Team Set Promotion continued their blistering form in the Super1600 category at round four of the 2013 RallycrossRX Championship at Kouvola in Finland this weekend.

Adding to their already impressive haul of championship points, Set Promotion locked out the top two spots of the podium, with Reinis Nitišs winning heat three, the semi final, and then going on to take overall win.

Team mate Ildar Rakhmatullin finished in second, showed blistering pace all through Sunday. The Russian driver matched Reinis’ performance at every turn, scoring a victory in heat two as well as semi final two.

Fellow Set Promotion driver Timur Shigaboutdinov proved again that he is really coming of age as a driver in both speed and consistency. Finishing in a solid fourth position, Shigaboutdinov scored solid top ten finishes throughout the heats, as well as a third place finish in the semi final.

Set Promotion driver Joni Wiman suffered a slightly frustrating weekend in comparison to his team mates. Having lucked out on the draw in the first two heats, and then endured mechanical problems in heat three, Wiman came back fighting in heat four. Joni stormed to victory, going on to place fourth in the semi finals, and then 12th overall.

“It was a great weekend. We finished first, second and fourth,” said Team Manager Jussi Pinomäki. “This was a very positive result for us. Of course the result is good, but I think what I am most happy about is our performance on Sunday compared to where we were on Saturday. I think we were a little bit lost on Saturday as a team and also the drivers. We couldn’t quite find our usual rhythm right away.”

“To have two drivers on the podium is fantastic. Reinis drove very strongly today. Although on Saturday during the first two races he made quite a few mistakes, we were able to work things through and make changes for Sunday. Now I think he is back to where he was when he won in Hungary. It’s a fantastic result for him – I think if you can produce these kinds of results at 17 years old, he should have a really good career ahead of him.”

“Ildar is stable and really improved over the weekend as well, coming into Sunday, he was able to produce more speed when we needed it, mainly in the semi final and final. It’s a fantastic result for him and the team to get a podium finish.”

“Timur is completely on a different level to where he was last year. He makes virtually no mistakes, and when he does, they are very small now. He has really stepped up, and I’m really pleased with how he is progressing in his second season. Even though he is older than the other boys, he didn’t have as much experience when he came to the team. Now he is a very consistent driver, and the results are definitely starting to get better.”

“Joni had really bad luck in the draw and got the outside line in both the first and second heats. In the third heat, just after the jump on the top part of the track he broke the driveshaft. So during the fourth heat it was really the first time he got to drive his own race. He immediately set the quickest lap time and the fastest time overall. In the semi final unfortunately he had some contact and broke the front upright. I really think that it was an important round for him though. He didn’t have the luck but he had the speed, and it sets him up well for the coming races.”

“We are happy as a team though – Joni is maybe not as happy as the other boys because of the result – but now it’s a short period before Norway. We will get back to the workshop and prepare the cars and be ready. Every race is a unique one, and you need to be prepared to get every detail right so you can get the result you want. The small things make a big difference.”

Photo: Start of the Final and Latvian Reinis Nitišs leading the pack. © JKR/ERC24