Loenbro Motorsports is set to return to U.S. rallycross in a new partnership with European outfit SET Promotion, joining Team Faren in confirming plans to run cars in Nitrocross’ NEXT EVO category.
Loenbro, founded by brothers Paul and Jon Leach previously competed in Global Rallycross – where it was a two-time event winner with driver/team manager Steve Arpin – and Americas Rallycross.
It then partnered with SET Promotion for the first full Nitrocross season in 2021, with Arpin running a Hyundai i20 Supercar to a best finish of second at the Utah Motorsports Campus, but didn’t return for the 2022-23 season following Nitrocross’ switch to the new FC1-X electric car in its premiere class and Arpin’s decision to focus on his Longhorn CHassis Dirt Late Model business.
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“We had a great collaboration with GRX and SET when Steve Arpin raced in Nitrocross Supercar in 2021, so this relationship is something we feel very happy with moving forward,” said Paul Leach. “SET Promotion has so much history and experience, and I hope we can bring plenty to the party too. We can’t wait to get started.”
The renewed partnership will see the team compete in select events on the RallyX Nordic schedule ahead of anticipated move to Nitrocross when the season begins in September.
“This is an exciting new adventure for SET Promotion and the SET-Loenbro partnership,” said SET Promotion team manager Aleksi Koskinen. “We have had an amazing recent couple of years in the European Championship and it was important to keep the motivation high – for sure this project does exactly that.
“We have good experience of extracting what we can from single-specification cars in the past, and we are ready to work with some talented drivers who I think will fit perfectly into this team with these fast new-look cars.”
SET-Loenbro is the second team to signal an interest in Nitrocross’ new-for-2024 NEXT EVO class, which replaces NEXT as the main development class. Following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season in March, Sweden’s Team Faren confirmed it would be upgrading its existing SuperCar Lites car to FC2 spec for NEXT Evo.
“We are committed to the FC2 project – it’s very exciting to have this new machine in our fleet going forward,” said team boss Eric Faren. “Our plan includes a full program in the NEXT EVO category next season. We can see the growth of Nitrocross and the huge interest going forward, so it feels good to secure a place to be a part of it.
“There’s a big buzz around the new category coming and we are working to put together a good package for interested drivers and partners. We’re looking at multiple options at the moment.”