Story By: TOM BLATTLER / DREYER & REINBOLD RACING – GRANTSVILLE, UT – Local teenage racing star Lia Block will lead the potent Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) four-driver lineup with its Dodge Hornet FC1-X electric race cars to this weekend’s (Oct. 4-5) spectacular Nitrocross racing series doubleheader at Utah Motorsports Campus.
Block, the seventeen-year-old driver from Park City, Utah, comes to the Utah racing facility to compete in the highly competitive, 1,000-horsepower Group E division after making an impressive debut last month in the Nitrocross season opener in Richmond, Va., in the Dodge//SRT FC1-X car. Block splits her racing career between Nitrocross and the Williams Formula One Academy.
Block will be part of the DRR four-car contingent with series champion Robin Larsson, Andreas Bakkerud and Fraser McConnell in this weekend’s wild and popular competition on dirt and pavement portions of the 4.4-mile road circuit.
The DRR racing team has been the dominant organization in the Nitrocross series for the past two seasons with Larsson leading the squad to the Driver and Team series championship, in addition to many race victories in the sensational series that features unique side-by-side racing and flying over specially prepared jumps.
“We have had great success in the high-powered Group E class the last two seasons,” said Dennis Reinbold, DRR team owner. “And the excitement continues this year with the addition of Dodge to our Nitrocross program as well as a young talent racer in Lia Block joining our strong lineup with Robin, Andreas and Fraser all who have won Nitrocross main events in the past two years. Now, we are ready for the big Utah event this weekend.”
Block, a former Rallycross (O2WD) class champion, posted two sixth place finishes in her debut with DRR at the Richmond doubleheader weekend as Larsson captured the Saturday feature race, and McConnell placed second in Sunday’s finale. In last year’s action at Utah, Sweden’s Larsson scored the feature win for the DRR JC team in the Group E category, while Block, competing in the NEXT class, took fourth in the final.
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“In the first race at Richmond, I was just trying to get my feet underneath everything with these high-horsepower cars,” said Block, who placed fourth in the F1 Academy event in Singapore two weeks ago, a former Rallycross (O2WD) class champion. “It’s been hard to run against the Group E, as they have a couple of seasons on me already with these race cars. I have been learning so much with the Dodge Hornet, and my teammates have been a great help. It has been a big change from driving formula cars in Europe where they don’t want you to slide the car to here in Nitrocross where you need to slide the race car to be fast. I’m anxious for the Utah race. It’s in my backyard, and I know that track pretty well too. ”
Larsson, a former FIA European Rallycross Champion (2014), took the last two Nitrocross Group E championships with seven victories in the Monster Energy DRR FC1-X machine and looks forward to the Utah doubleheader.
“Having won the last two years brings a lot of confidence to myself and the Monster Energy DRR JC team,” said Larsson. “For me, it’s a great feeling being with Dodge this year. It’s the first time I have been with an auto manufacturer. I’m very proud to have Dodge on board, and I couldn’t ask for a better start to the season with the Richmond win. Now, I’m ready for the Utah event, and I hope to win there again this weekend.”
McConnell, the 2019 ARX2 Rallycross champion, has scored four Nitrocross Group E races in the last two years, and the Jamaica native nearly scored a win at Richmond last month with a close second place. Fraser is prepared to challenge for the Utah victories with his DRR Dodge FC1-X car.
“It was a tough finish in the Sunday race at Richmond,” said McConnell, who scored two wins in the 2023 Group E action for DRR. “I felt if I didn’t get hit on the first lap that I would have won the race. I thought the positions (first and second) should have been swapped. But, if that is the decision, such is life, and I will move on to the next event. The opening weekend is always a tough one, but we are so pleased to have Dodge with the DRR team. That Utah track is awesome and we’ll ready for that doubleheader event.”
The four Dodge Hornet FC1-X race cars, which each produce over 1,000 horsepower, are powered by Magelec Propulsion axial flux motors, generating the equivalent of 1,070 horsepower (800 kW), with the capability of accelerating from 0-60 in just 1.4 seconds. It is faster off the line than an F1 car, producing nearly 2g of acceleration from a standing start—more than enough to propel vehicles across the 200-ft. gap jumps that are common on Nitrocross courses.
The Dodge Hornet FC1-X features a tubular chassis, carbon fiber chassis tub, Alcon braking system, electric power-assisted steering, front and rear double wishbone R53 suspension with adjustable camber/caster with 12-inch wheel travel and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars.
The Nitrocross Series is one of the fastest growing and most popular motorsports series in North America and features unique competition on specially designed pavement and dirt courses with spectacular jumps and wild drifts. Nitrocross cars battle inches apart in a program with practice rounds, qualifying, heat races and main events in five separate categories including Group E class.