Lia Block maintained her lead in the 2026 American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship following a hard-fought second-place finish at Rally Colorado. Block, the first woman to lead the overall series standings, continues her championship campaign with technical support from Irish preparation team PCRS Rallysport.
Driving the Block House Racing Hyundai i20 Rally2 alongside co-driver Alex Gelsomino, Block battled through punishing conditions across the two-day high-desert event in Rangely.
Despite taking the initial lead on SS1, a series of three tire punctures over the weekend cost Block valuable time, dropping her down the order. However, a resilient drive saw her fight back to second overall before claiming a maximum five points with a stage victory on the final Power Stage.
The result leaves Block leading the national standings by two points over Rally Colorado winner Seth Quintero.
“It’s super disappointing to have another rally be impacted by not one puncture, but three,” Block said. “But the weekend turned out the best it possibly could with those circumstances. We still got the Power Stage win, which I’m super proud of, and second overall. It stings a lot. I want that big trophy really bad, and I felt like this should have been the one. But it’s a lot of learning, and you only can learn as much as you lose. It’s just going to taste that much sweeter when we actually get it done.”
Her brother Mika Block placed second in O2WD on his second-ever rally in the Block House Racing Ford Fiesta R2T. Block and Donegal co-driver Gary McElhinney stayed consistent and grew their pace gradually over the rally to earn the podium.
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