Alex Dunne joins US Racing in Germany’s ADAC Formula 4 Championship

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Irish teenager Alex Dunne will join US Racing at the next round of the ADAC Formula 4 Championship in Hockenheim, Germany, on September 17th to 19th.

After making the step from Karting to Car Racing this year, the 15 year old from County Offaly completed several Formula 4 races in the Spanish F4 Championship and now joins with US Racing in Germany’s ADAC Formula 4 Championship for selected races of the series.

“Having gained some experience in single seaters, I am happy to be able to confirm that I will be racing for US Racing in the upcoming rounds of the ADAC Formula 4 Championship at Hockenheim.” said Alex on the announcement of his deal with US Racing. “US Racing is a very successful team with lots of experience. We’ve already had a successful test and some simulator sessions and I feel very comfortable in the team and can’t wait to finally start a race weekend with them.”

“Alex has a very concentrated and exemplary attitude towards racing and being a race driver. His attitude and approach impressed me right at our first test in Formula 4 together. The first test already showed that he has a really good speed, so I think Alex has a big potential for a successful race weekend in Hockenheim”, explained Gerhard Ungar.

Ralf Schumacher is also pleased to have the new US Racing Team member on board, “Alex is still very young but very focused and ambitious, he already showed his potential during our test in the Formula 4 car. I am very happy to have him in the Team.”

The upcoming ADAC Formula 4 event will run from the 17th to the 19th of September with three rounds set to be contested.

 

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Spanish F4 Round 3, Portimao – July 16 & 17 – event details

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You can follow Alex’s progress through Rounds 7, 8 & 9 of the Spanish F4 Championship using the links below.

The event begins with practice and qualifying on Friday followed by Race 1. Races 2 and 3 take place on Saturday morning.

TIMETABLE – See the schedule tab on f4spain.org/en/calendar/

LIVE TIMING

LIVESTREAM – Available Friday & Saturday, see the Live Streaming tab on f4spain.org/en/calendar/

RESULTS

 

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Offaly teenager Alex Dunne back on the road to F1 in Portimao, Portugal

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Teenage Irish Motor Racing star Alex Dunne is back on track in the Spanish F4 Championship this coming weekend (July 16th & 17th) as he tackles the second Grand Prix track of his short car racing career.

Alex will contest the latest rounds of the Spanish F4 series as the championship visits the Portuguese Grand Prix venue, Portimao, for its third race weekend of 2021, following a seven week break since racing at Navarra in Spain.

The fifteen year old from Co. Offaly made a fantastic start to his car racing career at Spa in Belgium, taking pole position and third place in race one. Mechanical problems in qualifying at Navarra restricted him to a best result of seventh place from the three races but with those issues now sorted Alex heads to Portugal full of confidence following a strong run in pre event testing.

Speaking ahead of his return to the cockpit, Alex talked about the progress made at the Portimao test. “The Championship had a two day test at Portimao in preparation for this weekend and I was really happy with how it went. The track was new to both me and my Pinnacle Racing team so we spent our time making loads of changes to the car. Portimao is very different to Navarra, which was very flat and stop-start compared to the Portuguese track, which is fast and flowing. There are massive elevation changes which make it almost like a roller-coaster and very interesting to drive.

We started off well on day one, but continued to try different things to get a better understanding of the car. By the end of day two we knew which way we wanted to go and the set up we had found allowed me to get back up to the top of the time sheets in the final couple of sessions.”

Having learnt so much since his success at the opening event of the season and having performed so strongly in testing, Alex is confident of a return to the top of the results this weekend. The Irish driver currently sits ninth in the standings but is aiming for a strong weekend that will really kick start his championship challenge.

Qualifying and race one of the Portuguese round take place on Friday 16th, with two more races on the morning of Saturday 17th. All races are livestreamed and fans can follow Alex’s progress in Portugal through the links on his web site www.alexdunneracing.com and on his social channels.

 

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Tough weekend for Alex Dunne as his Debut car race season continues

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Following the success of his first car race event at Spa-Francorchamps one month ago, Irish teenager Alex Dunne faced a tough challenge at round two of the FIA Spanish F4 Championship at Navarra on May 29th & 30th, as his chances of repeating his Belgian podium were ruined by a major mechanical issue in qualifying.

Having diagnosed and fixed the problem the Offaly youngster spent the remainder of the weekend fighting his way back into contention, to finish the weekend with a best result of seventh in race three, having moved his way back onto the pace of the front runners.

Handling issues in Saturday’s first qualifying session restricted Alex’s speed, despite the team making numerous changes to try and give him more grip at the rear end of the car. Following the session a crack was discovered in a critical chassis component, where the rear suspension attaches, which turned out to be the cause of the Irish drivers handling woes. The chassis issue meant that Alex would have to start from seventeenth in the opening two races, on a track where it is notoriously difficult to overtake.

The repair to the rear end of Dunne’s car meant that the team had to start from scratch on set up, due to the chassis now being stiffer. Some progress was made in race one, where fourteenth place was the result, but in the shorter Race two fifteenth was as high as Alex could rise.

With the cars handling improving all the time, Alex was in a much better place in qualifying for race three and towards the end of the session was on his way to a lap time good enough for a front row start. However, the session was red flagged before the Irishman could complete his lap and in the short re-started session he could not get a clear lap to try and repeat the performance. The result was a less than ideal eleventh on the grid for the final race of the weekend, but Alex was quickly back to his Belgian form, as he climbed to seventh at the flag, less than four seconds off the race winner.

Alex summed up his weekend saying, “That was tough. We were bound to have difficulties at some time during the year but I was not expecting a weekend like this. I’m glad we found the issue when we did as we can now get on with fixing the set up of the car and we have already made good progress through the three races since the fault was diagnosed. We don’t race again until July but we have three tests arranged between now and the next round so I’m sure we will continue to make progress before we are back in action in Portugal on July 17th. After a weekend like this it is more important than ever to thank my supporters, VTL, Maxus, Harris Group, KCMG, Reynolds Logistics, Artisan Marble, PDS Associates, Xpress Health and Motorsport Ireland without whom I would not be able to race.”

Alex Dunne will be back on track in just over a weeks time for two days of testing at Motorland Aragon followed by outings at Portimao in Portugal and Valencia, Spain, before the return to race action in mid July.

 

 

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Spanish F4 Round 2, Navarra – May 29 to May 30 – event details

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You can follow Alex’s progress through Rounds 4, 5 & 6 of the Spanish F4 Championship using the links below.

The event begins with practice and qualifying on Saturday day followed by Race 1. A second qualifying session on Sunday morning will decide the Race 2 and Race 3 grids.

TIMETABLE – See the schedule tab on f4spain.org/en/calendar/

LIVE TIMING – Available Saturday & Sunday

LIVESTREAM – Available Friday & Saturday, see the Live Streaming tab on f4spain.org/en/calendar/

RESULTS

 

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Alex heads for Spain for event two of the Spanish F4 Championship

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Rising Irish Motor Racing star Alex Dunne continues his maiden season in car racing this coming weekend, when he heads for Navarra in Northern Spain. The fifteen year old Co. Offaly driver competes in the second event of the FIA Spanish F4 Championship, where he will contest three more rounds of the Formula One feeder series.

Alex heads to Spain on the back of an outstanding debut race weekend at Spa Francorchamps, at the end of April. At the Belgian Grand Prix venue he stunned the F4 paddock with a debut pole position and a podium finish in his first car race. Another strong performance in race two resulted in fifth place and the Irish youngster left the opening event of the season lying in an impressive fifth in the championship standings.

Following the season opener, the KCMG academy backed racer headed to Navarra for two days of testing, along with his team, Pinnacle Motorsport, in preparation for this weekends’ event. Alex worked through a number of set-up options in advance of the second triple header of the year and is now looking forward to another strong weekend.

“We’ve been to Navarra twice now and I’m happy that we are in even better shape than we were at the opening event of the season” said Alex as he prepared for his second F4 event. “My aim this weekend is to battle at the front once again and pick up another strong haul of championship points. The opening race weekend was very challenging with changes in the weather and a number of safety car periods, as well as having to undergo my first ever standing starts. I have a lot more knowledge now and I will be much better prepared for the race weekend format as well as knowing what to expect in the races. Thanks once again to my Mam and Dad and all of my sponsors who have made my F4 season possible.”

Event two of the F4 Spanish Championship commences on Saturday morning, with the first of two free practice sessions. Qualifying for Race one takes place on Saturday afternoon with the opening race of the weekend at the unusually late time of 19:00. A second qualifying session will run on Sunday morning which will decide the grid for both of Sunday’s races.

All of the weekend’s action can be followed on www.F4Spain.org with live timing from practice and qualifying and live streaming of the races. Information on Alex Dunne can also be found on his web site www.alexdunneracing.com and on his social channels.

 

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Sensational Car Race debut for Alex Dunne

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Teenager Alex Dunne became the first Irish driver to finish on the podium of an FIA European single seater championship race since 2008 when he took a debut third place in the opening round of the Spanish Formula 4 Championship in Belgium on Friday April 30th. The fifteen year old from Clonbullogue County Offaly started his weekend by taking a sensational pole position ahead of a quality International field, made up of twenty eight drivers from seventeen nations, before battling to an impressive podium finish in his first ever car race.

Teenager Alex Dunne made a sensational start to his Car Racing career at the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium this weekend (April 30th – May 1st). The fifteen year old from Clonbullogue Co. Offaly stunned the Spanish F4 paddock with his speed, which put him on pole position for his first car race. The rising Irish star then followed up with a maiden podium as he battled against his much more experienced rivals to grab a debut third place.

Alex arrived at the Belgian Grand Prix track as one of the least experienced drivers in the field but quickly set about making his mark. Strong runs in practice were followed by a hugely impressive performance in Qualifying One, which would decide the grid for Race one. Having moved up the order steadily, the Irish teenager then put in two really strong laps to put his Pinnacle Motorsport Car on pole position.

In a weekend of firsts for the Irish driver, next up was a first attempt at a standing start. When the lights went out a good run to the first turn saw Alex sitting fourth but by the end of the lap he was back at the head of the field. A safety car was deployed following a number of incidents and Alex then had to contend with his first restart. On the restart a number of his rivals used their experience to shuffle him down the pack but he battled back impressively to retake the final podium position on the last lap.

The Spanish F4 Championships’ complicated qualifying system meant seventh and twelfth place starts for Alex in the remaining two races, but the youngster was confident of making up places. In race two having climbed up to fifth his front wing became dislodged following slight contact with another car and he was forced to retire.

Race three was again interrupted by safety cars making progress from his twelfth place start difficult. Despite only running four green flag laps due to two long safety car periods, Alex once again impressed as he climbed to fifth place at the flag to finish off his impressive opening car racing weekend.

“I’m delighted to have completed my first ever Car Racing weekend with a pole position and a debut podium.” Said Alex following race three. “I’ve learned so much this weekend and with so much being new to me I am really happy with how everything went. This weekend sets us up very nicely for a championship challenge over the remainder of the season and I can’t wait for the next event to build on this performance. Thanks to all of my supporters; VTL, Maxus, Harris Group, KCMG, Reynolds Logistics, Artisan Marble, PDS Associates, Xpress Health, Motorsport Ireland and my team, Pinnacle Motorsport, for making this possible.“

Alex Dunne will be back in action in the Spanish Formula 4 championship at Navarra, Spain, on May 29th and 30th. To keep up with all of the latest news on Alex’s 2021 season see www.alexdunneracing.com.

 

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KCMG signs Irish teenager Alex Dunne as first Driver Development Project member

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KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) has signed Irish teenager Alex Dunne as the first member of its newly launched Driver Development Project (KCMG-DDP).

The 15-year-old has seen plenty of success in karting as the 2019 World Series Karting Champions Cup – OK Junior champion. Supported by KCMG, Dunne makes his car racing debut this weekend in the Spanish F4 Championship with Pinnacle Motorsport at Spa-Francorchamps and secured pole position in Thursday’s qualifying.

Launched earlier this week, the KCMG-DDP is a significant new cornerstone of the Hong Kong outfit’s vast range of activities. The programme aims to utilise KCMG’s global motorsport presence and array of resources to nurture young talent and help create the next generation of stars.

Under KCMG’s wing, Dunne will be given a dedicated driver mentor and performance coach, in addition to a dedicated physiotherapist who will maintain his fitness levels during and between races. The team will also provide financial support, covering Dunne’s entry fees, running costs and testing opportunities.

Paul Ip, KCMG Founder: “We’re very excited to have Alex as our first KCMG Driver Development Project member. He has been very impressive in karting and we’re looking forward to honing his skills behind the wheel and helping to make him more of a complete package off the track as well. With our support, we believe he can have a strong maiden season in Spanish F4. These are the first moments for the KCMG-DDP, which is an exciting new arm of KCMG’s vast array of motorsport activities to help young drivers progress through the ranks and become the stars of the future.”

Alex Dunne: “I’m delighted to join up with KCMG and their new Driver Development Project ahead of my debut season in Spanish F4. It’s a great honour and opportunity to receive their support in all aspects of motorsport to make me become a better driver, developing my skills and improving my all-round ability behind the wheel. I’m excited to get started with the team and I hope we can have a successful season together, starting this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.”

For more information about KCMG please visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of all the latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow on Twitter and Instagram.

About KCMG

KC Motorgroup Ltd (KCMG) is an international motorsport services group established in 2007 by Paul Ip. The group, with its headquarters located in Hong Kong, has operations reaching across the Asia Pacific region. KCMG operates closely with many partner companies and racing organisations around the world to provide unrivalled motorsport services, equipment, team management and quality distribution in the automotive industry. This includes the FIA Motorsport Games, where KCMG is the official supplier of hybrid F4 cars, and the KCMG Driver Development Project. For more information on all of the team’s activities please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.com.hk.

 

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Spanish F4 Round 1, Spa-Francorchamps – Apr 29 to May 1 – event details

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You can follow Alex’s progress through Rounds 1, 2 & 3 of the Spanish F4 Championship using the links below.

The event begins with practice and qualifying on Thursday followed by Rounds 1 and 2 on Friday and Round 3 on Saturday morning.

TIMETABLE – See the schedule tab on f4spain.org/en/calendar/

LIVE TIMING – Available Thursday, Friday & Saturday

LIVESTREAM – Available Friday & Saturday, see the Live Streaming tab on f4spain.org/en/calendar/

RESULTS

 

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Fifteen year old aspiring F1 racer ready for new challenge

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Alex Dunne begins his Car Racing career this coming weekend, April 29th to May 1st, on one of the most challenging tracks in Motorsport. The 15 year old aspiring Grand Prix racer from Offaly will tackle the Spa Francorchamps circuit, home of the Belgian Grand Prix, as he competes in the first three rounds of the Spanish Formula 4 Championship.

Following a hugely successful Kart racing career Alex has chosen to start his Car Racing journey in F4 as it is sanctioned by the FIA as the first step on the ladder to Formula One. For his debut, the Motorsport Ireland Race Academy backed teenager will partner with top Irish race team Pinnacle Motorsport, who also begin their first season in Spanish F4, following many years of success in Asian F4, F3 and Endurance Racing.

The Spanish Formula 4 Championship is one of a five, FIA sanctioned, European F4 competitions and while Spanish based, it will also take in races at Grand Prix tracks in Belgium and Portugal. The Spa season opener will enjoy a very high profile and offer Alex the chance to impress in front of some of the biggest names in world motorsport, as he races on the same bill as the World Endurance Championship.

This coming weekend will not be Alex’s first taste of the Spa circuit, or of F4, as he has been testing at the Belgian track, and in Spain, in recent weeks. Despite being one of the least experienced drivers at the official test in Belgium, Alex impressed by adapting quickly to the track and the Formula 4 car, to record fourth fastest time, less than half a second off the top spot. He now heads into his debut race weekend full of confidence and ready to fight for top rookie honours as well as for the top places overall.

Speaking before his departure for Belgium Alex said, “I’m really looking forward to my first car race weekend and what better place to start than on the Spa Grand Prix track. I know its going to be very tough as many of the drivers have loads of F4 experience, but I showed at the test that I can run at the front and I’m ready to take them on. We have three races this coming weekend and the aim is to put in three strong performances, with no mistakes, and pick up as many points as I can to take on into the remainder of the season. I have to thank a huge number of people who have rowed in behind me this year to make this happen, including VTL, Maxus, Harris Group, KCMG, Reynolds Logistics, Artisan Marble, PDS Associates, Xpress Health, Motorsport Ireland and of course John O’Hara of Pinnacle Motorsport.”

Practice and qualifying for the opening round of the Spanish F4 series takes place on Thursday April 29th. Races one and two will run on Friday with race three scheduled for early on Saturday morning. The weekends action can be followed on the championships’ livestream on www.f4spain.org. Alex will also keep his fans up to date throughout the weekend on his Instagram and facebook pages www.alexdunneracing.com.

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