Dutch racer Paul Sieljes will drive for Chris Dittmann Racing in the opening round of the 2016 BRDC Formula 4 Championship at Snetterton. The 22-year-old will deputise for Indian driver Krishnaraaj Mahadik, who is unable to take part in Norfolk due to school commitments in his native country.
Sieljes is no stranger to BRDC Formula 4, having competed in the Brands Hatch round of the 2014 Winter Series and at Rockingham in last year’s main championship, on both occasions racing for the Gloucestershire-based outfit that he will drive for at Snetterton. The Dutchman took a best result of fourth in the Winter Series and performed strongly in his one appearance in the main series, taking a highest finish of seventh.
Sieljes competed in the Dutch Supercar Challenge in 2015, finishing third overall in the Superlights 2 category and contested a partial campaign in the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC category, as he did in 2014. Prior to that, he finished second in the Formula Ford Festival Zetec category at Brands Hatch in 2012, and has also competed in Formula Ford in Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as the DNRT Formula Free series for mixed single seaters, scoring three podiums.
Sieljes said: “After my appearances at Brands Hatch and Rockingham, me and Chris stayed in touch. It has not been possible for me to contest more races due to schooling commitments. When Chris called with the option of filling in for Krishnaraaj over Easter, I jumped at the chance.
“I’ve already had a day in the new car and it feels truly amazing. I’ve never driven anything that fast before but we have a couple of test days before the race so we will be fine pace-wise, especially with my great team-mates Jeremy and Quinlan who have already collected lots of useful data.”
Chris Dittmann, Team Principal of Chris Dittmann Racing, added: 'It's great to have Paul back in one of our cars again. We already have a strong relationship together after the two previous race weekends he contested with us. It's a shame he was unable to contest the full championship but we were pleased to offer him the opportunity to race at Snetterton. With a few more test days planned together, I'm sure he will be looking to achieve some strong results."
