Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Pinnacle Motorsport has announced its two drivers for the Macau Grand Prix, and a partnership with KCMG.
The Irish-owned but Filipino-based team has signed FIA Formula 3 stars Mari Boya and Noel Leon for the event on November 15-17, which for the first time will run for Formula Regional cars and award the category’s FIA World Cup.
Leon and Boya came 10th and 15th in this year’s FIA F3 championship, with the former making podium four times but never winning while the latter’s sole podium appearance was victory in the Barcelona sprint race.
Boya was Spanish Formula 4 runner-up in 2020, 10th in the 2022 FRegional European Championship and fifth in FRegional Middle East the last two seasons. He drove for Pinnacle in his sophomore campaign.
In 2023, Boya was Eurocup-3 runner-up and also raced in F3. His year ended at the FIA F3 World Cup-awarding Macau GP, where he qualified 10th, finished sixth in the qualification race then was fourth in the main race.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for me, and I can’t thank Pinnacle enough for their trust and support,” Boya said of his Macau return. “I had an amazing experience last year, and I’m looking forward to enjoying it even more this time around. I will give my all to be on top!”
On his way up the ladder Leon was NACAM and United States F4 champion, then struggled upon stepping up to FREC in 2022 as he only scored three points and came 23rd in the standings. He progress to third-tier single-seaters last year, romping to the Euroformula title with seven wins then contesting the Macau GP and finishing it in 19th.
Leon has been part of Van Amersfoort Racing’s line-up since his F3 debut, but will switch to Prema next year.
Hong Kong-based team KCMG used to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours and has been present at the top level of single-seaters since 2010 as one of the teams on the Super Formula grid. Its driver development programme previously backed Alex Dunne, who is now a McLaren junior.
Pinnacle’s team director John O’Hara commented: “We’re happy to be part of such a historic event with partners KCMG, Enya and IXO, and to compete at such a high level in the World Cup. It has always been tough racing at Macau. Winning here is a combination of performance and luck, and we look forward to get good results with Noel and Mari.”