Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and other Formula 1 drivers have driven for Koiranen in the past. Move into LMP3 racing came by chance. Finnish team plans to run two cars in the Prototype Cup Germany in 2023.
Although it was only launched this year, the Prototype Cup Germany has already attracted teams from different countries. Flying the flag for Finland is the Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport team, which lines up with Finnish driver Jesse Salmenautio and Sweden’s Sebastian Arenram.
Since 1997, team principal Marko Koiranen has been running a racing team that initially gained experience in Finnish Formula 3 and Formula 4, as well as the Nordic Formula 3 series. After six seasons in the far north, he moved into the German Formula Renault 2.0 series, and shortly after to the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. Then, in 2007, a certain Valtteri Bottas came knocking on the door. The team was soon impressing many together with the current Finnish Formula 1 driver. The reward for all the hard work was third place in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup (NEC), which was the successor to the German series. Marko Koiranen’s team claimed its first major title in 2010, when it won the Eurocup with Estonian Kevin Korjus. Prior to this, it had also triumphed with Atte Mustonen in the Italian winter series of Formula Renault 2.0.
These successes made the Finnish troop one of the most sought-after teams in Formula Renault 2.0, and from that point on they were also given the honour of training Red Bull Juniors. More titles were to follow, including with Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat. “We were one of the strongest teams in Formula Renault 2.0,” says Koiranen, summing up this key phase for his team. It ended in 2015 – not without bidding an appropriate farewell with titles in the Eurocup and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps, both with Jack Aitken in the cockpit. “Of the Formula 1 field that took to the grid in Bahrain in 2020, half of them had driven one of our cars at some point, whether it be in races or at tests. And of the current Formula 1 crop, we have contested racing series together with Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Esteban Ocon, while Max Verstappen and Alex Albon have also tested with us.”
As well as the involvement in the GP3 series, which was discontinued after four years at the end of 2016, the Finns also wanted to focus on Formula 4 from 2016, where they appeared as promoters of the series in Finland, Spain and later Russia. “However, the coronavirus pandemic and later the war in Ukraine made it increasingly difficult to run racing series without making a loss,” said Koiranen, who currently just looks after the Formula Academy Finland junior series.
In December 2020, Koiranen received a phone call from Iceland: Audunn Gudmundsson had just purchased an LMP3 Ligier and was looking for a team to look after his outings in the Michelin Le Mans Cup. “We were not active in any racing series at the time, so we said yes. And so it was that we landed in the world of LMP3 by pure chance. To be honest, I was only really thinking about Formula racing before we received that enquiry. But I have to say that I like LMP3.” He is yet to notice any major differences to his previous field of activity: “An LMP3 car also has four wheels, a steering wheel, an engine and a gearbox. The drivers may be a little older, but that makes them all the more relaxed. And there are fewer parents constantly interfering in everything…”
After the debut year as Team Thor, the team now lines up under its own name Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport again and this season starts in the Asian Le Mans Series and the Prototype Cup Germany. “The Prototype Cup Germany only consists of four race weekends, but in this day and age it is perhaps not such a bad thing to start with just a few events. For small teams like us, it is easier to find a budget for four weekends than, for example, eight race weekends. As a team, we had a good reputation in junior Formula racing, but we are at the start of our journey in LMP3. We must first get good results again, in order to attract the drivers.” Nevertheless, he would still like more races in the future. “Five or six events would be great.”
Koiranen has already been pondering the future of his team: “I like the Prototype Cup Germany and am planning to field two cars next season.” And for the near future, he would like another podium. “I think, if we have a little luck and one or two of our rivals have a bad day, we could perhaps do it at the finale in Hockenheim. We will certainly do our best.”
