All Irish Combo to tackle Spanish F4 as Alex Dunne teams up with Pinnacle Motorsport

Following hot on the heels of the news that James Roe Jr will tackle the  Indy Pro 2000 series with Ashbourne native Peter Dempsey Turn 3 Motorsport squad, 15 year old Irish karting star Alex Dunne today announced that he will contest the Spanish F4 Championship with John O’Hara’s Pinnacle Motorsport team.

Dunne’s move to car racing has been hotly anticpated and with the experienced Pinnacle team, it is not unreasonable to expect him to be challenging at the front immediately.

Dunne’s career began in karting back in 2014. His talent was evident early on as he amassed a number of race victories in championships across Ireland and the UK. He then progressed to World and European OK Junior karting championships in 2018 and went on to win the WSK Champions Cup in 2019. Dunne most recently raced in the Senior category in 2020 ahead of this move to single-seaters  with Pinnacle Motorsport.

Pinnacle Motorsport is run by former Irish Champion and Asian F3 race winner John O’Hara and the team has a wealth of experience competing at all levels across Asia, including race and championship wins in Asian F3 and F4. Driving for Pinnacle will be the perfect start for Alex as he is already familiar with the team personnel and he will be the teams’ sole driver in the Spanish F4 series.

The Spanish Championship is one of a number of regional FIA Formula 4 series which have been designed to provide Kart racers with the perfect first step into Car Racing and it should see Alex going head to head once again against a number of his old Karting rivals. The series will take the drivers to three current Formula One venues as they travel around Europe, beginning in April with Spa, the home of the Belgian GP. The seven event calendar will also include trips to the Portuguese Grand Prix venue, Portimao, and November’s season finale in Barcelona.

The move from Karting to Car racing is always a challenge for young racers but Alex is looking forward to getting to grips with his new car and is happy with preparations so far. “I’ve been doing a lot of work over the winter, with my physical training and also learning the tracks through sim racing, so I’m ready now for the real thing. This is a very exciting step especially with racing at such amazing venues as Spa and Portimao. The team will be a great fit for me as I know John already and I know he will help me to learn the car and achieve my goal of challenging for race wins and the championship. A lot of work has gone into putting this season together and I have to thank all of my backers, Motorsport Ireland, VTL, Harris, Maxus, Reynolds, Artisan and NEA Designs as without their support I would not have this opportunity. I just want to get started now and I can’t wait to get back racing.”

Speaking about the season ahead Pinnacle Motorsport team owner John O’Hara said. “We’ve been following Alex’s progress at the highest level of Karting over the past couple of years so we are really looking forward to working with him as we tackle the Spanish series for the first time. We’ve had a lot of success in Asia and we are aiming to replicate that in Europe with Alex. Initially it will be about building Alex’s experience and confidence in the car but by the end of the season we will be aiming to challenge at the front and win races.

Together they enter all seven events in the Spanish F4 Championship, which begins in April at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium. It will then take them to Navarra, Portimao, MotorLand Aragon, Valencia, Jerez, until the season ender at the Catalunya Circuit in November.

2021 F4 Spanish Championship Provisional Calendar
April 24-25 (Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium)
May 29-30 (Navarra, Spain)
July 17-18 (Portimao, Portugal)
July 31-August 1 (MotorLand Aragon, Spain)
September 18-19 (Valencia, Spain)
October 2-3 (Jerez, Spain)
November 13-14 (Barcelona, Spain)

Alex Dunne: “I’m looking forward to starting the season. I think it will be challenging but I believe that if Pinnacle Motorsport and I work hard we can have some great results.”

John O’Hara, Team Director: “In our debut season entering Spanish F4 we’re pleased to have Alex Dunne racing with Pinnacle Motorsport. We’ve been watching Alex as he rose up the ranks in karting over the last few years. He’s a very talented driver and we look forward to strong results together.”

Accompanying Pinnacle Motorsport on their Spanish F4 Championship are partners Teng Tools and Motorsport Ireland.