Supercar Lites leader Hallman looking to take advantage on home turf

Tommi Hallman is hoping to maintain his superb start to life in Supercar Lites when the RallyX Nordic presented by Cooper Tires championship arrives in Finland next weekend.

The SET Promotion star is currently leading the way in the one-make category after four podium finishes from his first four events – including wins in Round 2 at Nysum and Round 3 at Höljes.

And now Hallman has home advantage over his rivals as RallyX Nordic arrives in OuluZone for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2021 season, so the Finn will be looking to extend his 14-point lead at the summit of the standings.

Speaking ahead of next weekend’s races, Hallman said: “I’m very happy with how the season has gone so far! I had high hopes pre-season and aimed to be in the top three after Höljes [Rounds 3 and 4], but I never thought that I would lead – and by such a margin!

Tommi Hallman Supercar Lites Nysum May 2, 2021

“In Nysum I was still learning about the series, and on Sunday’s race I got lucky with others having problems. But on the other hand, my team did a fantastic job with the car and I managed to keep it in one piece on the track.

“In Höljes, when I got clean air in the [Round 3] final I knew that I had the pace to win. I really gave everything and had to be on the limit, but still kept things clean and didn’t make any mistakes.

“I felt incredibly confident in wet conditions during Round 4; I knew exactly what the car would do and I didn’t even need to push to be quick. In the final I think I lost the win because of a lack of experience – the conditions were quite slippery and I had lots of understeer in the first laps – but a podium is not a disaster even though I was quite unsatisfied after the race.”

Hallman, who competed in the popular Scandinavian discipline of folkrace before switching to rallying, secured a runner-up spot in the 2018 Finnish Junior Rally Championship then made the jump to rallycross in the single-make RX Academy series.

Tommi Hallman Supercar Lites Nysum May 2, 2021

The 20-year-old won three out of six events on the 2019 schedule but lost out in the title fight by a single point to compatriot Rasmus Tuominen. With Covid disrupting the 2020 season, Hallman instead focused on esports and won the iRacing Rallycross Finnish Championship before placing third in the iRacing Rallycross World Championship.

A return to the RallyX Nordic programme beckoned this year, with Hallman stepping up for a debut campaign in Supercar Lites, and the Finn is in spectacular form ahead of his local race.

Hallman said: “I’m really looking forward to OuluZone! It’s really nice to come in to the home event as points leader.

“I have driven one race there last year so I know the track and I will also have [fellow SET Esports driver] Jonne Ollikainen as my teammate. OuluZone is Jonne’s home track so he knows it like the back of his hand, which will be a big advantage for us.

“I haven’t done any testing after Höljes, but as I didn’t do too much before the season I don’t feel uncomfortable because of it. The track is very different to other RallyX Nordic tracks, so it will be interesting to see who will be fast. For sure it will be fun to drive there with Supercar Lites.”

Tommi Hallman Supercar Lites Nysum May 2, 2021

All the action at OuluZone will be broadcast live on the RallyX TV YouTube channel, where you can also re-watch every single race from Höljes last time out. Round 5 gets underway on Saturday, June 5 and Round 6 takes place on Sunday, June 6.