The unique motorsport academy, which aims to select the most promising racers and support their careers, is starting.
The father of the idea of the F4 CEZ Academy is Josef Křenek, who has long supported young riders and gives them a chance to succeed in racing. „This is an academy that indirectly follows the FormulaStar and ESET RaceStar projects. This time, the goal is to provide the opportunity to participate in the F4 CEZ series,“ explains Josef Křenek.
The F4 CEZ Academy has four basic pillars that applying drivers will go through. The first one is simulator training, which is currently an important part of training for professional racers. The simulator training takes place at the LUKAmotorsport facility, which is a partner of the project. The second pillar of the academy is physical fitness and preparation in a road car.
„Participants will receive training on how to exercise properly and stay in shape. They will also have someone to try and discuss basic driving tasks in a road car with. All participants will be under eighteen years old, so none of them have a driver’s license. They will get to know the car in the parking lot, try driving, starting, slaloming, parking, and so on,“ describes Křenek another discipline.
Another essential skill for a racer is the ability to communicate with the media and personal presentation. Participants will have interviews in both Czech and English, go through a course on how their presentation on social media should look like, and how they should behave in public.
The fourth item on the academy’s program is a visit to the SAPE Motorsport team, another partner of the academy. Participants will see the Tatuus T-421 single seater, go through technical training to know how Formula 4 works and which components can be adjusted, try the cockpit, learn the buttons on the steering wheel, and so on. Then the actual testing at the Autodrom Most will follow.
Individual disciplines will be evaluated continuously, and the best candidates will receive the opportunity to start in F4 CEZ races at half the cost. The official start of the academy will take place on February 3rd at LUKAmotorsport. However, it is a year-long program, so candidates can join in throughout the season. The goal is to prepare a potential racer for the 2025 season.
„The first introduction to Formula 4 at SAPE Motorsport is scheduled for March 1st. The testing date is March 12th. The F4 CEZ season starts at the end of April, during which academy participants can go with us and see how teams work. If a real talent is found during the year and the situation is suitable, the person may, for example, take part in Thursday tests during the race weekend – just as it works in Formula 1,“ adds Josef Křenek.