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.”
