Chinese involvement in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a recent affair as the first driver from the country made his grand entrance in 2008. Cong Fu Cheng finished on the third step of the LM P2 podium at the wheel of a Pescarolo entered by Saulnier Racing – soon to become OAK Racing under the leadership of new owner Jacques Nicolet: “We contacted him because I was looking to build a link between Asia – and particularly China – and the team. He was both consistently fast and safe. He will always be the first Chinese driver to make the Le Mans podium. Entering the first Chinese driver at Le Mans generated quite a bit of media interest too. I’m convinced that the creation of the World Endurance Championship proves that I had the right idea.”

Nicolet was indeed a visionary. Since 2012, the creation of the WEC (which has included a Chinese round every year) and the resurrection of the Asian Le Mans Series have had a considerable effect on boosting the discipline’s audience and on encouraging other Asian nations to get involved. China continues to lead the charge after another chapter in the country’s short history in the discipline was written in 2013. Five years after Cong Fu Cheng’s third-placed finish, Hong Kong-based KCMG became the first Chinese team to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And just two years later, KCMG’s Oreca 05, with Nicolas Lapierre, Matt Howson and Richard Bradley sharing the wheel, took the LM P2 crown at the legendary French endurance race. “LM P2 was the best option for us,” team boss Paul Ip said. “In our opinion, prototypes are the essence of Le Mans endurance racing and that is where we wanted to be. We received massive support from the Chinese and Asian media and it’s been very motivating, especially during our Le Mans debut in 2013.”

Although KCMG switched to the LM GTE Am class for the 2016 WEC season, the team entered the LM P2 class at Le Mans to defend its title. With the various Asian Le Mans Series class winners receiving automatic invitations to the 24 Hours, the 2016 race welcomed teams from Taiwan (Team AAI), Singapore (Clearwater Racing), the Philippines (Eurasia Motorsport) and another Chinese outfit in the shape of Baxi DC Racing Alpine, the first team based in the territory of the People’s Republic of China to enter the World Endurance Championship, and who will also be competing in the 2016–17 Asian Le Mans Series.

Photo: With two wins in the 2015–16 Asian LMS season, Philippines-based Eurasia Motorsport made its Le Mans début last June, as well as competing in the 2016 European Le Mans Series season which has just concluded at Estoril (Portugal).