SAPE Motorsport team boss Petr Samek has a clear plan for the upcoming season – to entry a Tatuus T421 in the new ACCR F4 championship.
You have ordered a new Formula 4, what are your plans for this season?
We will definitely run the whole ACCR F4 series with Míra Mikeš, who is switching from kart racing. If we´ll work well together and have the speed, we would like to try one race of Italian F4 at the end of the season, where we could gain more important experience.
So you won’t be trying out the role of a Formula 4 driver yourself?
I certainly won’t, time is running out and my age doesn’t match the junior formula racing anymore… As I mentioned, Míra will be behind the wheel and I will try to pass on all my experience to him.
You raced on the circuits until 2019, then you disappeared. Are you done with driving or are you just taking a break?
I’m taking a break for now and I probably won’t be racing formula anymore, I’ve decided to continue with sports cars after my break, specifically the GT4 category.
And how do you like the position of team boss?
Actually, I enjoy it as much being behind the wheel!
Let’s go back to the F4. The delivery of the new monopost is not quite ideal yet, what timeframe do you expect Formula 4 to be ready?
Unfortunately we don’t have an exact delivery date. Lately, meeting the deadline for the new F4 cars has been a big problem. There is still time before the first races and tests, so I believe that the car will arrive on time and the preparation will be without complications.
Your team has experience with sports cars and Formula Renault. What is the biggest difference between Formula 4 and Formula Renault, if we talk about the work of the mechanics and engineers on the car?
Although we don’t have any direct experience yet, I think in general terms the mechanics job will be very similar. Working with the car in terms of set-up will be easier, because of the different front suspension system and less aerodynamic set-up.
In your opinion, how important is the creation of the ACCR F4 championship, which has been missing on the Central European scene so far?
For me, it is definitely the perfect filling of a gap that has existed in formula racing. In fact, it was not possible to start with a “small” formula in a separated and balanced starting field. The ACCR F4 is a championship that will refresh formula racing for the first time in a long time and will probably offer us very good racing and tough battles on the track. I’m looking forward to that.
Let’s take a look back at the past season. How do you rate 2022 year in a SAPE Motorsport perspective?
In the past season, we mainly got to know two new and completely unknown cars. Within the sports cars we switched to the Audi R8 GT4, with which we mainly tested and tried amateur endurance race, where we achieved a nice position. This season we would like to race in the 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in the Hankook 24h series. If we can do that, we will also do one or two races in the DTM Trophy. The second car is the Formula 3, which Václav Laušman raced last season in the Drexler Formula Cup, in this case we still have a lot of work to do to prepare the car