With the first two rounds of the 2024 Formula Regional Middle East Championship now in the books, another season of racing is underway, and after six intense races, it’s R-ace GP on top, with Tuukka Taponen leading the championship and Martinius Stenshorne sitting in second. If the former is getting ready for his maiden FRECA season in 2024, the latter is competing in his last series with the French outfit for the foreseeable future, as he will step up to FIA Formula 3 with Hitech GP later this year. Feeder Series got the chance to speak with the Norwegian star about his time with R-ace GP.

By Daniele Spadi

Despite not winning any of the first six races of the season, Stenshorne is the only driver to accomplish the impressive feat of finishing in the top five every single time, displaying impressive levels of consistency and racecraft. The Norwegian was fast right off the bat, readapting to the racing world pretty and quickly making it look like the new year was nothing but an extension of 2023.

Three consecutive podiums in round one, including an on-track race win that was stripped away from him after a five-second time penalty was handed to the 18-year-old and a further podium in the second round of the season, currently see him in second place in the standings, 12 points behind teammate Tuukka Taponen.

The Norwegian confirmed to Feeder Series that he will not be competing in the final two rounds of the season to focus on his official F3 debut later this year in Bahrain. However, he is determined to go out in the best possible way in Dubai, chasing that elusive FRMEC win that is still missing on his resume.

One more weekend to shine

Curiously, Stenshorne decided to race one more time in a Formula Regional car before stepping up to F3, in which he will drive a completely different piece of machinery that will require some getting used to. However, the Norwegian wanted to get some track time in 2024 before starting his rookie F3 campaign. 

“Even if the car is different, it’s still good to just do some driving and to not have too much time off,” he explained to Feeder Series. “And yeah, I’ve driven with [R-ace GP] already, so we know each other, so it’s not going to be completely new, and I know the car. So in the end, it’s just to have some driving and not have too much of a break.”

Stenshorne enjoyed a great run of form in the opening two rounds, yet he seemed to always be missing something to truly stand out as the best performer on the day – which is why his FRMEC win tally is yet to go up. “We have missed quite a bit of power on the engine side, especially on round one,” Stenshorne admitted. “So it has been a bit difficult, but I think we’ve done quite well with the package we have.”

“We have quite a good car with a good setup. So, yeah, we just missed quite a bit of power, especially the first round, and yeah, we will see in Dubai. Hopefully, we can improve on some areas and have some more good results. […] I’m just trying to have as many wins and as good results and learn as much as possible.”

A phenomenal team-driver duo

For the 2024 FRMEC season, the Norwegian has once again joined forces with R-ace GP, continuing the successful partnership that saw them have a fantastic season together in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine last year. It was the French outfit that gave him his first shot at single-seater racing back in 2022 in F4 UAE, and this season is looking to be Stenshorne’s last hurrah with the team.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he told Feeder Series. “We had some good results, and, of course, last season was really good. I’m really happy to have been working with them. Obviously, in F4, I only did F4 UAE with them, and then I went to Van Amersfoort Racing, but I was really happy to work with them last year in FRECA.”

The Norwegian was one of the standout performers in last year’s FRECA season With five wins, six additional podiums and the rookie title under his belt, Stenshorne’s light shone bright in 2023, leading R-ace to become a force to be reckoned with. 

“Well, I think FRECA, of course, is our highlight because in F4 it didn’t go that well,” he told Feeder Series when asked about the best memory he has with the French outfit.

“So maybe round one, because we didn’t really expect to do that well in race one, and we won and [got] second position in race two so that was really, really nice. Also, the Hungaroring was a really big highlight, to take the double win, and then, of course, to end the season as we started [with a win], it was also really nice to end it like that.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency