Two motor sport powerhouses – SET Promotion and Loenbro Motorsports – have teamed up to move into a new era for rallycross by running FC2 cars on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
 
The SET-LOENBRO outfit will field at least two FC2 cars within its programme, the FC2 machines a significant evolution of the successful Supercar Lites concept that has operated for over a decade. The FC2 cars will continue to use the Supercar Lites platform, with a new technical package increasing output and drivability, to deliver cost-effective performance comparable to that of a rallycross Supercar.
 
Created by Finnish brothers Jussi and Kalle Pinomaki in 2003, SET Promotion is one of the most successful teams in rallycross history, with 11 European Rallycross Championship titles to its credit with a wide range of drivers, and is the reigning Euro RX1 title-holder.
 
Loenbro Motorsports meanwhile was founded by brothers Paul and Jon Leach in the USA, and has a diverse experience of racing disciplines, from rallycross to dirt ovals and off-road racing.
 
The SET-LOENBRO tie-up is not a new allegiance, SET having worked within the GRX Loenbro partnership in which Steve Arpin raced a Hyundai i20 Supercar in the 2021 Nitrocross series in America.
 
Looking into the future, SET-LOENBRO will begin its new venture by racing in selected rounds of the 2024 RallyX season, with eyes on opportunities to run the FC2 cars in Europe, and in the Nitrocross Championship in America.
 
Further details about the programme, including the driver line up, will be announced in due course. 
 
Aleksi Koskinen, Team Manager, SET Promotion Customer Programmes:
 
“This is an exciting new adventure for SET Promotion and the SET-LOENBRO partnership. We have had an amazing recent couple of years in the European Championship and it was important to keep the motivation high – for sure this project does exactly that. We have good experience of extracting what we can from single-specification cars in the past, and we are ready to work with some talented drivers who I think will fit perfectly into this team with these fast new-look cars.”
 
Paul Leach, Loenbro Motorsports:
 
“We had a great collaboration with GRX and SET when Steve Arpin raced in Nitrocross Supercar in 2021, so this relationship is something we feel very happy with moving forward. SET Promotion has so much history and experience, and I hope we can bring plenty to the party too. We can’t wait to get started.”
 
Jussi Pinomäki, SET Promotion, CEO:
 
“Back in 2013, as SET we made an early commitment to the Supercar Lites concept developed by OlsbergsMSE. We took part in the first-ever race for Supercar Lites in New Hampshire USA with the Global Rallycross Championship and have still had a Lites presence recently, winning events and championships with Tommi Hallman flying the SET flag. The FC2 concept is an exciting project for us to be involved with, and we’re delighted to be an early adopter for this category. We believe it has plenty of potential for the years to come.”

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About SET Promotion   SET Promotion is one of the most successful teams in the action-packed sport of rallycross, with 11 FIA European Rallycross Championship titles to its name. Run by brothers Jussi and Kalle Pinomäki, SET’s structure offers a unique internal ladder of opportunity for drivers starting out in the sport to the very top in the growing FIA World Rallycross Championship.   #PoweredBySET   SET Promotion information here.

About SET Promotion   SET Promotion is one of the most successful teams in the action-packed sport of rallycross, with ten FIA European Rallycross Championship titles to its name. Run by brothers Jussi and Kalle Pinomäki, SET’s structure offers a unique internal ladder of opportunity for drivers starting out in the sport to the very top in the growing FIA World Rallycross Championship.   #PoweredBySET   SET Promotion information here. World RX / Euro RX information here.

European Rallycross Championship leader Anton Marklund and the SET Promotion team finally turned potential into result for the first time in the 2023 season, by claiming victory in the Belgian round of the campaign at Mettet.
 
Racing in extreme mixed conditions throughout the weekend, Finnish team SET Promotion and triple Euro RX title-winner Marklund had to work hard on the setup of the Ford Fiesta RX to find the pace on a totally difference circuit to those used so-far in the 2023 campaign, but fastest times in Heats 2 and 4, along with consistent performances in the other qualifying races ensured top qualifier position in the Ranking.
 
Marklund was then spun across the pack in turn one of the semi-final, but recovered to take the race win after post-race penalties had been applied, to line up on the front row of the final.
 
In the last race of the weekend, conditions having changed from extreme wet to drying, Marklund made a strong start in the final to lead from the front, and came out on top in an event of attrition, to claim a maiden victory of the season.
 
With his nearest rivals not making it into the final, reigning Euro RX Champion Marklund now sits 20 points ahead of his nearest competitor in the standings, with just the final round in Germany still to take place in two weeks’ time, with a maximum of 23 points available.
 
In the all-electric RX2e support category, former RX Academy driver and Estonian Rallycross Champion Marko Muru contested his second event and finished on the podium in third.
 
Anton Marklund (SWE) #1:
 
“It feels like a big, big relief to win here to be honest. This weekend has really been a roller coaster. For the rest of the year until this point we have been really quick but not been able to take the victory so that has been frustrating. But this weekend was also very frustrating, I really didn’t have the pace that I needed in some of the conditions, but in the end on Sunday I started to have more confidence, we worked a lot on the setup and when we got it right the times started to be there. The conditions were very, very difficult. It was really difficult to understand where you could take the risks and gain time. We had great starts all weekend, the final was really calm but we had a small issue with the alternator so I was watching the voltage but it was enough to make it home. It still hasn’t sunk in how good this weekend has gone from a championship perspective to be honest. I really hope we can have a big fight for the race win with everyone in Germany – I go there to try to win the event as always.”
 
Aleksi Koskinen, SET Promotion Euro RX1 Team Manager:
 
“Many weekends this year we have been the fastest but not left the track with the result we deserved. This weekend we were not the fastest many times, but I cannot really describe how hard our small team worked to find the pace we needed from both the car and Anton, and the performance was brilliant. This result, in a much older car than almost any of our rivals, is a big credit to Anton and the whole SET team, and like Anton has said, after coming into this weekend with the points so close, we could not really have dreamed to be in the position in the championship we are now heading to Germany. We have always enjoyed to go to Estering, it will be a special place to end the season but we go there with no expectations other than to continue working as we always do to come away with the best results we can achieve.”
 
FIA Euro RX1 2023 Calendar
 
R1 – Nyirad, Hungary – April 29 - 30
R2 – Montalegre, Portugal – June 3 - 4
R3 – Hell, Norway – June 17 - 18
R4 – Holjes, Sweden – July 1 - 2
R5 – Mettet, Belgium – August 5 - 6
R6 – Estering, Germany – August 19 - 20

Full Euro RX information can be found on the FIA World Rallycross Championship website.
 
Click media-use images for high resolution versions.

About SET Promotion   SET Promotion is one of the most successful teams in the action-packed sport of rallycross, with ten FIA European Rallycross Championship titles to its name. Run by brothers Jussi and Kalle Pinomäki, SET’s structure offers a unique internal ladder of opportunity for drivers starting out in the sport to the very top in the growing FIA World Rallycross Championship.   #PoweredBySET   SET Promotion information here. World RX / Euro RX information here.

Rising Finnish rallycross star Tommi Hallman will step up to the all-electric FIA RX2e category within the FIA World Rallycross Championship for two rounds of the 2023 series in the UK and Germany.
 
The reigning NRX NEXT World Final winner and NRX NEXT Europe Champion will make his electric rallycross competition debut in the third round of RX2e at Lydden Hill in the UK later this month (July 22-23), the venue where Hallman claimed a pair of podiums in 2022 in NRX NEXT.
 
While the UK event will mark former RallyX Nordic Supercar Lites Champion and RX Academy event-winner Hallman’s first-ever electric start, he has spent his season so far working with the Construction Equipment Dealer Team as VIP – Taxi Driver at World RX events.
 
He also worked with the Extreme E off-road series as it’s Championship Driver for the Hydro X Prix in Scotland, which including spending time testing the track in the all-electric ODYSSEY 21, tested the Nitrocross FC1-X in America and acted as a guest ‘expert’ commentator on the RX+ broadcast, commentating on the RX2e category during the Swedish round of the World Rallycross Championship at Holjes.
 
Never off the podium in 15 Supercar Lites events since the start of the 2021 season, including 10 wins, Hallman will take on a range of fast and experienced rising talents in the RX2e series.
 
For his pair of starts in the latest iteration of single-specification support class rallycross in the World RX package, Hallman’s car will run under the SET Promotion banner, operated by series promotor QEV.
 
Tommi Hallman (FIN):
 
“I’m really excited to join the RX2e grid; to have my debut with an electric race car at the birthplace of rallycross is quite a combo. I raced at Lydden last year and I felt comfortable on the track, so I’m aiming for a high result. Of course it’s going to be a challenge to get used to everything quickly as some of the competitors have raced these cars for a few seasons already, but adapting has always been one of my strengths. Even though RX2e will be my first race in the electric era, I’ve been lucky enough to gain experience with four different electric race cars already this year, so I have some view how they work and what are the biggest differences to the combustion engine machines in terms of handling. I’m sure the level will be high, but I’m feeling positive about my pace. The small details are going to be a key factor to success and that’s where I’ll focus.”
 
Kalle Pinomäki, SET Promotion:
 
“Tommi has shown his class in recent seasons in various different championships, and while he has not been competing this year, he has been very busy taking every opportunity he can. Now he has the chance to get back in a car, it will be interesting to see how he can adapt to racing in RX2e. Even if we at SET are not running the car for Tommi for these events, we are very much behind him as we have been over the last few years. It’s always a big challenge to join a single-specification championship mid-season and take on the regulars, but I know he is preparing hard to give himself the best chance possible.”
 
More information can be found on the FIA World Rallycross Championship website.
 
Click media-use images for high resolution versions.

About SET Promotion   SET Promotion is one of the most successful teams in the action-packed sport of rallycross, with ten FIA European Rallycross Championship titles to its name. Run by brothers Jussi and Kalle Pinomäki, SET’s structure offers a unique internal ladder of opportunity for drivers starting out in the sport to the very top in the growing FIA World Rallycross Championship.   #PoweredBySET   SET Promotion information here. World RX / Euro RX information here.

Reigning FIA European Rallycross Champion Anton Marklund delivered a strong performance in difficult circumstances during the ‘Magic Weekend’ at Holjes in Sweden and left the event leading the championship.
 
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Marklund and the SET Promotion team at the triple European Champion’s home round of the championship, despite setting the fastest time in Free Practice and the opening heat.
 
Feeling the effects of a fever, Marklund and the team decided to ‘play it safe’ for the remaining heat races of the opening day, in which he was twice third fastest despite feeling under the weather.
 
Sunday morning brought another third-overall time in Heat 4 to secure more points from the Ranking stages, before Marklund controlled the semi-final from the front in wet conditions to win the race and earn a front-row start for the final.
 
Making a ‘career best’ start in the run to turn one in the final, Marklund took the lead, but was pushed wide into the joker in turn two by the cars behind. Quickly catching the pack, Marklund then suffered a windscreen wiper issue and for the remainder of the race he was left to defend track position, ultimately finishing fourth.
 
But, thanks to strong points scored, Marklund moved into the points’ lead for the first time in 2023.
 
Two rounds of the Euro RX1 series remain, in Belgium (Mettet) and Germany (Estering) next month.
 
Anton Marklund (SWE) #1:
 
“Holjes once again was a bit tough, but it was a fantastic weekend with a lot of fans and people cheering for me. I haven’t been feeling very well at all, but they helped me cope with not being as well as I would like. On track we showed great pace, with quickest in practice and Heat 1. After that I really started to feel quite ill so in Heat 2 and 3 so we took no risks and got solid results. We were again safe in Heat 4 and won the semi-final from the front to control the race and make it to the final. In the final I made the start of my life, but in turn two I got a big hit from behind which forced me into the joker. With our pace being so good I caught the pack, but on lap three the wipers stopped working so I was just about staying on the track and holding position. Fourth was good with what we had, but if we hadn’t been pushed off in turn two, I think it would have been a quite easy win. We stay focused though on making victories happen in the last two races instead. We are leading the points now and if we can keep that until the end of the last weekend in Germany then the goal is reached. We keep on driving flat out and hopefully it will be enough.”
 
Aleksi Koskinen, SET Promotion Euro RX1 Team Manager:
 
“It was a great weekend again until the final - it’s frustrating to say that same phrase almost every weekend. We had good pace again over the whole weekend, but we still didn't reach the big trophy. I must give a big ‘hats off’ to Anton as he had a fever for the whole weekend and still managed to perform at a very high level. On the positive side we are leading the points now, and we’re not planning to give that position away.”
 
FIA Euro RX1 2023 Calendar
 
R1 – Nyirad, Hungary – April 29 - 30
R2 – Montalegre, Portugal – June 3 - 4
R3 – Hell, Norway – June 17 - 18
R4 – Holjes, Sweden – July 1 - 2
R5 – Mettet, Belgium – August 5 - 6
R6 – Estering, Germany – August 19 - 20

Full Euro RX information can be found on the FIA World Rallycross Championship website.
 
Click media-use images for high resolution versions.

About SET Promotion   SET Promotion is one of the most successful teams in the action-packed sport of rallycross, with ten FIA European Rallycross Championship titles to its name. Run by brothers Jussi and Kalle Pinomäki, SET’s structure offers a unique internal ladder of opportunity for drivers starting out in the sport to the very top in the growing FIA World Rallycross Championship.   #PoweredBySET   SET Promotion information here. World RX / Euro RX information here.