Finnish Team Set Promotion conquer Norwegian Hell and score a 1-2 lockout by Latvian Reinis Nitišs and Russian Ildar Rakhmatullin in Super1600s.

Riding high from their dominance of the Finnish round of the European RallycrossRX Super1600 championship, Team Set promotion continued their stunning pace at round five in Hell, Norway, on June 15 and 16,  to repeat a lock out the top two spots of the podium.

17 year old Latvian hot-shoe Reinis Nitišs stormed to another dominant win at the wheel of his Renault Clio. Not only did Nitišs take his second win in a succession, further cementing his place at the top of the championship standings, but he also came away from round five with maximum points having won the heats overall, as well as the semi final.

Team mate Ildar Rakhmatullin pushed Nitišs all the way to the line though. Scoring his third successive second-place podium, the young Russian driver bounced back from a troubled round of heats, including a puncture in heat one, to finish second in both the semi-final and final.

Having missed round four, Swedish driver Kevin Eriksson was back in the driving seat in Norway. Emerging fifth overall after the heats, including a win in heat one, Eriksson showed no sign of the break from the cockpit having affected his pace. The young Swede went on to finish third in semi final one, and sixth in the main final, battling closely with fellow countryman and rival Eric Färén all the way to the line in both races.

Although Timur Shigaboutdinov narrowly missed out on the main final, finishing fourth in semi final two, he still finished the day in a solid seventh position. Showing great consistency all weekend Shigaboutdinov fought his way to two fifth places and a third place in the heats, followed by a fourth in semi final one. The Russian driver is also currently tied with his team mate for fifth position in the championship with team mate Kevin Eriksson on 75 points.

“Reinis Nitišs did very well in Norway, he got his third win in a row, it was pretty amazing,” said Team Manager Jussi Pinomäki. “He drove a really fine race. In the heats he put in a very stable performance. He had good speed and didn’t make any mistakes, which is exactly what’s needed at the moment with the points system the way it is. You need consistency to score the best possible points. For me he really showed good progression – he showed a new side of him. He is still only 17 years old, but shows really good development as a driver. In the first three laps of the main final the speed he showed was incredible. He really deserved the win in Norway; scoring  maximum points, being in first position after the heats, getting victory in the semi final and then winning the final was fantastic.”

“Ildar Rakhmatullin finished second place in the final, which was also a good result. He had a puncture in the first heat, which caused him quite a bit of trouble during the race. The points system we have now is quite rough on you if you have a problem in the heats. But again he was able to put it behind him to come back to get a good result in the final. It was his third second place in row, which just shows the consistency he is capable of.”

“Kevin Eriksson was back in business after missing Finland. He showed good speed again. He had some good battles in the heats, but also made a few very small mistakes, like his start of the first heat. But he was able to climb his way up to the final. 3rd place in the semi final, and then an unlucky puncture during the second race of the final. Now going to Höljes – his home race – it will be a great chance to get a bit of payback after having not such a good weekend in Norway. I know he has the speed, so I’m confident there is more to come from him.”

“Finland was Timur Shigaboutdinov’s best race so far I think, and again in Norway he took another step forward. Speed-wise he was on it all weekend. He made a small mistake during the semi final but otherwise he drove very well. Coming from third place to fourth. It was a little bit of shame that he couldn’t make the final, but generally it was another strong performance from him. It doesn’t seem to matter what track we go to now, whether it’s fast or technical he seems to be able to find the speed pretty much immediately.”

Photo: The Hell Super1600s podium: (from left) Ildar Rakhmatullin, Reinis Nitišs and Ulrik Linnemann. © JKR/ERC24