Team Piro Sport in the ADAC Formula 4: We're David against Goliath

• Team principal Erwin Piro: “We’re real enthusiasts and live for motor racing”
• Cedric Piro: Juggling dual degree and future career as racing driver and team boss
• ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Ghattas joins team

Munich: Whenever Erwin Piro starts talking about his great passion, he can't help getting carried away. "We're real enthusiasts and live for motor racing. Everyone's crazy about the sport at our house, the whole family, my son, my wife and me too, of course," he says with a chuckle. Erwin and his son Cedric Piro have competed in the ADAC Formula 4 as Team Piro Sport Interdental since its inception in 2015, and the team are planning to increase their involvement and field two drivers when the ADAC High Speed Academy begins its third season in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (28th - 30th April).

At the same time, Erwin Piro, who has actively taken part in various formula and touring car series for several years, knows that 2017 will again not necessarily be their year for being in title contention. The basic requirements for that to happen are simply different and do not stand comparison with the competition. The budget, the staff, the test facilities, everything is on a much smaller scale to the big teams, but Team Piro Sport are not necessarily concerned with titles or trophies but rather with training for higher things. "We're David against Goliath," says Piro Senior.

The Piros can always be found at the racetrack during race weekends, even at night, since the family prefer their motor home to a hotel room. "We are, I believe, the only team still spending the night in the camper and van. That's not for reasons of economy, but because we want to," says the 65-year-old. "You have to live motor racing. It's more than just a hobby, you know. We like being at the track. There's always something new and always plenty to do. It's our life, being in the paddock."

The family are also quite happy to forgo big luxury items and expensive holidays in order to live their dream, something that's hard to imagine as an outsider. Still, the Piros feel that they're doing the right thing every time they hear the engine crack up and the tyres spin. "Cedric grew up at the racetrack. It might sound crazy, but then, we're a little bit crazy," says Erwin Piro, whose main job is working with his wife Beatrix in their dental practice.

Cedric is 19-years old and has embarked on a dual degree in mechanical engineering after having successfully completed his Abitur ('A' levels). Work, studying, motor racing, the Piros could never complain about being bored. Apart from his duties as a driver, Cedric Piro plans to take on more responsibility in the family racing team and hopes to climb up the ladder to become team boss one day while actively pursuing a career in GT or touring car racing.

It will be a little while before that happens. The new season has to take priority first at the top of the agenda, and the Piros have a clear goal in mind: "We intend to finish in the Top Ten as often as possible," says Erwin Piro. "The ADAC Formula 4 is the world's strongest series for trainee drivers, so you have to be realistic. We have goals, though, for sure. We don't want to finish 30th. We aim to be in the Top Ten. With our modest budget against teams with a bigger budget - why shouldn't that be possible? It would certainly be possible with a bigger budget."

The team will field two drivers in the 2017 season. Young kart driver and ADAC Sports Foundation protégé, 'Dodo' Ghattas from Bonn, will be joining them and will benefit primarily benefit from Cedric's experience. "I'm very keen to coach Dodo to the best of my ability so that he can make progress in his career as a racing driver," says Piro.