David Cheng

David Cheng (born July 21, 1989) is an American sports car racing driver. He currently drives the No. 37 LMP2 Oreca 07 for Jackie Chan DC Racing in the Asian Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship.

David Cheng
NationalityAmerican
Born (1989-07-21) July 21, 1989
Beijing, China
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season2016
Current teamJackie Chan DC Racing
Car number37
Starts12
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums1
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish9th in 2016
Finished last season9th
Championship titles
2015
2013–2014
Asian Le Mans Series LMP3
Asian Le Mans Series LMP2
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2014–present
TeamsOAK Racing, Pegasus Racing, Jackie Chan DC Racing
Best finish3rd (2017)
Class wins0
Statistics current as of June 18, 2017.

Racing career

Born in Beijing, Cheng moved to the United States and was introduced to kart racing by a friend of his father; he had to do so in secret as his mother believed auto racing was too dangerous.[1] In 2011, he moved up to sports cars, racing in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the 24 Hours of Daytona.[2] In the race, Cheng's team competed in the GT class, but the car suffered major damage before Cheng could drive; the team was able to overcome the damage to finish 21st. During the year, he also raced in China's Scirocco R Cup China, finishing seventh in points with a best finish of second at Sepang International Circuit's Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race.[3] A year later, he split time between the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and Scirocco R Cup.[2] In 2013, Cheng joined OAK Racing in the Asian Le Mans Series, driving for an all-Chinese stable alongside Ho-Pin Tung.[4] At Sepang, he won the Sepang 12 Hours and was named one of ten Outstanding Youth by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. He also ran the ALMS' 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans races, winning the former and claiming the Drivers' Championship for his co-driver in the latter by one point.[1] Cheng and OAK ended the year by winning the LMP2 Asian Le Mans Team and Driver Championships.[4] Cheng repeated the feat a season later.[5]

For the 2015–16 Asian Le Mans Series season, Cheng formed DC Racing, racing a Ligier JS P3 with former OAK teammate Tung[5] and Thomas Laurent. The team ended the season with the Team Championship and a guaranteed spot in the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.[6]

In March 2015, Cheng met actor and martial artist Jackie Chan, who discussed his enjoyment of Steve McQueen's movie Le Mans as well as his interest in racing. After Cheng finished ninth in the LMP2 class at Le Mans that year, Chan raised the possibility of owning a team together for 2016, to which Cheng agreed.[7] Together, the two entered DC Racing into the FIA World Endurance Championship under the Baxi DC Racing Alpine banner, partnering with Signatech Alpine and fielding Alpine A460s in the LMP2 class.[8] In October, the team was rebranded as Jackie Chan DC Racing.[9]

In 2017, Jackie Chan DC Racing allied with Jota Sport. At Le Mans, the team's No. 38 LMP2 took advantage of problems striking the LMP1 field to lead overall laps, becoming the first lower-class team to do so at Le Mans.[10] The car went on to finish second overall and win the LMP2 class, while DC's No. 37 car, driven by Cheng, finished fourth overall,[11] but Rebellion Racing's No. 13 was disqualified after failing post-race inspection and Cheng's No. 37 was promoted onto the podium.[12] The No. 38's effort marked the first time a Chinese team won its class at Le Mans.[10]

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2014 France OAK Racing China Ho-Pin Tung
China Adderly Fong
Ligier JS P2-Honda LMP2 347 12th 7th
2015 Germany Pegasus Racing China Ho-Pin Tung
France Léo Roussel
Morgan LMP2-Nissan LMP2 334 19th 9th
2016 China Baxi DC Racing Alpine China Ho-Pin Tung
France Nelson Panciatici
Alpine A460-Nissan LMP2 234 DNF DNF
2017 China Jackie Chan DC Racing France Tristan Gommendy
United Kingdom Alex Brundle
Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 363 3rd 2nd
2018 China Jackie Chan DC Racing United States Nicholas Boulle
France Jacques Nicolet
Ligier JS P217-Gibson LMP2 355 12th 8th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2013 OAK Racing LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ SHA
6
BHR
5
20th 18
2014 OAK Racing LMP2 Ligier JS P2 Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 SIL SPA LMS
7
COA FUJ NC 0
Morgan LMP2 Judd HK 3.6 L V8 SHA
6
BHR
3
SÃO
2015 Pegasus Racing LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS
9
NÜR COA FUJ SHA
5
BHR NC 0
2016 Baxi DC Racing Alpine LMP2 Alpine A460 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
7
SPA
Ret
LMS
Ret
NÜR
7
MEX
5
COA
8
FUJ
9
SHA
8
BHR
6
9th 42
2017 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL
8
SPA
10
LMS
2
NÜR
5
MEX
6
COA
5
FUJ
Ret
SHA
8
BHR
8
11th 77
2018–19 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA LMS
8
SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS NC* 0*

As Cheng was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points
2015 RG Racing P Riley Mk XXVI DP Dinan (BMW) 5.0 L V8 DAY
6
SIR
LBH
LGA
DET
WGL
MSP
ELK
COA
PET
27th 26

References

  1. "DAVID CHENG IN 2013". Asian Le Mans Series. October 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  2. Mitani, Sam (February 29, 2012). "China: The Next Big Stage for Auto Racing?". Road & Track. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  3. "All Eyes on David Cheng". MotoIQ. January 23, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  4. "DAVID CHENG IN 2014". Asian Le Mans Series. December 19, 2013. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  5. Dagys, John (August 20, 2015). "DC Racing Launched; Confirms Ligier JS P3 Effort in Asian LMS". SportsCar365. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  6. "Ho-Pin Tung champion Asian Le Mans Series in penultimate race". Motorsport.com. January 11, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  7. Barre, Geoffroy (February 25, 2016). "David Cheng tells us how he joined forces with Jackie Chan". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  8. Dagys, John (February 5, 2016). "DC Racing Enters WEC with Alpine-Nissan LMP2 Effort". SportsCar365. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  9. "Jackie Chan DC Racing announces new partners and new additions to all star driver line up". Motorsport.com. October 27, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  10. Smith, Luke (June 18, 2016). "DC Racing Takes Historic LMP2 Win, Overall Podium". SportsCar365. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  11. "Jackie Chan cheered us on to a historic Le Mans result – Cheng". Crash.net. June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  12. "Jackie Chan goes 2-3 at Le Mans after DQ". GMA Network. June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
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