy' is not only my father’s, but at the same time it's also my career. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love it, so I'm truly doing this mostly for myself and for my career. I may not do completely what he did, but I'm going to do whatever I want to do in motorsport and go wherever my career takes me.”
After the 2023 Extreme E season, there will certainly be more racing from Block and it may come in many different forms.
“I've been doing off-road racing, I've been doing rallying and karting, I've been doing testing in open-wheel cars—I do like it all, so I'd like to do more open-wheel testing in the future and maybe some more racing, to see what I'm good at and then go from there."
I think most of the motorsport world would like to see Lia Block behind the wheel more. She has the opportunity to both honor her father's legacy while creating one of her own and hopefully she can continue to do so for many years to come.
Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com
