Lia Block aiming to carry on late father Ken’s legacy in Extreme E

Lia Block, teenage daughter of the late stunt and rally driver Ken Block, has relished her first taste of racing in the electric-powered Extreme E off-road series.

The American has joined Timo Scheider in Carl Cox Motorsport’s Odyssey 21 and made her debut in the double-header Sardinia Island X-Prix in July. Block had never raced an electric-powered car and first drove the off-roader in practice. The duo failed to make either final, but finished third in the first so-called Redemption race, only to drop to fourth after picking up a penalty. A puncture left them fifth in the second race.

There’s a connection in Block racing in Extreme E, given that her father gave the Odyssey 21 its debut on the Dakar Rally in 2020. Now Lia, 16, has plans to develop her own career. “The ‘Block legacy’ is not only my father’s,” she said. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love it. I’m truly doing this mostly for myself. I’ll go wherever my career takes me.”

Block Sr was killed in a snowmobile accident in January. He was 55.