WPS secures Yoong for V8's in China
14/8/2004 14:37 (Press Release) -
Ex-Formula One driver Alex Yoong believes Australia’s V8 Supercar Championship Series has tapped into an emerging motorsport powerhouse with its decision to race in China from next year.
Yoong, who was a special guest in China today for the landmark announcement that a round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series will be held in Shanghai on June 10-12, 2005, has won multiple races throughout Asia.
He said international motorsport events were still in their infancy in China but the supporter base was growing strongly and authorities were aggressively pursuing events.
“What you have to remember about China is that most people are first generation car owners, so motorsport is a completely new experience for them,” said Yoong, who is racing in the V8 Supercar series with Australia ’s WPS Racing.
“I won a race in China in 1994 and the crowd was reasonably muted as I believe it was one of the first international motorsport events in the area.
“But the crowds are growing dramatically as they are more educated about motorsport
“I feel China will be a huge motorsport market and it’s exciting to think about how they will respond to the V8 Supercars.”
Yoong, who was born in Malaysia, is regarded as an ‘overseas Chinese’. His grandfather is Chinese and he still has relatives living in the country.
“I guess that may give me a bit of an edge over the Aussies when it comes time to race in China,” said Yoong.
“Some will find China a big culture shock but that may be moderated by the fact we are competing in Shanghai, which is a modern city.
“Still, I think the Aussies will be surprised by the number of cars on the road and the size and pace of the city.”
Yoong is the only Asian driver in the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
He has had three test days with millionaire Australian businessman Craig Gore’s WPS Racing team (sponsored by Wright Patton Shakespeare Financial Group) as a forerunner to driving in the prestigious Sandown and Bathurst V8 Supercar endurance events in Australia later this year.
The 27-year-old Yoong has a celebrated history in motorsport.
He began racing motorcross at age eight and went on to become a teenage driving sensation in Asia
Yoong had his first international race at age 16 when he placed third in Macau in a Ghia event. In 1994 he competed in the Formula Asia International Series 2000 and won the last round in Zhuhai , China.
He had eight wins in the category the following year before moving to Europe to extend his career.
In Europe he competed in the British Formula Renault Sport Championships (1996-1997), the British Formula 3 Championships (1998-1999) and the Italian Formula 3000 and the International Formula 3000 Championships (1999).
In 2000 he competed in Formula Nippon and the following year was invited to join the European Minardi Formula One team.
He competed in three F1 races in 2001 to earn a drive in the whole 2002 F1 season where he achieved a career high seventh in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Yoong’s entry into F1 earned him the title of Malaysia’s first F1 competitor and the first Asian non-Japanese Formula One driver in nearly half a century.
In 2003 he left F1 and competed in the US Champ Car World Series.
He is now focused on competing in Australia’s V8 Supercar Championship Series with WPS Racing.
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