Michigan in the fall. Lia Block gets it. It’s surreal. The Singapore Grand Prix and a Formula 4 car suddenly feel a very long way away.
She’s come home. Home to rallying. Home to Subaru.
Expectation has been building about Lia’s debut aboard a factory Subaru WRX since the announcement that she’d take Brandon Semenuk’s car for this week’s Lake Superior Performance Rally, the final ARA round of the season.
This is Tuesday, pre-event test day. Just a week or so after her 18th birthday, she’s in the car for the first time.
“Apparently,” smiled the American, “this is the fastest Subaru [rally car] in the world. That’s quite a cool thing to say. It’s kind of like a full circle thing here.”
She’s not wrong. The Block-Subaru partnership is nothing new. Twenty years ago, Lia’s father Ken tackled Canada’s Rally of the Tall Pines for the first time. That was in a Subaru. Block Sr went on to become one of the Japanese manufacturer’s most recognized and loved drivers.
Lia said: “I grew up in the rally pits with my dad racing for Subaru, while I was playing with little Subaru model cars. And today I’m driving one. It’s kind of crazy. It’s awesome to come back with a Subaru team. I mean I grew up with some of these mechanics and engineers. I think it’s probably a little weird for them to see me as a baby and now I’m actually driving one of their cars.
“It’s awesome – Subaru and Lance [Smith owner of Vermont SportsCar] have given me such a cool opportunity and put this super-fast car in my hands. I’m hoping to have some fun with a team I’ve known for forever.
“I wouldn’t want this milestone in my career to be with anybody else.”
First impressions of the car?
“It’s kind of what I expected,” she said. “You know, it’s a long car which you’ve kind of got to lug around the corners, but it’s also super-responsive and really nice to drive. I mean, it’s obviously heavy, but it feels light underneath you which is a weird dynamic.
Block has settled into the car quickly, understanding what it takes to drive it fast
“I think the biggest thing I’ve had to get used to is sitting in the middle of the car and having so much from you to the nose – and trying to gauge where you should be putting yourself in a corner, while not clipping any trees… which would be bad.
“The day testing went great. I feel comfortable in the car. We made lots of changes with the car, so if the conditions change on the event and we have to make set-up changes, I should be comfortable with that and it’s not going to catch me off guard.”
Twelve months ago Block made a stunning four-wheel drive debut, posting top-three stages times before the engine on her Ford Escort RS Cosworth suffered a timing belt issue. That was her last time between the trees. Soon after she signed with Williams Racing to contest this year’s Formula 1 Academy. After a year of learning at the circuits, she’s happy to be back on the loose. And very happy to be back at LSPR.
It’s great working with Keaton. I prefer an accent other than American because it's kind of a trigger in your brain – it's not something you're used to hearing.Lia Block
“Besides Southern Ohio,” she said, “LSPR is one of my favorite events. This is the third time I’ve done it, but I didn’t finish yet – the first time the wheel literally fell off my Fiesta R2 and last year we had the mechanical with the Cossie.”
While living life in a Formula 4 car will no doubt have honed her driving skills, she admits making pacenotes hasn’t been high on the agenda.
“I’m not too comfortable with my notes right now,” she said. “I think there’s some stuff we need to change during recce.”
Fortunately, she’s got a three-time American champion sat alongside her. While Semenuk has got on his bike in Utah, his co-driver Keaton Williams has stayed in Subaru’s right-hand seat.
“It’s great working with Keaton,” said Block. “It’s good to have his feedback, not only on notes and co-driver side, but also on driving, because he’s obviously sat with Brandon for years and knows what is fast in the car. It’s a little bit odd hearing a male voice versus a female voice. But, you know, I prefer an accent other than American because it’s kind of a trigger in your brain – it’s not something you’re used to hearing.”
And the Englishman was very happy to stay put.
He said: “This is a nice change for me to come here. With the championship settled, it gives me another little challenge for the end of the year while Brandon’s in the middle of the desert with a pickaxe in his hand getting ready for Red Bull Rampage.
Lia has been entrusted with the car Brandon Semenuk took to this year's ARA title
“Lia’s only 18, so I’m more than happy to give what I know to help her progress and develop. And, if she does more rallying, then she’s got those tools to progress with. I’m looking forward to it. Most important thing is to get around. We’ve got to do every mile and we’ve got to just find where she’s comfortable with the car and develop from there.
“There’s so much for her to learn, but, obviously, she’s been in so much machinery from such a young age it’s just putting her knowledge in the right areas and moulding it to the car. But, ultimately, we’ve just got to get around, enjoy it, do every mile and hopefully see some progression as the weekend goes on, which I’m sure we will.”
In terms of a possible result, Block’s priority is mileage – but mileage at increased velocity as the event passes.
She added: “I’m a race car driver, of course I want to compete and I want to win. But I just take it step by step, I need to be focused and do the best I can here. I want to finish, but I want to just keep getting more comfortable with the car. I’d love to be competing with Travis [Pastrana] and Conner [Martell], but baseline goal is to be matching times at the end of the second day.
“Basically, I want to do good.”
From the evidence of Tuesday, Block-Subaru 2.0 is looking good.
