Lia Block's Sno*Drift Rally Debut Ends in Disappointment Lia Block nearly won her return to rally racing at the Sno*Drift Rally, but ultimately had to be towed across the finish line with a timing belt failure. Block was chasing Subaru's Travis Pastrana through the first 14 stages, setting the second-best times in the field every stage. She took the lead when Pastrana went off-road with three stages remaining, costing him 22 minutes near the end of the race. Block entered the final stage with a three-minute buffer over Javier Castro in the Audi A1 Maxx Rally; her overall win would've been the first win for a woman in an ARA national round and the first win for the Ford Fiesta Rally3. Ultimately, Block and Co-Driver Alex Gelsomino finished third behind Castro in the Audi and Mark Piatkowski in the second Subaru. Following the completion of the event, both Castro and ...
Lia Block’s Sno*Drift Rally Debut Ends in Disappointment
Lia Block nearly won her return to rally racing at the Sno*Drift Rally, but ultimately had to be towed across the finish line with a timing belt failure. Block was chasing Subaru’s Travis Pastrana through the first 14 stages, setting the second-best times in the field every stage. She took the lead when Pastrana went off-road with three stages remaining, costing him 22 minutes near the end of the race.
Block entered the final stage with a three-minute buffer over Javier Castro in the Audi A1 Maxx Rally; her overall win would’ve been the first win for a woman in an ARA national round and the first win for the Ford Fiesta Rally3. Ultimately, Block and Co-Driver Alex Gelsomino finished third behind Castro in the Audi and Mark Piatkowski in the second Subaru.
Following the completion of the event, both Castro and Block were excluded from the race finish for being pushed through time controls by third parties. Piatkowski inherited the win from Castro for his second career ARA victory. Block was pushed by spectators during stage 16 before grabbing a tow from Sean Donnelly in the 2024 Renault Clio Rally3. Donnelly is promoted to second overall following the two disqualifications.
Castro’s infringement came much earlier in the rally when his crew pushed his Audi into its final service after the A1 experienced technical issues during parc fermé. This was Block’s first snow rally, and she entered the event with low expectations, just looking to learn, finish the race, and hopefully grab points.
While she fell short of a historic win, she initially achieved all three goals before the disqualification. “This is definitely the first time I’ve competed there, and it’s my first time on a snow rally and first time on a snow rally without studs,” Block told Dirtfish. “It’s going to be interesting! To be honest, I just want to finish. I want to get out there, enjoy the rally, and take some points.”
Her first race with Ford ended better than her summer rally appearance with Subaru, when the championship-winning WRX ended up wedged between two trees. In 2023, Block made history as the youngest champion in ARA’s history, winning the Open-Two-Wheel-Drive class. With her sights set on a future WRC ride, Sno*Drift marked her first opportunity to compete since her stint in single-seater competition.
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