Doriane Pin to make F4 debut at Sepang in F4 SEA

French sports car star Doriane Pin is set to make her Formula 4 racing debut at Sepang in this week's Formula 4 South East Asia round, joining Prema Racing.

Photo credits: Drew Gibson

Iron Dame Doriane Pin will make her racing debut in Formula 4 machinery this weekend at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, as the 19 year old Frenchwoman joins Prema Racing for the second round of the F4 South East Asian championship.

Pin, who was recently named Revelation of the Year in FIA World Endurance Championship following her extraordinary debut at the top of endurance racing, is therefore embarking on her first single-seater adventure, following a testing program aboard the new Tatuus T421 in the latest months.

After impressing in karting, Doriane immediately made her car racing debut in touring cars, in the Renault Clio Cup France in 2020. She was selected as one of the four finalists for the inaugural edition of the FIA Girls On Track programme, where she drove the F4 machine but eventually soon switched her focus to GT racing: she would join the ranks of Iron Dames in 2021, where she claimed podiums in Le Mans Cup at her first outings in GT3 machinery.

In 2022, Pin's talent was evident to the eyes of the motor racing world and she took a dominant victory in the Ferrari Challenge Europe championship, winning 9 races and securing 13 podiums out of 14 races. She joined the main Iron Dames line up for partial campaigns in GT World Challenge Europe, FIA WEC, ELMS - and was part of the team for the historical victories at the 24 Hours of Spa, as well as the 4H of Portimao.

Towards the end of the season, she made a stellar debut in Lamborghini Super Trofeo, taking pole position at her first outing, and was then announced as part of the Iron Dames squad for the team's first season in IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

At the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in IMSA as well as at the 24 Hours of Spa, Pin showed incredible speed and was often the fastest of the team.

At the same time, Doriane made her LMP2 debut, joining Prema Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship - and at her step up to prototypes, she took the world of sportscar racing by storm, stepping on the podium at her first race and just missing out on a victory in the following rounds. Alongside experienced factory drivers and platinum-rated Mirko Bortolotti and Daniil Kvyat, Doriane performed brilliantly, completing an outstanding rookie year at the pinnacle of sports car racing.

The young Frenchwoman is now set to make her first ever start in single seaters, joining a Prema in the revamped F4 SEA championship, as the series comes off its flagship non-championship round at Macau - dominated by the Italian squad.

The South East Asian championship was discontinued during the Covid pandemic but has been successfully relaunched by Top Speed promoter, with a first round in Zhuzhou International Circuit, China, at the end of October.

At Macau, a world-class entry list saw three female drivers competing in the series, with Bianca Bustamante battling for the top-ten, Miki Koyama and Vivian Siu - who had also entered the first round in China with three point-scoring finishes.

Pin will race alongside karting talents Kean Nakamura-Berta and Tomass Štolcermanis at Prema, while R-Ace GP's Raphaël Narac and Hadrien David are also expected to return at Sepang after the Macau invitational. Macanese Tiago Rodrigues - who currently leads the standings - will miss the Malaysian round, which leaves Australian Jack Beeton in a prime position to capitalize in the two triple headers that will wrap up the championship at Sepang.