FIA F4 concept adopted for new Benelux F4 series
The FIA's Formula 4 concept has been taken up by the Benelux countries for a new series in 2016
The new Benelux F4 series was launched by KNAF, the Dutch motorsport federation, on Saturday at the Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort.
It will be run for the same Tatuus chassis and Abarth engine combination that is used in the German, Italian and NEZ (SMP) series, and will be contested over six triple-header rounds.
The announcement of Benelux F4 went hand in hand with the presentation of the new Benelux TCR touring car series - KNAF and its Belgian counterpart the RACB are collaborating on both series, with KNAF running the F4 concept and the RACB taking care of TCR.
KNAF's Hans Hugenholtz, an experienced GT and historic racer, is the initial driving force behind Benelux F4 and told AUTOSPORT: "The last real single-seater formula we had was Formula Ford, but that was only 10 or 12 cars and it was getting a bit outdated.
"As a federation we decided we needed to give young karters a chance to move up in this system."
Benelux F4 organisers will introduce a series of measures to keep costs within a target of below €100,000, whereas competitors in the German series spend between €200-250,000.
Testing will be banned outside designated official sessions, all data from all drivers will be freely available to all the other teams, and the series will give fixed settings - such as wings, springs or ride heights - before each race weekend.
Additionally, it is planned that all cars will be prepared out of the same awning.
"We don't want drivers' fathers flashing their money around," said Hugenholtz, who added that the final green light will only be given if the organisers are confident of 15 cars.
"I don't know if it will work, but we will work damn hard to make it work."
Two rounds are scheduled for Zandvoort, with one each at Assen, Zolder and Spa and one more to be run in Germany.
The Spa and German rounds will be run in conjunction with the German F4 Championship, with the two series sharing the same grid at the Belgian track.
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