Set Promotion again double winners. Norwegian Andreas Bakkerud won in France, Finn Jussi-Petteri Leppihalme made it to second.

Set Promotion carried on in the European Rallycross Championship from where they left off at Easter in England. In the opening event Jussi-Petteri Leppihalme won and Andreas Bakkerud finished second. In the second event in France the Finnish team raced in the same manner: a clear-cut double win. This time it was the other way round and Norwegian Bakkerud (Renault Twingo II) won while Finn Leppihalme (Renault Clio II) finished second. The team’s third driver, Russian Timur Shigaboutdinov (Renault Clio II) became 12th.

“This time it was proper racing. In the start Andreas fell behind to fourth place and Jussi-Petteri to eighth. From there the guys managed eventually to climb to the top. It was a tough but fair competition with lots of overtakings. It was a great race by us. I am feeling fantastic,” said team manager Jussi Pinomäki later. Bakkerud won two qualifying heats and hence qualified for the pole position of the A final. Leppihalme had more difficulties in the qualifying rounds. A minor crash ruined his chances for competing for the pole position. Finally the Finn from Parkano managed to make his way to the A final as the sixth driver. Shigaboutdinov was 11th after the qualifying heats and drove in the B final. “The first two qualifying heats were driven in wet weather, the third heat and the final on dry surface. Especially in the dry conditions our team found its speed. Timur is constantly gaining more routine and confidence for his car and driving style. I think it won’t take too many events before he is driving in A finals too,” claimed Pinomäki.

The SuperCars class had a surprising winner in Brit Kevin Procter (Ford Focus II). Bakkerud and Leppihalme are in a joint lead in the overall standings after two events. In the SuperCars there are also two leaders, with American Tanner Foust (Ford Fiesta VII) and Briton Liam Doran (Citroën DS3) having the same amount of points. “These first two events are really important. We were ready for the season from the off-set and this is shown by the result. We are on the right track,” feels Set Promotion principal Pinomäki.