Growing up watching the family team succeed in the sport, Tyler Leach always dreamed of racing a rallycross Supercar. After getting the shot in RallyX Americas, he’s made the most of the opportunity so far

Over the past decade, RallyX has established itself as rallycross’ leading home for drivers looking to work their way up the sport’s ladder. European racers have a clear path to progress from Crosscar Junior all the way up to Open 4WD, and each year the series sees top drivers take their next step; top drivers like Lukas Andersson and Alexander Lindeqvist have found themselves in title contention in their first seasons in new classes, while others like Thomas Eek Murstad and Mervin Klaassen have even made the jump mid-season.

While RallyX Americas is only in its first season, it’s aiming to do the same thing for drivers born on this side of the Atlantic. And one of its first success stories has been SET Loenbro Supercar driver Tyler Leach.

Leach is one of the American drivers in the series who literally grew up in the sport. As a kid, he watched Steve Arpin lead his family’s team to multiple victories in Red Bull Global Rallycross, before seeing his older brother Michael join the fray in Supercar Lites and later the first North American races of the FC2.

With Michael focused on his Super Late Model program, the choice was made to let Tyler complement his modified and late model schedules with a full RallyX Americas program. It’s an honor he doesn’t take lightly.

“I remember watching Steve race rallycross back in the GRC days, and I always thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Leach said. “So to be able to race an FC2 has truly been a blessing. It’s an honor to help keep rallycross alive at Loenbro Motorsports because that’s where it all started. Being trusted with this opportunity means a lot to me, and I’m grateful to carry on that legacy.”

Being surrounded by plenty of expertise doesn’t hurt, either. The longstanding joint venture between Loenbro Motorsports and Jussi Pinomaki’s SET Promotion, which has run championship-winning rallycross programs around the world for decades, means that he’s been able to pick the brains of some of the most successful names in the sport.

“Steve has given me a couple of pointers because he knows how to translate driving an FC2 into terms that make sense coming from a dirt oval background. That really helped me early on. Jussi and the entire SET Promotion crew have also been a huge help with teaching me how to drive the car and helping with the setup. Having people with that much experience around me has made the learning process a lot easier.”

It didn’t take long for Leach to turn that advice into results. In the season-opening doubleheader from Crandon International Raceway, Leach snuck into the first final with the last transfer spot from his semifinal, but he took a DNF. But in the second, others would suffer the bad luck, and he’d reap the rewards by taking third place—his first career podium, in just his second career start.

“Crandon was definitely a big surprise,” he admitted. “We had some bad luck for most of the weekend, and even in Saturday’s final we didn’t get off to the best start. (In the second final,) we started second, had a rough first corner, and dropped back to fifth. Then, on the second or third lap, two cars got together and were out of the race. We finally caught a break when we needed it most.

“Honestly, I’d never even driven a rallycross car before that weekend, so just making the A Main exceeded my expectations. To come away with a podium was something I never imagined.”

But while he was able to back up the podium at Crandon with another at Eldora, Leach concedes that his familiarity with similar venues didn’t play a huge role. The all-wheel drive nature of a RallyX Supercar meant that not a lot of his traditional dirt oval skills translated over.

“I wouldn’t say my dirt oval experience gave me a huge advantage because these cars drive so much differently than my dirt modified or late model. Even at Eldora, I felt like I was learning a completely new style of driving.”

Coming into the season finale at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Leach admits that he’s got even more to learn about getting the most out of his Supercar. But coming in second in points, he’s looking forward to learning more and finishing the championship on a high note.

“Trois-Rivières will be another big learning curve for me. I’ve never raced on concrete or asphalt before, other than the small paved section at Eldora. I’m really excited for the challenge and to see how quickly I can get up to speed.”

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