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After being postponed by a year, the ACCR Formula 4 championship will finally get underway at the Hungaroring on April 29/30 to start a planned six-round season.
Negotiations between the Czech Republic’s national automobile club and the FIA regarding official F4 certification are, Formula Scout understands, nearing resolution but initially the championship will run under the ACCR Czech Formula banner.
ACCR F4 will use Tatuus’s second-generation T-421 F4 car with Autotecnica engines, and the original plan to boost grids by running a separate class for first-generation F4 chassis has been dropped to align with FIA requirements.
Josef Krenek, ACCR F4’s promoter, explained to Formula Scout that getting the championship up and running has been a major challenge due to global supply chain issues delaying delivery of the newer Tatuus chassis, as well as problems sourcing a sufficient quantity of racing tyres after Hankook suffered a factory fire.
The scheduled 2023 opener at Oschersleben also fell foul of a change in this year’s FIA Sporting Code prohibiting zonal championships from racing outside their region.
However, with Central Europe’s unique status within the FIA as the only recognized Zone, the organisers have put together a multi-national calendar starting with the Formula 1-hosting Hungaroring and Red Bull Ring, followed by events at the Slovakiaring and then Czech tracks Most and Brno.
Subject to circuit homologation, the season finale will run at Hungary’s brand new Balaton Park circuit, a project managed by Formula 2 racer Roy Nissany’s father Chanhoch, a one-time F1 test driver.
Following ADAC F4’s demise, ACCR F4 has attracted Swiss team Jenzer Motorsport, which is entering Ethan Ischer and Dutch karter Reno Francot, while Sauter Engineering+Design runs Michael Sauter for his third year in F4.
Austria’s Renauer Motorsport aims to run reigning GB4 champion Nikolas Taylor alongside Czech karter Jiri Safranek, and Hungary’s Gender Racing Team plans to enter a car.
While there are currently only six entries for round one, the field is expected to grow in Austria with Czech karter Miroslav Mikes joining with Sape Motorsport once he turns 15; a third Jenzer entry for Mathias Jakobsen, and the Czech JMT Racing team entering an as yet unnamed driver.
Furthermore, Formula Scout understands other ADAC F4 refugees such as PHM Racing have evaluated potential entries, and with ACCR F4 offering F4 teams the only opportunity to race at those two F1 circuits in 2023 – except for four competing in the women-only F1 Academy series – one-off entries may bolster grids.
While Krenek welcomes the interest from international teams, the goal remains to give local teams and drivers a cost-effective route from karting into single-seaters.
“This is a long-term project, and I’m aware that we will have a gradual start. The current situation is not easy for any sport, with expensive energy, high inflation, and delayed deliveries and still rising prices of single-seaters and spare parts. However, we are convinced that we necessarily need an entry-level formula series,” he said.
ACCR F4 ran last year without FIA certification as a trophy series primarily for first-generation F4 cars.