Phoenix, AZ – GRX Loenbro driver Steve Arpin kicked off the weekend with quick lap times as he continued his 2021 Nitro Rallycross Championship campaign.
“We had great speed all weekend! Although we still have some more to improve upon, I was thrilled with the consistent speed we had all weekend. The results in the final aren’t what our team deserved for the effort we all gave throughout the weekend but that was on me. I cut the RF tire down and took us out of the race. Overall, we learned a lot and I am excited to keep that momentum going into LA.” – Steve Arpin
Like the previous round at ERX, Battle Bracket positions were determined by P2 lap times. Setting the 5th fastest time in practice session 2, Arpin lined up against Ronalds Baldins for round 1 of the head-to-head battle rounds. Arpin took the win setting up a battle between himself and Fraser McConnell. A close battled ensued and after a perfect Joker Lap, Arpin was able to take the win setting up a battle with Kevin Eriksson for round 3. In Rd3 of the Battle Brackets, a 3-lap back-and-forth battle between the Eriksson and Arpin ultimately ended with Arpin taking another round win setting up a final battle with Travis Pastrana. In the final round of Battle Brackets, fans were treated to an incredible race that saw multiple lead changes. When the dust cleared it was Pastrana crossed the finish line first taking home the Battle Bracket win.
Day 2 of competition kicked off on Sunday with heat races. As Arpin lined for Heat Race 2, a tense battle between himself, Timmy Hansen and Kevin Hansen ensued following the drop of the green flag. As the checkered flag fell, Arpin crossed the line P2, which put him on the front row for Semi-Final race 1. In the Semi-Final a tense battle between Arpin and Robin Larson ended with Steve finishing P2, however a penalty issued following the race secured Arpin a place in the final. In the final, Arpin’s launch set him up to behind Travis Pastrana going into turn 1. A battle for position began between the 8-car field with numerous cars bumping and banging as they entered the long sweeping turn 1. As the top 3 cars took the Joker Lap, Pastrana, Arpin and Hansen battled for the lead. As the pack past the Joker Lap entry on Lap 2, Speed turned off to take the shorter route and was able to take the P2 position pushing Arpin to P4 following a fast Joker. As the field past under the gap jump on lap 3, Arpin and Speed battled for position. Arpin dove inside to run closer to the wall accidentally clipping the barrier with his front right causing a flat. Pulling off the track due to issues with steering following the flat tire, Arpin ended the event in P8.
“Once again we can be happy with our pace. Of course we are disappointed that we didn’t get the result we deserved, but that’s the name of the game sometimes. I’d rather lose out having had good pace and a fair fight than get a result from others bad luck. The track was nice, with some minor adjustments it could be really nice, and Steve is driving better every time he gets in the car, which is very good. We’re making good progress and already looking forward to hunting for the podium again this weekend.” – Jussi Pinomaki
The 2021 Nitro Rallycross Championship continues Saturday, November 20th, and Sunday November 21st at Glen Helen Raceway outside of Los Angeles, CA.
2021 Nitro Rallycross Schedule:
Utah Motorsports Campus, Salt Lake City, UT – September 24-25th
ERX Motor Park, Minneapolis, MN – October 2-3rd
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Phoenix, AZ – November 13-14th
Glen Helen Raceway, Southern California – November 20-21st
The Firm, North Florida – December 4-5th
Be sure to follow Steve, Loenbro Motorsport, Grönholm RX HempFusion, SCT Performance and Yokohama on social media:
Facebook: Steve Arpin, Loenbro Motorsports, HempFusion, SCT Performance, Yokohama
Twitter: @stevearpin, @loenbroracing, @hempfusion, @sctperformance, @YokohamaTC
Instagram: @arpin00, @loenbromotorsports, @hempfusion, @sctperformance, @yokohamatire
About Loenbro Motorsports
Owned by brothers Paul and Jon Leach, Loenbro Motorsports is the racing team division of Loenbro, a successful industrial construction and services company. Loenbro provides single-source solutions for industrial customers from coast to coast. Its reputation for exceptional performance and a strong work ethic has helped fuel its growth since it was founded in 1998. For more information, visit www.loenbro.com.
About GRX-SET World RX Team:
GRX, led by two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm, made its maiden full-time foray into the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2017, having previously run Niclas Grönholm to Finnish Rallycross Championship glory in 2015. Building on that solid foundation, GRX evolved into a full-blown, two-car World RX team with a pair of newly built Hyundai i20s in 2018. Since, the team has scored a best overall result of second in the World RX Teams’ Championship in 2019. The team has also claimed four World RX outright wins, three with Niclas Grönholm in Norway and South Africa in 2019 and Finland in 2020, and with Timur Timerzyanov in Belgium 2019.
