Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport drives an LMP3 car – aiming for Le Mans

Marko Koiranen was long a formula man in spirit and blood.

Last year, the new conquest made the heart of the boss of the renowned Finnish stable beat for other types of motorsport as well.

Dog and Kimmo Kemppi The LMP3 cars in Central Europe are being raced by a Finnish team: Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport.

New conquest

For years, Koiranen GP was one of the most important teams in the junior categories. In its ranks, many current F1 drivers drew to learn. Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and George Russell are the biggest stars on the most well-known list of names.

Then came the year 2020 and a pandemic known to all. The coronavirus has previously driven reduced activity into a savings flame.

Last year, Koiranen received a job offer, which was the beginning of the current adventure.

– I was involved in the Icelandic LMP3 project. They had bought a car, but they lacked everything else. I was asked to join, and when there was little else because of the corona, I gladly agreed. I get mechanics and other things that are essential for the Icelandic stable, Koiranen says.

Koiranen liked his new conquest. For the Formula One, the jump into the world of endurance racing was big. Both are of course motorsports, but they are huge.

– In the formulas, short races are run practically from start to finish on the gas bottom. In endurance races, you also have to know how to save a car, and tactics play a big role. It’s really exciting, Koiranen gets excited.

Expensive investment

At the end of the Icelandic project, Koiranen was faced with the opportunity to buy two LMP3 cars that had become obsolete from another stable. But it took money to get them. A lot.

At this point, Kimmo Kemppi stepped forward. As a fan of motorsports, he understood the spirit of the game. He promised to fund the acquisition of racing cars.

Prototype LMPs, even a couple of years old, are by no means cheap.

– Several hundred thousand, Kemppi says the purchase price.

At that price, two LMP3 prototype cars and spare parts manufactured by the French Duqueine were delivered to Lahti.

The first season has also required other investments from the stable. Kemppi says that the money has been burned to upgrade the Lahti factory premises and to purchase the equipment required for the race.

A total of half a million euros has been burned for this period alone, even if conservatively estimated.

Tangled start

What kind of car did Kemppi Motorsport get? Competitive.

The technically advanced racing car weighs 960 pounds. It is accelerated by Nissan’s 5.6-liter V8 engine, which, according to Koiranen, emits about 480 horsepower.

– Everything in the car is very precisely defined. The car can hardly be developed or tuned. The aim has been to make the series equal. Differences arise between the steering wheel and the bench, Koiranen describes.

Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport is currently competing in the oven-fresh German Prototype Cup. They act as drivers Jesse Salmenautio and Swedish Sebastian Arenram.

The opening weekend at the Belgian Spa went sadly. In the first race, Arenram slipped on the sand and got stuck already in the opening round, in the second race, technical problems plagued.

Early in the year, baptism of fire was sought in the high-profile Asian Le Mans series.

According to Kemp, it was not part of the original plan.

– We were not supposed to compete this year, but to test the drivers and gain experience from the car. However, together with the drivers, we decided to drive to the Asian Le Mans series with a very small number of tests.

According to Kemppi, after a couple of test days at Kymiring, jumping into the four-hour race in Dubai was a “pretty difficult place”.

Koiranen also describes the team’s debut in the Asian Le Mans series as “quite an experience”.

– It all happened a little bit. We may not have got the kind of athletic result we wanted, but at least we got into the series and we know what to do and what not to do in the future, Koiranen describes.

Next step

The division of labor between the duo who gave their name to the stable is clear. Koiranen handles the operational side of the stable management, Kemppi keeps the economy wheel running.

The duo hasn’t given the project time and money just for a sheer love of motorsports. The goals are set high.

Next winter is scheduled to drive again in the Asian Le Mans series. In addition, Germany is scheduled to move to the Michelin Le Mans Cup, perhaps the most important series for these cars.

These moves would require a third driver. And increase the budget.

– Le Mans Cup would double our spending. Much now depends on whether we can find a suitable driver for us, Kemppi says.

Motorsports are expensive. Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport is not a stable that pays for its drivers to drive, but the opposite is true.

Finding a suitable driver would require the opportunity to get tested.

In this global situation, however, it is almost impossible, as a shortage of tires has put the tests on ice in practice.

Both Koiranen and Kemppi spend a lot on the end of the season. Success is needed.

– As a new team, no one expects us to be big this year, but it would be great to have success and show our potential, Kemppi says.

– Good results provide better setup for negotiating tables. When the drivers see that we can make it in our stable, then we are an attractive option for them, Koiranen compels.