Ever since race car driver Ken Block left Ford, he's been dabbling with all sorts of manufacturers and sponsors. The American racing hero has been doing some awesome work with Audi and has even raced behind the wheel of a Skoda Fabia R5+, and he's now getting ready to get behind the wheel of another surprising race car. Block loves a bit of rally racing, and for this season of the 2022 American Rally Association Championship (ARA), he will be piloting a Hoonigan-prepared 2019 Hyundai i20 WRC car. Block will be joined for the first time by his wife, Lucy, in an M-Sport-built Ford Fiesta Rally3, and his daughter, Lia Block, will be racing an M-Sport-built Fiesta R2T.
This marks the first ARA season that all three Blocks will be racing in the same championship, and let's not forget that Lia is still racing on only a driver's permit, so she'll be accompanied by an adult. The Hoonigan Racing team, sporting brand new liveries for 2022, launched their ARA assault in Salem, Massachusetts, on March 18-19. Ken - who has won this race a stunning seven times (out of 10 starts) - enjoyed an early lead on Friday and had stretched his lead to nearly a minute over Brandon Semenuk in his Subaru WRX, but he struck a deer on the final stage, which cost him more than a minute and handed the victory to Semenuk.
Block's Hyundai had to undergo numerous changes to make it eligible for the ARA season, including a reduction in restrictor size, and the addition of weight ballasts. Despite this, the rally driver nearly took his eighth win. Now if only we could see him working the wheel of his Audi RS e-tron GT in a competitive setting.
Lia, who competed in the open two-wheel drive class placed 5th in her class of 18, and placed 21st out of a total of 91 entries. Lia has some solid experience behind the wheel, and has even raced her dad's 1,400 horsepower AWD Mustang. "It's really cool to be competing in the rally series I grew up around, as it was always a dream for me to be a part of it. Here I am with a really rad looking car, and the support of Hoonigan Racing Division. Big thanks to everyone who has helped me get to this point!" she said.
Lucy Block competed in the open four wheel drive class and managed a seventh place in her class, and 33rd place overall. ""This year, our very talented oldest spawn Lia is driving the Fiesta that I raced in for the past couple of years, so she is getting a very good "hand-me-down" to start her rally racing career in. But, I'm really excited to do my first race in an AWD turbo car here at 100 Acre Wood and my first full season ever!" she said.
The 2022 ARA season is a nine-round series that runs through to October 2022 and will see the three family members duke it out for the top spot.