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Picture:Bert Winkler |
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The
successful Dutch born Chinese racing driver Ho-Pin Tung will enter
the prestigious German F3 Cup this season with the Dutch based VAR
Racing Team. A challenging next step in Tung's motor racing career,
in which he was very successful last season, when he clinched the
Formula BMW Asia title. As a reward for winning this championship,
21-year old Ho-Pin Tung was offered a test with the BMW.WilliamsF1
team at the circuit of Jerez in Spain.
When
the starting lights turn green on 25 April on the famous Hockenheimring
in Germany, Ho-Pin Tung will officially debut in the German F3 Cup.
This highly competitive series has marked the breakthrough of many
young drivers, such as reigning world champion Michael Schumacher
(champion in 1990), but also Jos Verstappen (champion in 1992),
Jarno Trulli (champion in 1996), Nick Heidfeld (champion in 1997)
and Giorgio Pantano (champion in 2000). They were all stars in German
F3 before stepping up to the ultimate class in motor racing - Formula
1.
Ho-Pin
Tung was born in The Netherlands, but nowadays lives in Shanghai.
He actually started his car racing career only three years ago,
when he was selected by the Dutch motor sport federation (KNAF),
after a few successful years in karting. As the KNAF Talent First
winner he was awarded with a season in the Formula Ford series with
the highly successful team of VAR. In his first season Tung did
what was expected: claiming pole positions and fastest race laps,
and winning his first ever car race! He definitely showed his talents.
Last
year he raced for the Meritus Team in the Formula BMW Asia series,
in which he claimed no less than 12 pole-positions and 10 race wins!
He won the title and was offered a test with the Formula 1 team
of BMW.Williams. His very first introduction to the fastest class
in motor racing (at the famous Jerez de la Frontera track in southern
Spain), is something Ho-Pin Tung will remember for the rest of his
life: "I had high expectations of Formula 1, and it was like
a dream come true getting my first miles in such a machine! It is
unbelievable what modern technology does: the high speed corners
gives you high G-forces all over your body and that is a fantastic
feeling… This experience makes my desire even stronger to become
the first ever Chinese F1 driver."
As
the VAR Racing Team is well-known to Ho-Pin Tung - he debuted with
the team in Formula Ford in 2001 - and because of their excellent
results in the German F3 championship, it was a logical choice for
Tung to choose the Dutch based team. VAR has been very successful
in many single-seater series (Opel Lotus, Formula Ford and more
recently Formula Renault), but also in the German Formula 3 championship.
In 1998 VAR won the title with the Belgian driver Bas Leinders (currently
F1 test driver with Minardi). And Dutch driver Christijan Albers
(now Mercedes DTM driver) won a few F3 races with VAR, before clinching
the title in 1999 with another team.
Ho-Pin
Tung is delighted about the plans for this season: "To gain
further experience in preparation of Formula 1, I need to drive
cars like the high-tech F3 cars in a competitive championship. The
German F3 cup is highly competitive and a well organised championship
and VAR Racing is an excellent team to further develop my skills.
I will have to face tough competition from a lot of young drivers
who all have one aim in common: F1!"
VAR
Racing team director Frits van Amersfoort is also very pleased with
the announcement: "Ho-Pin Tung definitely belongs to the greatest
talents in motor sport these days. We will have to give him the
opportunity to show his talents and to meet the high expectations
we all have. The step to being the first ever Chinese Formula 1
driver is not far away and VAR Racing is hoping to play an important
role in his development."
The
German F3 Cup has 9 rounds in the 2004 season at famous tracks like
the Hockenheimring and the Nürburgring. The F3 cars are highly
developed racing machines with a lot of high-tech ingredients. The
car offers a lot of mechanical and aero-dynamical grip, and the
championship is regarded as one of the best single seater classes
with lots of testing possibilities, in which young drivers can develop
themselves.
Finally,
Tung about the rest of the season: "We have now confirmed the
German F3 series, but I'm also still hoping to do some races - or
a full championship - in China or Asia. We are working to achieve
that during the next couple of months!"
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