Hungarian Gender Racing Team is well-known squad in ESET Cup and is going to participate in formula races again, said team boss Tamás Gender in the interview.
There is a new official ACCR Formula 4 championship, does it sound interesting for you?
We were pleased to welcome the launch of a championship in our region which is based on the newest and most popular international technical regulations. We are constantly receiving information from the organizers and being informed about the possibilities. From a sports professional point of view, for example, it would be a huge advantage and a huge motivation for the teams and drivers if there was an F4 series organized in Eastern Europe in which it would be possible to collect F1 super license points!
Benjamin Berta raced for you in F4 class for a couple of events last year, so are you heading to F4 again?
Benjamin Berta has changed the team and category during last year, he decided to race with his own car in a different team. Our F4 car is still available, it might be possible that Gender Racing Team will race in this category with a new driver, too. The negotiations are still going on.
Can you tell with whom are you negotiating?
I still can’t tell you a name but I would be happy if -according to the team’s traditions – we could give a chance for a young go-kart talent to start his/her formula racing career. The cars has been reviewed and prepared during winter, so our team is totally ready to start the season.
And what about newest F4 car? Are you planning to buy a new one?
It is very exciting to have an F4 car with renewed technology and design, racing with it could mark the beginning of a similar era for the team, when Gender Racing Team was founded and we made an investment into various Formula Renault cars and started racing with them. It is important in all investments like this when we change the category it doesn’t only mean the purchase of a car, but also the purchase of spare parts, special tools and necessary accessories. All in all, we are talking about a significant financial investment. Of course, in case of such investments, it is also necessary to consider whether the investment will pay off, and part of this may be the specific driver agreement.
Another important factor in the racing season is the fact that our youngest driver, Tamás Gender, started his international karting career with quite encouraging results last year. He switched teams earlier this year, competing in Parolin’s factory team in various WSK championships since February. Funding and managing a very encouraging sports career takes a lot of energy, and the team needs to focus on that too.
You have also been active in formula 3 class, so what are you plans in this category and who will drive for you?
It was a huge pleasure for us to be able to launch the F3 Dallara in the last season which is the most beautiful and fastest race car in the history of our team! At the beginning of the year, Oliver Michl had successes with the car at the Hungaroring, then our former MNASZ Formula Renault Cup champion, one of the best Slovak kart racers, Nikolas Szabó had successes with it. Despite the fact that he did not start all season long, only in the last races, thanks to his good performance, he was able to routinely bring home the F3 bronze medal of the ESET Cup at the end of the season. Of course, he won several Hungarian championship races also in 2021. It is already certain that Nikolas will be competing with us for a full season this year, both in the FIA CEZ and ESET Cup series with the F3.
What are your goals for this season?
Our F3 Dallara is currently undergoing a complete overhaul, and as I mentioned earlier, Nikolas Szabó will be behind the wheel. With the renewed technology, we can even aim for the F3 championship titles based on last year’s great results! Our participation in F4 is still questionable at the moment, it should remain a surprise for now. We surely want to stick to our current goals of trying to surpass previous years. This is true again this year!
Gender Racing Team has been part of ESET Cup weekend for a couple of years, how do you rate ESET Cup?
We are glad that we have been participating in the championship for a long time, where we have gained great results and experiences! The championship takes place on exciting tracks and well-organized events, including our Hungarian F1 race track. Hungaroring is the home of our team. The championship has been constantly evolving in recent years, including communication as well as social media, to our great delight. Thanks to this you can already watch the online streams of the races. We think it is great news that a regular magazine program on the Eurosport channel is scheduled to return to the media of this year. It is no coincidence that this way you will be able to see the races, news and informations on one of the most significant and well-known television sports channel in the world. In our opinion, it is a great opportunity that the results of the races and the excellent drivers have a chance to appear in the press. This possibility is also important for sponsors!
On the other hand, we also try to add a little bit to this in our own media sites, so that in addition to the results of our racers, the Hungarian motorsport fans will get to know the championship as much as possible. In many cases, we made summaries of the race weekends which could appear on national television channels and in sports news! I am confident that as the pandemic subsides, the Gender Racing Team will be able to collect another ESET Cup title in front of many spectators in a very crowded field this season.