On Tuesday evening I attended the launch party of China’s very first Intercontinental Le Mans Cup endurance racing event at one of the city’s newest, swankiest hightspots, Republik.
The VIP cocktail party was attended by Hong Kong drivers Marchy Lee, Matthew Marsh and Darryl O’Young, business leaders, society figures, race organisers, sponsors and, of course, the media at just-opened Republik in Central.
However, the real star of the evening was not allowed inside and was parked on the street outside, to great delight of passers-by. The Audi R8 LMS car will be driven by Lee and Marsh in the 1,000km of Zhuhai in early November.
Passers-by in Central were snapping away at the Audi R8 LMS parked outside Republik (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Hong Kong-based drivers Marchy Lee and Matthew Marsh joined Darryl O’Young on stage to answer questions about their plans for the Zuhai race.
“This race is undoubtedly the most important motorsports event ever staged in southern China,” said Marsh. “It will feature world class drivers, some incredibly powerful and beautiful racing machines and state-of-the-art technology.
“Crucially, Zhuhai is easily accessible from all over the region, including Hong Kong and Macau, and the event is an affordable and fun day out for spectators.”
“It means that tens of thousands of fans will, for the first time, witness first hand the noise, colour and excitement of Le Mans-style endurance racing.”
Lee and Marsh will form a three-man team in the KK Performance Audi R8 LMS with Malaysia’s ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong.
Canadian-born Darryl O’Young (pictured below) and British teammate Richard Westbrook will drive a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) for Prospeed Competition.
The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 1,000km of Zhuhai will be the third and final race of the 2010 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup following earlier races at Silverstone in the UK and Atlanta, USA.
After two days of practice and qualifying on 5 and 6 November, the race will be staged in front of thousands of motorsports fans on Sunday 7 November.
The world’s leading performance car manufacturers – including Audi, Peugeot, Porsche, BMW, Jaguar, Ferrari and Aston Martin – will compete across all four official Le Mans categories in prototype (P1 and P2) and grand touring (GT1 and GT2).
In addition, there are three more guest categories: Formula Le Mans, LM GT Experimental – featuring the Porsche GT3 R Hybrid, which combines traditional combustion engine with electric power – and LM GTC.
Zhuhai is a short ferry- and taxi ride from Hong Kong and can be taken from the China Ferry Terminal in Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. You will, however, require a visa to enter Zhuhai, so contact China Travel Service in Hong Kong to apply.
