China and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a developing love affair

With Yifei Ye's entry in the Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 LMDh next season in the WEC, China has a new driver in a leading circuit championship. There is Guanyu Zhou in Formula 1 and Yifei Ye in WEC. 

For the first time in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, China can count on a driver capable of winning the world's greatest endurance race. This is partly due to Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, which is supporting the 22-year-old as a Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver. The Shanghai-based organisation can also count on the support of Sascha Maassen as coach for Yifei Ye, who has made seven starts at Le Mans.

While Yifei Ye is familiar with Le Mans having driven in the Autosport Academy as a teenager, the debut of a Chinese driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a recent one, dating back to 2008 when Cong Fu Cheng competed in a Pescarolo LMP2/Saulnier Racing car with Matthieu Lahaye and Pierre Ragues. The trio finished third in LMP2. Five years later, the Chinese driver made his return to the Sarthe, this time in an LMP1 Lola B12/60 entered by Rebellion Racing and shared with Mathias Beche and Andrea Belicchi. The trio could only manage a 40th place finish. 

The most consistent Chinese driver at Le Mans is undoubtedly Ho-Pin Tung, who has eight appearances and an overall podium in 2017 (victory in LMP2) in an Oreca 07 with Thomas Laurent and Oliver Jarvis. The Chinese team Jackie Chan DC Racing was flying the country's colours. Rémy Brouard, thanks to his connections in China, has long been pushing China towards the French classic.

The Manceau was an integral part of the team in the WEC. That same year, 2017, CEFC Manor TRS Racing fielded an LMP2 that finished 7th overall. Three flagged LMP2s finished in the top 10 in 2017, including two podium finishes in LMP2. Subsequently, the CEFC TRSM Racing programme with Ginetta in LMP1 was a flop. 

With five participations, David Cheng is also one of the drivers who know Le Mans well. The Chinese driver has set up his own structure with the technical support of Jota, the team where Yifei Ye will race in 2023. 

In 2014, OAK Racing Team Asia fielded a trio of Chinese drivers consisting of David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung and Adderly Fong, who finished seventh in the LMP2 class in a Ligier. 

Alessio Picariello is not a Chinese driver but the Belgian, who has two Le Mans starts to his name, has been supported by Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific to get his career back on track. 

China has a Porsche 911 RSR-19 via Yuan Bo and the R&B Racing team, who had expressed a desire to be at Le Mans in 2023 in the GTE-Am class. Absolute Racing, the team of Fabien Fior and Ingo Matter, is one of the faithful teams present in GT endurance racing at world level. To these can be added KCMG (Hong Kong), HubAuto Racing (Taiwan) and Eurasia Motorsport (Philippines).