How Chinese interest in Endurance Racing is expanding
An interview with Jackie Chan DC Racing's David Cheng about the increasing interest in motorsport in China.
It was one of the defining images of the 2017 FIA WEC season so far!
David Cheng standing proud on the Le Mans podium holding aloft the iconic trophy and celebrating his Jackie Chan DC Racing team’s extraordinary second place overall with the No.38 car and, ultimately, his own second place in LMP2.
Just a few short hours before it even looked like a remarkable possibility for outright victory could be on the cards. Even in the heady pantheon of Le Mans legendary drama, this would have re-written new superlatives.
The far-reaching aftershocks of the Chinese-entered team’s incredible achievements last June are still reaching the land represented now by not just one, but two, Chinese teams.
As the FIA WEC heads to Shanghai for the next round of a fascinating 2017 season the Jackie Chan DC Racing squad has a 10-point advantage in both the LMP2 Drivers’ and Teams’ standings.
But, for team co-founder David Cheng, the plan to accelerate interest in endurance racing and the FIA WEC in China is just as satisfying as challenging for silverware.
“What we are seeing is definitely some expanded interest in sportscar racing in China,” said Cheng. “We are witnessing more realisation of what we are doing and the fact that we are at the pinnacle of this form of motorsport. After the Le Mans weekend Alex (Brundle) and I flew back with the Le Mans trophies and the border officers were like ‘oh you are the guys from the Jackie Chan team, well done.’ That was cool, but it shows that what we are doing is getting notice to even non-racing fans.”
The awareness of endurance racing has been escalating ever since the FIA WEC first travelled to Shanghai in its inaugural season of 2012. Cheng has sensed that the household name of his partner Jackie Chan has benefitted several aspects of understanding the sport as a whole.
“When you mention Le Mans now to people you meet in China, they actually understand what it is. They might not know the intricacies of it but the appetite to know more is now there. From my point of view, it is what gets introduced to the market first, what the content is, and whether it reflects what the viewers want.
“There are a few myths with endurance racing and one of them is that there are so many drivers that you can’t keep track of them all the time. But look at football; how many teams are there in any given country? Times that by 11 for each one and you have a hell of a lot of names!
“So, I don’t think those arguments really stack up. I think the way that the WEC covers the races and introduces the drivers and characters is good. In China they are starting to see there is a lot of variety in the names out there, and to have a few Chinese names is obviously a big hook.”
