RallyX Nordic in Finnskog. Lynch for Retro. 303 to race in battle of Britain. SET enters Esports

25 February The Finnskogbanen has been announced as the venue for the Norwegian round of Rally X Nordic. The fourth round of the championship will take place at the track which is a regular halt on the Norwegian championship trail, in July. It completes the seven-round schedule that begins with a double-header at Holjes in mid-May.

27 February Tony Lynch announces that his Team Geriatric will race in Retro Rallycross within British RX in 2019. Lynch, who won the BTRDA Supermodified category in 2018, will drive a Toyota MR2 in the series which is for cars of type used before 1992. Lynch will used tyres from Indian brand MRF on the Toyota which was tested for the first time at Blyton last weekend. “For us, this season isn’t about results but is all about building the foundations for 2020 when we want to be fighting for silverware,” said Lynch.

27 February Polish racer Jarek Suchowiecki unveils plans to a Super1600 Citroen C2 in the British Rallycross Championship. The British-based Pole is rebuilding his ex-Jack Thorne car for the forthcoming season in which he will race with the number 303 in honour of the 303 squadron of Polish pilots who flew with the RAF in the second world war.

1 March Finnish team SET Promotion becomes the first top-flight rallycross outfit to launch its own Esports team. SET Esports will field experienced Esports racer Joni Heikkinen and reigning RX Academy Champion Sami-Matti Trogen in 2019 in the iRacing Rallycross World Championship Series. Heikkinen finished second in the points last year, while Trogen has been grated a ‘wildcard’ entry. Like Trogen, Heikkinen will also compete in rallycross in 2019 as he makes his debut in the RX Academy series. Trogen will race in RX2. “This is a hugely exciting time for SET. Not only have we created a new programme to enter into a new world, but with both Joni and Sami-Matti racing in Esports and with us in rallycross, we’re combining both of those worlds together. SET has always been forward thinking, so we’re excited to be the first rallycross team to have our own official Esports team,” said head of SET Esports, Jussi Pinomaki. “This is just the start though, we have some very interesting and unique things we’re working on that we hope to introduce through the year, as we evolve into this new world.”