Lia Block, daughter of the late Ken Block, is steadily making her name in the F1 Academy series. While her father was known for his rally driving and viral Gymkhana video series, Lia didn’t fall in love with motorsport until she was 11 years old.
Before taking up motorsport, Lia explored several sports like basketball, tennis, swimming, dance, gymnastics, skateboarding, and downhill mountain biking. However, it wasn’t until she gave motorsport a try that she truly fell in love with it.
“Once I went back to motorsport and actually gave it a try, I fell in love with it so much and like knew it’s what I wanted to do because I had already had a taste of everything else and knew I liked this the best,” Lia shared in a recent conversation on ‘The Fast and The Curious’ podcast.
Interestingly, Lia consciously chose to delay following her father’s footsteps into racing.
Lia stays in touch with her feminine side despite being part of a male-dominated sport
Lia’s father and mother have both been accomplished racers, with Lucy Block being an ARA National Champion. When asked if she might have been rebelling against motorsport because of her parents’ fame, Lia admitted that was the case.
“Yeah, maybe just a little bit, and also like the fact that I started with like gymnastics, skating, and like dance and I still wanted to be like a pretty girly girl you know, which I think there’s nothing wrong with,” the F1 Academy racer said.
Lia proudly embraces her identity as a “girly girl” in a male-dominated sport and is inspired by other female athletes who embody this balance. One such athlete is Ilona Maher, an American rugby union player. Lia admires her for promoting the idea that women can be both feminine and strong in sports.
