“I’ve been here a long time, and this is probably the most fun three days I’ve had at the rally school.” says Jacob Serino, a lead instructor at Team O’Neil.
This summer, Ken Block’s family returned to Team O’Neil Rally School for seat time, training, and a whole lot of fun. Lucy, Lia, Kira, Mika, and friends spent three days in the gravel, polishing up their skills, breaking bad habits, or learning something completely new. Once behind the wheel of a school car, it doesn’t matter if you’re an ARA rally champion and F1 racer, a seasoned rally driver, or don’t even have a license – Team O’Neil has a takeaway for everyone.
“This was the first place I learned how to drive a rally car, the first place Ken, Travis, and lots of others started their rally careers.” Said mom Lucy. For her and her oldest daughter, Lia, it was far from their first rodeo. In the past, they came on an annual basis to train for the ARA season, and far before that Ken came to learn at the start of his driving career. Although Team O’Neil is already full of countless memories for the family, they were also excited to make new ones this year.
Lucy completed the iconic Pike’s Peak hill climb last year, and Lia became the youngest and first female ARA champion after winning her class in 2023. Nowadays, Lia spends most of her time training in the F1 Academy. For these three days at the school, Lia’s goal was to simply have fun with her siblings. The youngest members of the family, Kira and Mika, had their first experience behind the wheel of a rally car. Kira was excited to “just drive” and was praised by the instructors for her natural talent. Mika wanted to get some seat time in front wheel drive before hoping to launch his own rally career in the near future.
Midway through the second day, founder Tim O’Neil brought out his passion project car: the 1969 AMC AMX. “I think you inspired them with this car. [And] Inspired me.” Lucy told Tim. He let even Lucy take the rear wheel drive classic out for a spin, and she tried rear wheel drive for the first time. They had a blast around the skidpad and slalom course.
Overall, the three days were packed with fun and learning for the Blocks, their friends, and Team O’Neil. Ken would be proud of the legacy that lives on through his family, who have caught the motorsports itch while being equally passionate and talented. However they chose to pursue it, Team O’Neil is always the best place to learn the essential skills of car control. And, of course, it is loads of fun.
By Sarah O’Neil
