Two young karters will be making their single-seater debut later this month as Pinnacle Motorsport confirms its entry in the FIA Formula 4 UAE Championship powered by Abarth. Jules Castro and Jef Machiels have been confirmed by the Motorsport Ireland-licensed team and will share driving duties in the 2022 season.
Jules Castro will be competing in the first two events in January with Pinnacle Motorsport. The karter from Belgium has been extensively testing in Europe late last year to prepare for his Formula 4 debut. This will be his first official outing in a single-seater and intends to continue racing in other Formula 4 events around the world.
His countrymen Jef Machiels will then take over the team’s entry for the remaining three events in the championship. Also an accomplished karter in Europe, the 17-year-old took part in the F4 UAE’s pre-season test at the Dubai Autodrome in December over two days.
The 2022 F4 UAE Championship features four races per weekend, with 20 championship races in total across its five events. This season will see the racing debut of the second-generation T-421 Tatuus race car. The 2022 curtain raiser will take place on the 21st to 23rd of January at the Yas Marina Circuit followed by three consecutive events at the Dubai Autodrome. It’ll then return to Yas Marina on the 17th to 20th of February for the season finale.
Formula 4 United Arab Emirates 2022 Calendar
Round 1 | January 21-23 (Yas Marina Circuit, UAE)
Round 2 | January 28-30 (Dubai Autodrome, UAE)
Round 3 | February 4-6 (Dubai Autodrome, UAE)
Round 4 | February 11-13 (Dubai Autodrome, UAE)
Round 5 | February 17-20 (Yas Marina Circuit, UAE)
John O’Hara, Team Director: “I’d like to welcome our drivers Jules and Jef to the team. They’ve shown a lot of promise during testing and we hope to continue to develop their skills over the next few events. I’m sure they’ll learn a lot during their time with Pinnacle Motorsport especially as they share race weekends with our more senior drivers in Formula Regional Asia.”
Accompanying Pinnacle Motorsport on their F4 UAE Championship Certified by FIA campaign are partners Motorsport Ireland.
Governed by the Emirates Motorsport Orgainzation (EMSO), F4 UAE is the only FIA-sanctioned open-wheeler category in the Middle East. Utilizing the new second-generation Tatuus chassis with Abarth Turbo engine, the open-wheeler category offers young racing drivers around the world the opportunity to take the first step from karting into the world of single-seater racing.