Former Williams F1 Academy driver Lia Block united with Ken Block’s former co-driver Alex Gelsomino to take on the Sno*Drift Rally in northern Michigan, which is the first round of the 2026 American Rally Association season.
“Good morning. We are here at testing for Sno*Drift Rally 2026. It was very, very cold early this morning, about five degrees. And that is a Rally 3 behind us, but not my mom’s Rally 3 that I raced at Boone. So, same exact car, just not owned by Block House,” Block explained in a video shared by Block House Racing.
“I’ve never done a snow rally. And to make it even worse, we are not allowed to run studs. So, we are stuck with two tyre choices here, a snow tyre and an ice tyre, and no in-between. And another cool thing about Sno*Drift is the first full day is all in the dark. So we start Friday at 6pm and end around 12am. So in the snow, mixed conditions at night. It’s certainly a rally that you need to just finish. So that is our plan.”
She added: “This rally is also special because it is my first ever rally with a different Gelsomino in my passenger seat, Mr Alex Gelsomino. He was my dad’s co-driver for many, many years. He sat with my mum in 2023 when Rhianon sat with me, and we won the two-wheel drive championship.
“So I mean it’s kind of funny that Rhi’s back with Travis now, and I’m with Alex, and we’re actually competing against each other. Travis may or may not have bet me a dollar for the overall, and I don’t know how I feel about that, but I guess we’ll see.”
After four stages, Block sat third behind Travis Pastrana in first and Patrick Gruszka in second.
“A lot more grip than we expected, much more snow on the surface,” Block explained. “So, it was really fun. I mean, the first stage our lights were pointing at the stars, so it was a bit difficult to see. So we lost a little bit there. So, ready for the second loop. Should be fun.”
Lia Block, Gedlich Valencia testing
Photo by: Gedlich Racing
After eight stages, the former F1 Academy driver had held her position in third, but moved up to second when Gruszka suffered a gearbox failure, and after 12 stages, Block had closed in on Pastrana.
“We’ve been really tight on time with Travis and Rhi. So, feeling really good. We started getting some warnings, and then in the fourth stage, the car started cutting out on us power-wise. So, we think the head gasket might be going. Unfortunately, that is not a 30-minute service job.”
Block’s co-driver Gelsomino added: “We have four stages left, about 25 miles. So I think it’s going to be a matter of trying to manage, even if it means that we have to do a couple of stages in road mode without boost, without any pressure and anything just to clear the stage. So fingers crossed that’s all we can do.”
While it was bad news for Block, Pastrana also ran into issues after getting stuck in deep snow with only three stages remaining. They managed to continue, but they dropped behind Block.
“Well, that’s kind of sad, but I mean it feels really good,” Block said when asked at the event how it feels to be the first woman to lead an ARA round. “This is the first time I’ve ever led a round of ARA and obviously the first time I’ve ever been in a competitive car to do that, especially at this type of rally. We’ll just have to see you at the finish, and then I’ll tell you more about it.”
In the final stage, Block’s car broke down with just two corners remaining. It was pushed across the finish line and then towed to parc ferme, losing Block the win. Unfortunately, as spectators helped to push the car to the finish line, it was a violation of safety rules and regulations. As a result, Block and Gelsomino were disqualified from the rally.
“We were trading times back and forth with Travis,” Block reflected after returning home. “It was going really, really well.”
“We were leading with two stages left. The last corner I was braking down for a left-hander and everything just seized, the car stalled and it would not start again.
“And thankfully, it was a downhill right there. So we tried to just dump the clutch and see if it restarted. Nothing was working. So we tried to use that momentum to coast, but there was still right, left up to the finish. And we had to get some spectators to help us push it across the line. And unfortunately, that means we had outside assistance when we were in control.
“It would have been a different situation if the road had been flat or downhill. We wouldn’t have been disqualified. But unfortunately, the rules are the rules, and all we wanted to do was finish, which we did. And I’d much rather get DQ’d than DNF. Regroup and just reflect on what happened.”
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