Set Promotion team off to a perfect ERC start: Leppihalme led A final from start to finish, Bakkerud made it to second.

Set Promotion opened the European Rallycross season strongly. The Finnish team dominated the Super1600 class in the English event at Lydden Hill on Easter, with Jussi-Petteri Leppihalme winning and the reigning champion Andreas Bakkerud from Norway finishing second. The third driver of the team, Russian Timur Shigaboutdinov, made it to 11th place.

“Juspe” Leppihalme drove fastest with his Renault Clio during the qualifying heats, earning the pole position for the A final. “Baby Blue” Bakkerud started second in his Renault Twingo. Shigaboutdinov, driving a Renault Clio, made it to the B final. Both the Monday’s qualifying heats and the finals were driven under wet conditions.

“It couldn’t have gone much better. It was an amazing weekend, to start the season like this. Our goal was to get two cars in the top positions, but eventually we managed a double win. A great performance from all of our drivers. But it’s worth remembering that this was only the start of the season. So let’s keep it cool,” claimed team manager Jussi Pinomäki.

The win was the first in Leppihalme’s ERC career. The Finn from Parkano left his mark on the ERC already last season, but now he finished first. “The feeling is unbelievable. It’s hard to believe that it is true. It’s a major pressure relief to get a pole position and win a race. I didn’t have a great start, but made it back to the top. I managed to concentrate on my own driving without let anyone bothering me too much. The Sunday practise didn’t go so well, but on Monday everything went right. The car and the tyres worked brilliantly in the rain,” said a happy Leppihalme.