As SET Promotion’s Ford Fiesta RX returned to the paddock at the Nyirad Circuit in Hungary after the third heat, thoughts were on loading the car into the trailer and heading back to Finland, such was the extent of the damage from a first-corner incident that put reigning champion Anton Marklund out of the race.
 
But, thanks to incredible work by the team, and an amazing performance from Swedish driver Marklund thereafter, a huge effort resulted in a second-place finish in the final – an emotional result for all involved.
 
Team and driver entered the event not knowing where the pace would be, the Fiesta RX a much older can than much of the opposition, but with recent updates instigated by the SET squad. However, thanks to adaptions made to the car’s setup through the Free Practice sessions, Marklund set the fastest time in Heat 1 on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the fastest drivers from Heat 1 first on track in Heat 2, Marklund ended up in P5, but it was in Heat 3, where a minor spin in Turn 1 turned into disaster. After Marklund’s car was spun sideways at the exit of the corner, he was collected by another competitor, causing significant damage to the Fiesta RX.
 
While the damage to the front of the car initially looked too bad to repair at the circuit, the SET squad sat out Heat 4 to undertake repairs, and just made it to the semi-final pre-grid in time, Marklund qualifying thanks to his earlier strong times.
 
Once in the semi-finals, Marklund climbed from 12^th in qualifying to graduate to the final with third on track, then an early joker and strong pace throughout the final race of the weekend lifted Marklund into second, and onto the podium.
 
The Fiesta RX will now return to Finland for further repairs, ahead of the next race in Portugal (June 3 – 4).
 
Anton Marklund (SWE) #1:
 
“The weekend was a roller coaster. To be honest I still can’t really believe what we did. We decided that we could not continue with the damage after Heat 3. But then there was a moment, where we sat and discussed, and everyone stood up to at least try. They worked flat out, I think the team was surprised too that we got out again, but they did it, and this P2, is like a victory for all of us. Every time I sit in the car I’m very focused on what I need to do. I knew what I needed to do after the car was repaired, but it was very exhausting too. It was a tough couple of days but we did what we needed to do and I can’t wait to go to Portugal for the next race, because I think with the championship we have this year we have a lot of potential race winners so it will be very tough and a lot of action.”
 
Aleksi Koskinen, SET Promotion Euro RX1 Team Manager:
 
“I think from zero to hero sums up the weekend. It was a roller coaster for us. We were so disappointed with what happened in Heat 3, and we actually thought we could not continue with the damage. But, I have never, ever seen guys work as hard as they did to get the car somehow pulled together, because it was actually so bad we need to now go home now and fix the car properly. A massive thank you has to go to all of the guys for such a big effort to get back to the grid. If you look at pace, it was quite a promising weekend. Every time we were on track we had good pace and, in that way, going from a bare chassis three weeks before Hungary to setting very good lap times here was very good. Portugal next time can be good, Anton likes the track and I think the Fiesta can be good there, so we’re looking forward!”
 
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.

The opening round of the 2023 FIA European Rallycross Championship takes place this weekend at Nyirad in Hungary, where Finnish squad SET Promotion and reigning champion Anton Marklund will begin a fresh challenge with a special car.
 
Having claimed the coveted Euro RX1 title last season with a latest-specification Hyundai i20 Supercar, the SET squad never intended to run that car again for this year. But, when a last-minute opportunity arose to embark on a fresh challenge for Marklund and the SET squad, the inviting proposition to do something different was embraced.
 
The M-Sport developed Ford Fiesta RX was, in its day, one of the best rallycross Supercars in the world. The concept was initially used in America, and later in the World Rallycross Championship by the late, great Ken Block, and later other drivers.
 
Now, almost a decade since Block raced a Fiesta RX to a World RX podium-finish in Norway (in 2014), Marklund will campaign a SET-run Fiesta RX through the six-round 2023 Euro RX season.
 
The programme will pose a challenge for the reigning champions, the Fiesta RX being significantly more dated than many of the cars racing at the front of the highly-competitive Euro RX1 field. But, from SET’s Turku workshops in Finland, work has been undertaken on one of only six Fiesta RX’s to be produced, to bring it more into the present day.
 
SET has history with the Fiesta RX concept too – Latvian star Reinis Nitiss won the Euro RX series in 2018 with a sister car to the one that will be used by the team this season. While the current machine is not one that was driven by Block, Niclas Gronholm or Nitiss in it’s history, the shared DNA within the chassis will stand the team in good stead this year.
 
The 2023 effort comes with special relevance too. Block – the first person to race an M-Sport Fiesta RX in rallycross, sadly passed away on January 2 this year. Like SET Promotion, Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division team was, and still is, a tight-knit bunch of hard-working people with a common passion for achieving success, with an emphasis on enjoying the journey.
 
One individual who worked with Block and the Fiesta RX in its heyday, and today within SET’s small but committed team on the Euro RX programme is Finnish technician Henrik Rautanen. It’s through ‘Hepa’s’ link with the Block family and Hoonigan Team Principal Derek Dauncey that the car that Marklund and SET are running this year will honour the memory of the American star within its stunning new livery.
 
As part of the striking design on the Fiesta RX, the roof section carries the American flag in tribute to Block, while the team’s support of the foundation created to continue Block’s creative legacy, 43i.org, intended to create paths of opportunity for the exceptionally driven who may lack the proper support system for growth and success, is acknowledged within the design.
 
10-time Euro RX Champions SET Promotion and three-time European Rallycross Champion Marklund begin their challenge on the 2023 season this weekend in Hungary, having recently tested the Fiesta in Riga, and are working hard to achieve the best possible results with the car.
 
Anton Marklund (SWE) #1:
 
“I’m very much looking forward to this season. We are the reigning champions, but I see us as the underdogs this year. Of course we are doing everything we can to win because that is why we go racing, but the Fiesta was built in 2013 and things have changed a bit since then. Having said that, the team is very good and I think together we can create something special. It feels nice for me to come into the season not being a big favourite to win the championship and we will see how we get on. The car looks really good, for me it is special to be able to honour Ken’s legacy, it was with him that this Fiesta project started and Ken’s passing is a huge loss to the whole motorsport community. I know Henrik’s time with Ken was a special part of his career, so it means a lot for us as a whole team to be doing this project, and carrying the livery on the roof of the car that we are. I can’t wait to get into the car in Hungary this weekend and see what we can do on track, and most importantly continue to enjoy what we do as much as we did last season.”
 
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.

On the back of claiming a third FIA European Rallycross Championship title last season with Finnish team SET Promotion, Swedish rallycross driver Anton Marklund will embark on another Euro RX campaign this year as part of a new project with the team in an 11th-hour agreement.
 
Marklund added to his 2012 TouringCar and 2017 Supercar (RX1) titles last season in emphatic style, enjoying the journey to the crown with a mix of his own crew and that of SET Promotion. Across six rounds, Marklund won three events, secured the championship title at the penultimate round in Portugal then wrapped up his season in style with a dominant victory in the final round in Belgium, at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. 
 
The Swede’s 2022 crown was SET Promotion’s 10^th Euro RX title, making it one of the most successful teams in rallycross history, as part of a CV that includes over 50 wins and more than 100 podiums in the European Championship alone.
 
Having not planned to enter Euro RX in 2023, SET Promotion and Marklund have come to a late agreement and have committed to a new campaign, but final details of the season ahead are yet to be put in place. Those will be confirmed ahead of the season opener in Hungary and announced in due course.
 
For 2023 the Euro RX1 season will be held between April and August, starting with a standalone event in Hungary later this month, before joining the World Rallycross Championship for a further five rounds, concluding in Germany in late August.
 
Anton Marklund (SWE):
 
“SET Promotion sold our winning car from last year so it didn’t look like we would do anything for a while, but then Jussi (Pinomaki, SET team owner) approached me with an idea that I felt challenging but fun to do. There is no pressure on myself with this new project, but I hope that our collective experience can turn this challenge in to a great season. Last year was a memorable year, where we were able to compete every weekend on the very highest level. Everybody in the team is very competitive and we all do 100% in every detail, but most importantly we don’t forget to enjoy what we are doing and keep a good spirit in the team even if we have had a tougher than usual race for some reason or other. On that basis, I very much look forward to have an enjoyable year where we hopefully can bring good speed with us too.”
 
Aleksi Koskinen, SET Promotion Euro RX1 Team Manager:
 
“Last year was special, I had worked with Anton before and we thought last season could be good, but we didn’t know how it would go until we got into it. With the mix of guys we had in the team, the atmosphere was fantastic and everyone worked brilliantly together. And, Anton showed just how good he is. It’s great that we are able to continue that feeling into this season, but we will have some changes to reveal too, which we will do in the coming weeks. There are some brilliant old-school rallycross circuit in Euro RX this season and we can’t wait to get to Hungary for round one, to see how we get on against what will again be a high level of competition once again.”
 
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.

Swedish star Anton Marklund dominated the final round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium to claim victory and end the season on a high.
 
Having secured his third career Euro RX title at the penultimate round of the campaign in Portugal three weeks earlier, Marklund and SET Promotion headed to one of the most famous motor sport venues in the world with no objective but to end the year in style.
 
Second in heat one, a team debrief ahead of heat two reiterated the plan: an all-out attack on victory, and thereafter, driving the SET-run Hyundai i20, Marklund led from the front, winning heats two and three before also being victorious in the progression race and semi-final, to secure pole position for the final.
 
In the main event, under late afternoon Belgian sun, Marklund won the dash to turn one, led the chasing pack through the famous Eau Rouge Formula 1 corner and hairpin at the Raidillon turn, before he stormed through the five-lap race to claim victory.
 
His third win of the campaign capped off a brilliant season for the team, in which Marklund’s third Euro RX crown also marked the 10^th FIA European Championship title for the SET Promotion squad.
 
Anton Marklund (SWE) #92:
 
“Enjoy is really the right word for this weekend. We had no pressure at all, just trying to enjoy and do what we do best – which is to push the maximum always. It’s been difficult to try and handle the situation right in the last couple of races, to do things right and not put myself in bad situations, and now we could just come here and give it our all. Somehow that’s a bit easier than trying to be smart and it was really enjoyable. In heat 1 it was still the same Anton Marklund like it had been the last two or three races, where I had to play it a bit more safe, but my team told me I needed to wake up a bit, just to go out there and kill it. That’s what we did and I think this is the kind of pace we could have shown also in Portugal and Latvia if I had been willing to take a bit more risk. We claimed the championship in Portugal so we did the job well and it was really great to win the race here.”
 
Aleksi Koskinen, SET Promotion Euro RX1 Team Manager:
 
“This weekend is exactly what we wanted to end the season. All of the guys in our small team have been at this game a long time, but this year has been a total pleasure for all of us. We got the championship title in the bag in Portugal, then came here to just take the win. Anton was a bit conservative in heat one, as if he was still driving thinking of championship points, so we had a chat about if it was the real Anton Marklund driving the car. After that he really showed us what he can do – Anton was brilliant this weekend and deserved to take this win. I’m really pleased for the whole team!”

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 nine 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.

Finnish driver Tommi Hallman secured the 2022 Nitro Rallycross Championship NRX NEXT Europe series title in style by winning the final two rounds of the campaign at the ERX Motor Park in Minneapolis, USA (October 1-2).
 
The reigning RallyX Nordic Supercar Lites Champion hadn’t originally planned to race Stateside in 2022, but when the final double-header of the season in Finland was cancelled and moved to ERX, he did everything he could to attend the event.
 
Without the budget to ship his regular Supercar Lites car to the US, Hallman rented a different machine to make his first-ever trip to America and remain in contention for the NRX NEXT title, following back-to-back wins at Strangnas in Sweden in the summer.
 
The team overcame technical niggles to begin the weekend and Hallman qualified on the second row of the grid for the final in round five on Saturday. In the main event Hallman delivered arguably the drive of his career, overtaking two cars in the first two corners of the race to claim the lead, then making it to the end of the encounter in the same position despite picking up a puncture in the closing stages.
 
Hallman’s third win of the campaign put him within touching distance of the title and by qualifying for the final in round six of the series on Sunday, he put the championship crown beyond the reach of his rivals. But, with a race still to win, he again took the lead of the final on the opening lap and pulled away at the front to secure his most dominant win of the season, underlining his title in style.
 
The Finn’s success comes two weeks after Anton Marklund claimed the FIA Euro RX1 crown in Portugal, marking his own third Euro RX crown and SET Promotion’s 10^th FIA European Rallycross Championship title.
 
Tommi Hallman (FIN) #87:
 
“I had to go flat out all weekend every time on track and it’s amazing to get this championship title. That was such a good weekend, it started not so well with some small issues, but the mechanics did an amazing job and the car was working perfectly in the final on both days. It was a pleasure to drive and to race on this track, which was very different to what I am used to back in Europe, was very exciting. I really want to climb to the higher classes in this amazing sport, of course that is always dependant on the budget, but we’re working very hard for the future.”
 
Kalle Pinomäki, SET Promotion:
 
“We are very happy for Tommi and impressed with how he is developing as a driver. He just continues to surprise. There were some big names racing in NRX NEXT this year and he was the class of the field. SET has supported Tommi from a distance this year but not been so involved - on the ground it has been him and his small crew, who have worked really hard to even get to the races. They have a small budget, especially compared to their rivals, but have used it very well and we are delighted for them to have achieved this dream result. We can’t wait to see what is next for Tommi in his career”
 
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 nine 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.