• Hong Kong driver William Lok unveils city’s newest motorsport organisation
• WIN Motorsport to contest prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour-prelude double-header
• Christine Kuo announced as WIN Motorsport Ambassador
June 7, 2017 (Hong Kong) – WIN Motorsport has opened an exciting new chapter in Hong Kong’s motor racing history with the launch of the first-ever local team dedicated to Le Mans Prototype (LMP) endurance racing. Led by successful Hong Kong racing driver and team owner William Lok, WIN Motorsport will be both a major player in motorsport in the region and beyond, and a force to be reckoned with on-track.
WIN Motorsport has already shown its formidable form, taking two dominant overall victories in the opening rounds of the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup in Malaysia last month. Lok, along with Italy’s Davide Rizzo, proved untouchable, hammering the WIN Motorsport LMP3 Ligier home to take the flag, and leaving their rivals in their wake.
The team has great ambitions for a busy 2017 season, gunning for the both the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup and Series championship titles. But their biggest challenge will be on the iconic 13.6km Circuit de la Sarthe in France, home of the Le Mans 24 Hours, later this month. A thrilling prelude to the 24 Hour endurance race, WIN Motorsport will be the only Hong Kong team amongst the 50 car, 100 driver-strong international field in the Road to Le Mans. Two races, each of 55 minutes’ duration, will be held on Thursday, June 15 at 17:30 local time, and Saturday, June 17 at 11:30 local time, just prior to the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Lok and 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 Champion Richard Bradley will race the #49 Ligier JS P3 on the legendary 13.6 km circuit. Bradley is also the WIN Motorsport’s Principal Driver Coach. Road to Le Mans entrants are classified using the FIA’s official categorisation, which looks at a driver’s age and experience.
At the team’s official launch yesterday, Lok unveiled the full WIN Motorsport team, including Ambassador Christine Kuo. Lok presented Kuo with a racing helmet designed by the Hong Kong artist Mr. Cheng Chi Fai, known as ‘Fai Gor’ as he welcomed her to the team.
The team also includes driver Rizzo, with whom Lok contests the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup, Chief Technology Officer Greg Wheeler, a 17-year Formula 1 veteran, and Team Manager and Human Performance Chief Stewart Wild, who has worked with the likes of Jenson Button, Danny Watts.
With WIN Motorsport proudly flying the flag for Hong Kong across Asia and at La Sarthe, Lok outlined its progress towards establishing a strong and sustainable motorsport industry in the SAR. The team’s ultimate aim is to qualify for the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours, with its 2017 programme of Road to Le Mans, the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup and the 2017-2018 Asian Le Mans Series geared towards qualification for next year’s iconic race.
WIN Motorsport Quotes:
William Lok: “Establishing WIN Motorsport has been a long-held dream of mine, and I owe much to my inspirational mentors such as Lawrence Yu, who taught me what it is to be a true sportsman.
I believe it’s important to develop the motorsport industry here in Hong Kong. We have a vast amount of motorsport expertise here and a long and storied motor racing history. It is time to leverage this knowledge and expertise to create a valuable and sustainable new industry for the city. I’m excited to welcome Christine Kuo as our official WIN Motorsport Ambassador and I want to thank everyone at WIN Motorsport for their hard work so far. My gratitude to everyone who has played a role in our journey thus far and for their support as we head to Le Mans for our biggest challenge to date. We’re the only Hong Kong team (Greater China Team) amongst a prestigious and competitive international field. It is an honour to fly the flag for our city as WIN Motorsport and I race the Silk Road to Le Mans™!”
Christine Kuo: “I’m delighted to join WIN Motorsport. Motorsport is a passion of mine and this is an incredible opportunity to learn from a fantastic team of experienced professionals. William has created something truly exceptional for Hong Kong: a professional and highly-competitive racing team which will make us proud.”
Richard Bradley: “I’m thrilled to be part of the WIN Motorsport team and to be racing at Road to Le Mans with William. William and I work closely together and, having had the opportunity to race and work with him for the past couple of seasons, I’m impressed with his pace and his determination to succeed. Road to Le Mans is incredibly competitive, but I’m confident WIN Motorsport has the right tools to succeed. I can’t wait to again race on the famous Circuit de La Sarthe.”
