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Dutch karting star Dilano Van’t Hoff will make his single-seater debut in Formula 4 United Arab Emirates next month.
The 2021 season kicks off on January 14/15 at Dubai Autodrome, and Van’t Hoff is the first driver to announce their presence on the grid.
The 16-year-old will race for Xcel Motorsport, which has run the last two champions of the series.
“It is great to welcome Dilano into our team for 2021,” said Xcel team manager Paul Hardy.
“We have known and watched Dilano for many years in karting now, so we know that he is more than capable of winning races. We are looking forward to working with and developing Dilano as he makes the move into F4.”
Van’t Hoff has raced in senior karting for the past two seasons, with standout results including winning Italy’s prestigious Trofeo delle Industrie, finishing fourth in the WSK Open Cup and fifth in the CIK-FIA European championship in 2019.
His 2020 hasn’t carried the same results, and has featured illness and crashes. The highlight of his year was finishing 10th in the WSK Super Master Series.
In his junior karting career he was also a frontrunner in Europe, and he competed for Forza Racing at both karting levels.
Formula Scout understands at least four other drivers have signed deals for the 2021 F4 UAE season, which will hold three rounds at Dubai and two at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The European contingent entering this year included Mucke Motorsport and Hitech Technologies, sister company to Formula 2 team Hitech GP.