Sport is business. Sport is political.

From out of the post-Covid mists come a strange tale involving a rising star, his management, a faded star and pour premier domestic championship.

Autosport’s Marcus Simmons – who knows a bit about single-seater racing – picked up on this unfortunate situation and it’s popped up on Mark Boudreau’s Motorsport Prospects site. At first glance it looks like another Covid story, people unable to pursue their careers because of this cursed virus.

But wait, there’s more.

The Feed Racing School held a competition shootout at the end of last year and the winner was to receive a funded drive in British F4 with leading squad Carlin. The school is a joint venture between former BAR Formula 1 test driver Patrick Lemarie and his fellow ex-BAR driver and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. Carlin’s drivers have won the championship every year it has been involved.

That competition was won by 22-year-old Dutchman Marijn Kremers, who was one of 100 aspiring race stars who entered and won the six-driver final shootout, but he was not on the grid when the season began at Donington Park weekend before last.

So far so good, right?

But wait, there’s more.

The co-founder of the Feed Racing School has explained why Marijn Kremers hasn't taken up his prize drive in British Formula 4 this season. He’d be the old man of the grid at 22, with only 28 year old Saudi female racer Neema Juffali topping his level of ‘life experience’. Most of the grid is 15-18 years old.

Lemarie reckons the decision for Kremers not to race was taken in consultation with the driver's Australian-based management company Patrizicorse earlier this year, at a time when all overseas arrivals had to quarantine for two weeks when travelling to the UK.

A two week quarantine prevents a driver from uplifting a prize he worked hard to win?

So Lemarie says: "He had five or six days testing and he was very fast and everyone was very happy. Then COVID was a big problem for us because Marijn wouldn't get to do testing because of the quarantine and it made us worry about this season and his management as well. We had to make a decision a few months ago and we weren't even sure there would be a championship this year."

According to Autosport Trevor Carlin is somewhat upset, saying: “"They told me some time ago they couldn't proceed because of coronavirus, and being the nice chap I am I accepted that. And then much to my disgust they just decided to relaunch the whole thing and say they're offering a prize with another F4 team in another F4 championship.”

Nasty. Not often an experienced and successful team boss like Carlin gets blind-sided like this. Trevor Carlin has been a longtime backer of our own Castrol Toyota Racing Series, sending some very good young drivers down to hone their skills in our summer.

In fact, Kremers’ management had looked hard at TRS. Lemarie said at this point, Kremers' management decided that the Toyota Racing Series would be a better option and Villeneuve explained the situation to Carlin.

Now, I’m pretty sure Trevor Carlin would be okay with that, given that TRS happens after the F4 season has ended, and that Kremers would have to quarantine for two weeks coming down here anyway. He might in fact have run Kremers here in our summer of 2021. He is after all a businessman and has the contacts to make the project happen.

To have Kremers just not turn up is a team’s worst nightmare. He’s tested, been quick, and a car allocated, resources purchased that in some cases are short-life consumables like tyres. Spares will have been bought. A seat made. All costs the Carlin operation must now bear.

Disturbingly, it seems Feed don’t go out and sign a contract with the team that will run their winning driver. Lemarie says Carlin was their ‘first choice’ and insists that Feed ‘does not have a problem with Carlin’.

A final quote from Lemarie might just hint at the real reason the situation has developed: "It was a very uncomfortable situation for me and Jacques. Everyone is a bit frustrated in that situation but it's a very difficult year for everybody. He will race, that's for sure - we have the budget and I think he's ready."

Ah yes. Budget. After all, sport is business.

Perhaps there was a gap between the cost of the F4 programme and the budget allocated. These are the questions hanging in the air that may never be answered.

Certainly, TRS management are working hard to make a full international grid happen. They can go full international (open to Kiwis of course); a trans-Tasman series (if Oz ever resolves its Covid issues, which are currently worsening by the day); or try to pull together an all-Kiwi grid. The latter would be difficult given many Kiwi racers struggle to bring together the $200k necessary to race at that level. That would have to be the fall-back in the name of continuity because much of the benefit to our local racers is in competing against top international talent.

The New Zealand government would likely play its part getting internationals safely into and out of the country, two week quarantine or not. If they had to pay, the $3k for two weeks is nothing when you have invested $200k in your future.

Kremers needs to make his own decision about his next step, and could do worse than simply step straight up to TRS this coming summer. F4 cars are nowhere near the learning opportunity our Tatuus-based FT60s are. He’s 22 already so his single-seater career window of opportunity is narrowing month by month.

 

 

 Marijn Kremers - with a smidgeon of luck, Kiwis could see him in action down here this summer.