BIRMINGHAM, England—Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. is adding another formula racing series to its portfolio, agreeing to supply the BRDC F4 series in Great Britain with racing tires for the next few seasons.
Pirelli and F4 promoter MotorSport Vision announced the supply contract at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham. Financial terms and the length of the contract were not disclosed.
BRDC F4 cars are single-seat, open-wheel racers powered by a 2-liter, four-cyclinder Duratec engine capable of generating 185 hp. The series is considered a junior formula stepping-stone to the more powerful GP3 and GP2 classes that are seen as feeder series for Formula 1.
The series has used Yokohama Advan race tires for the past two seasons.
Pirelli has developed a range of dry and wet weather 13-inch tires specifically for junior single-seater racing that incorporate learning from Pirelli's participation in F1, GP2 and GP3, the tire maker said.
Pirelli's Paul Hembery and Formula 4's Jonathan Palmer shake hands on their race tire supply contract.
“We're delighted to be involved in this innovative formula,” said Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery, “which gives drivers the opportunity to take their first steps in motorsport with a perfect compromise between costs and performance. This latest initiative underlines our company-wide philosophy of providing young drivers with opportunities to progress within motorsport, all the way to the very highest levels of competition.”
The same tire was used in the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, MotorSport Vision said, where teams run the Tatuus chassis that will be adopted by BRDC F4 from this year's Winter Championship onwards, replacing the RFR F4-013 chassis.
MotorSport Vision has scheduled eight race weekends this season, starting April 4-6 and running through Sept. 26-27 at six British tracks. Four of the weekends will be staged together with British GT Championship events.
Each F4 race weekend comprises three races, with the grid order for race two determined by the finishing order of race one, with the top eight positions reversed. The grid for the third race is determined by the order of fastest laps.
To promote accessibility, budgets are designed to be no more than about $180,000 for a season, the organizers said.