Finnish rallycross star Tommi Hallman – the 2023 Nitrocross NEXT World Final winner – has signed for the newly-formed SET-LOENBRO team to race in the new NEXT EVO category in the forthcoming season.
 
Hallman, who claimed a stunning debut victory in the FIA RX2e series last year in the UK, then followed up with a second success in Germany, is also a former RallyX Nordic Supercar Lites Champion and RX Academy event-winner. In 15 events in a Supercar Lites machine on his way to the Nordic title – he was never off the podium.
 
The 23-year-old made his American race debut in the Nitrocoss NEXT category in 2022, then returned for the NEXT World Final in Glen Helen, California last year where he beat regular series competitors to come away with the biggest prize.
 
Now the Finnish driver, who also competes in eSports, will join the new SET-LOENBRO team to partner American racer Michael Leach for the 2024-2025 effort, racing a new FC2 specification car, testing of which began last week in Sweden.
 
The Nitrocross 2024-2025 season begins in Richmond, Virginia on September 7-8, before traveling across America for a total of five double-header weekends, culminating in the season finale in Las Vegas, Nevada next March.
 
The NEXT EVO category is set to be stacked with new and returning teams and drivers for the new campaign, with Hallman already setting his sights on fighting for the title.

 
Tommi Hallman:
 
“I’m really excited about this project. It’s my first full season in the United States and that’s already a dream come true! There are a lot of ‘new’ things – new car, new team and new tracks, but I have experienced people around me and that will make everything a lot more comfortable. I’m sure the level is going to very high once again, but I’m ready for the challenge. The goal is definitely to win the title.”
 
Aleksi Koskinen, Team Manager, SET Promotion Customer Programmes:
 
“Tommi is a driver we know very well. He began his rallycross career with us in RX Academy where we already saw his ability, and has since raced a SET customer car in his Supercar Lites and RX2e races. His results speak for themselves. The FC2 will be something new for him, but I’m confident that he can get to grips with the car quickly. It is a pleasure to be the first team to announce our driver line-up, now we can focus on preparations for the season ahead, where we expect the competition to be incredibly tough. We can’t wait to get started and put on an epic show for the fans!”  

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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 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.

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.”

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 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.