Lia Block will drive her late father’s Ford Escort Cosworth “Cossie” Version 2 at the Lake Superior Performance Rally this weekend.
The Youngest ARA Champion
Lia Block won the O2WD Championship in the ARA this season. By doing this Lia has become the youngest driver in American Rally history to win a championship. As she was just 16 years old when she took home the championship. Lia drove a rear-wheel-drive Subaru BRZ this season and she was unstoppable. Winning 4 out of 5 events she competed in this season. Beating drivers who had years more experience than her almost instantly. Joined by 3 time American Rally Champion Co-Driver Rhianon Gelsomino, Lia had all the pieces to win the championship. It was up to her to make it happen. She did that and made quite a name for herself in the process. As World Rally Teams have started to take notice of the now 17-year-old. Lia is bursting at the seams with natural skill.
Driving A Icon
Her father Ken Block is a pretty large name in the world of Motorsports. Creating the Gymkhana series, and being one of, if not the greatest American rally drivers in history are a few reasons why he is such a large name. One of Ken’s most iconic cars is his Ford Escort Cosworth. Nicknamed the Cossie, Ken used this car throughout 2019 at select events across the world. The Cossie V2 was created after the first version of the Cossie caught fire at the 2018 running of the New England Forest Rally.
Ken was able to take home first in the M6 class at Rally Legend in 2019 and 2020 with the Cossie V2. In 2021 Ken returned to the ARA full-time to chase his first rally championship. He didn’t use the Cossie that season, however. The last rally action the Cossie had seen before this weekend was the 2021 running of NEFR with Jax Redline behind the wheel. Lia will drive this legendary vehicle this weekend at LSPR.
Her First Time
Lia Block has driven 4WD cars competitively before. Driving in both NRX NEXT and Extreme E. However she has never driven a 4WD in a rally before. Making this weekend her first time, and what better car to do it in? Lia likely won’t push the car to the same limits Ken did. As she has a lack of experience as previously mentioned and the car itself is basically priceless. It’s not something you’d want to risk destroying.
What’s Next For Lia?
Lia Block’s future in rally is uncertain at this point. As she has made it known she has an interest in circuit racing and has her foot in multiple other series. However, if she does choose to continue her rally career she will likely have a good one. As she has loads of natural skill for Rally and is an incredible driver already. If she were to go to the WRC there’s a good chance she could be one of the better drivers in the championship. I mean she was already challenging Brandon Semenuk on stages while she was in a 2WD car. With Semenuk in an open class top of the line rally car. Doors are open for Lia and she will likely have a tough decision ahead of her.