The news that Ott Tänak will compete at Overmountain Rally Tennessee in the American Rally Association National Championship is positive for three reasons, according to Lia Block.
The 19-year-old currently leads the championship ahead of this weekend’s Ojibwe Forests Rally in her Hyundai i20 N Rally2, but is searching for her first overall event victory.
The American woman has already had the opportunity to race 18-time World Rally winner Jari-Matti Latvala at Olympus Rally earlier this year, but measuring up against a world champion is an even greater chance for her to see how she truly measures up.
Block told DirtFish: “I think it’s awesome [news] obviously for the series and for the US rallying scene as a whole, but also for us and the competition to see what is actually possible in a Rally2 car on these roads in the US.
“I think Tänak will really be able to set the pace for the rest of the field, and for me to work towards. I think it’s going to be a great weekend and for me to be able to slowly improve and see what I need to do better when I get to compare times against a world champion, I’m very excited. It’s going to be really cool I think for all of us.”
Block feels Tänak’s entry – as team-mate to Seth Quintero in a Toyota GR Corolla Rally RC2 – is a good opportunity to measure just how competitive the ARA is too.
“It’s going to be very cool from the outside but also a great kick in the butt for us in the championship, just to see how far off the pace we really are from a world champion,” she added. “And I think it can also give others a gauge of how the competition really is in the States.
“From the outside perspective and WRC, people may not take it as seriously than other championships in the world, so I think it can really give us a great gauge of how it needs to progress pace wise.”
While the stage times at the September 18-19 event will be the obvious baromter, Block says monitoring Tänak’s mannerisms, as she did with Latvala four months ago, will be just as helpful.
“It’s so interesting because to get to pick the brain of a world champion is so unique, and especially to see their take, or their experience, in the US rallying scene,” she explained.
“For me as a driver to be able to learn… and just seeing Jari-Matti in Olympus, his mannerisms, how he gets into the headspace and what he’s doing before he gets in the car before a stage, it’s so interesting for me. Because you don’t get to be up and personal to those type of moments unless you’re a driver starting behind him in the WRC.
“So it’s so unique and I’m really looking forward to seeing that at Overmountain with Tänak.”
Block also believes Toyota choosing to send Tänak to the rally is an encouraging sign for Rally US, which is looking to join the WRC calendar from 2027.
“I’m really hoping that it does happen,” Block smiled. “Obviously with the candidate event going so well, even being able to speak to the FIA safety delegates that got to come, just seeing what US rallying looks like, especially at a rally like Southern Ohio which is one of my favorites on the calendar, it’s really great to see there were smiles on their faces and nothing was going horribly wrong.
“I think it’s even more positive that Tänak’s coming over for Overmountain, which is very similar roads to what the WRC US round could look like, and the fact that Toyota is sending him over in my mind is very positive, because it means they’re actually looking towards what is possible for next year. And even for the program here in the States and what Rally2 can possibly do, so it’s very exciting!”
