Firhat Mokhzani and Peter Thompson of Triple A, the promoters of the new FIA Formula 4 South East Asia Championship, have confirmed that Renault will be the exclusive engine supplier.
The F4R engine has been adapted by Renault Sport technicians with the aim of producing a reliable, stable and easy-to-maintain engine that will allow it to cope with the hot and humid Asian climates.
Mokhazni commented: “Formula 4 SEA is the only FIA-certified championship in South East Asia in which the top 7 drivers will earn super licence points.
“The FIA have simplified the decision-making for race families and F4SEA is the next step after karting, for the same cost.
“The Triple A Group will extend our AsiaCup Series ‘one’ concept to F4SEA and also we hope to have F3 as part of the Asian motorsport ecosystem expansion.
“Today’s Renault Sport Racing F4 engine announcement is a positive development for the sport in the region.”
The engine is based on the 1998cc F4R production engine and will be fitted to a new homologated FIA F4 car. The 16-valve engine is naturally aspirated and has a power limit of 160bhp.
Renault Sport Racing’s Jean-Pascal Dauce commented: “We had to match a very tight specification list and are 100% satisfied with the outcome. The global environment and success of the FIA Formula 4 pushed Renault to launch the new F4R engine for 2016 and we are proud to have Formula 4 South East Asia as our first global client.”
Meritus GP, who have claimed 36 Asian FIA motorsport titles over the past 20 years, is the exclusive race engineering services provider for the championship.
The skilled team of professionals will continue to support the grid while Technical Director and GP2 Series race-winning engineer Sean Thompson will lead a team of experience engineers and driver instructors.
Peter Thompson added: “A budget of €100,000 for 30 races makes F4SEA the most cost-effective F4 championship in the world, while our unique open data rule optimizes success and ensures talent wins.
“Our association with Renault Sport Racing means our young drivers will be ‘on the radar’ of the Renault Sport Academy and our F4SEA champions will be rewarded with an end-of-season Formula Renault 2.0 test.”
The inaugural round of the F4SEA Championship will take place on 6-7 August 2016 at the Sepang International Circuit.
