Former F1 Academy driver Lia Block has confirmed that she will likely be competing within the 2026 American Rally Affiliation Nationwide Championship in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Block made her American Rally Affiliation debut in 2021 earlier than taking a full-time position in 2022. In 2023, she raced within the Open Two-Wheel-Drive class and have become the youngest champion within the collection at 16 years previous.
In 2024 and 2025, the American driver switched to single-seaters, and he or she joined the Williams Racing driver academy and raced within the all-female racing collection, F1 Academy.
After leaving F1 Academy on the finish of 2025, Block determined to return to the world of rally quite than pursue a future in single-seaters.
“I’m stepping as much as the RC2 class in a Hyundai Rally2 automobile, which could be very thrilling for me,” Block instructed DirtFish.
“Clearly an enormous step up from the 2023 championship and the Rally3 automobile, however I imagine in myself and my means to study new automobiles and new disciplines in a short time, so I’m simply actually excited for the highway forward.”
Discussing her aim of profitable the championship, she added: “I feel it’s very, very potential to be preventing for the championship and that’s what I will likely be working in direction of.
Lia Block, ART Grand Prix
Picture by: Simon Galloway / LAT Photos through Getty Photos
“Clearly, as you already know, rally is a really unpredictable sport and issues can occur two corners from the end, and I realized that already this yr!
“I feel I’ve already confirmed my expertise in rally by profitable the rear-wheel-drive championship in 2023, however the general championship is certainly what I’m going for, and naturally it’s an enormous deal.
“I feel this yr gained’t have a scarcity of competitors, and I feel that’s going to be essentially the most tough half. However I actually, actually do stay up for it. It’s about restating myself on the earth of rally.
“So I’ll simply be taking it as a studying alternative each time I’m again within the automobile and having enjoyable as a result of I feel that’s a very powerful factor, and positively what I’ve missed from rally within the earlier years.”
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