Koiranen GP have been hired as the promoters to the new Spanish F4 championship that will make its début in 2016, as affordable international single-seater racing looks to return to the Iberian peninsular.
The Finnish based team will run the series through their Mediterranean partners, the Spanish Koiranen GP S.L company. The new F4 series is one of many new FIA-backed series that has been set up over the last two years and has been set up to get Spanish talent into racing at an affordable cost.
In 2015, Formula 1 has seen three Spanish drivers race throughout the field, and has recently seen a push of young Spanish talent making their way into motorsport. This has been mostly put down to drivers such as double world champion Fernando Alonso and former Koiranen driver Carlos Sainz, Jr.
“Today is a very important day for Spanish Motorsport as we have signed an agreement with Koiranen GP, for them to be the promoter of the F4 Spanish Championship for the next three seasons.” Said Carlos Gracia, Spanish Automobile Federation President. “We are truly delighted as we are dealing with an international recognized entity, which has a excellent pedigree as they have helped drivers as Carlos Sainz Jr to reach F1”
“Basically, the drivers only come with their racing gear and we take care of the rest. They can therefore focus on driving, learning, improving, as the cars will all be the same. Only the talent will make the difference in our championship”, says Marko Koiranen.
Koiranen have a history of racing and have been regulars, in the GP3 Series and Formula Renault 2.0. While also pushing into the SMP F4 Championship this year.
No drivers, races or other teams have yet been confirmed for the new series, but the partnership allows Spanish F4 to embed themselves as a respective and competitive championship. When asked about the future of the series, the F4 Spain organisers commented that;
“We will also propose a winter series in December on the very interesting tracks of Jerez, Spain and Portimao, Portugal, with the Formula 4 cars.” said Afa Heikkinen.
“Therefore the drivers who are committed to other championships will have the chance to train, or assess their level with the competition before the start of the season. We have lots of projects for the coming years, but one step at a time, our priority are now our race teams and F4 Championships”