Chance in a lifetime for Kwan
A TRIP to Malaysia to attend a Porsche driving course has led to Hongkong motor racing enthusiast Charles Kwan receiving the biggest opportunity of his competitive driving career.
He will drive a 911 Carrera works car in a leg of the $5.12 million Porsche Supercup Series at Hockenheim on July 25. The race will serve as the curtain-raiser to the Formula One German Grand Prix.
Kwan's chance came after he impressed instructor Manfred Jantke during the Malaysian course.
Kwan, 29, who has been racing competitively for nine years in a variety of sedan machines, will be behind the wheel of one of two VIP cars prepared by the works team which are driven by either racing professionals, famous personalities or journalists at each event on the circuit.
Kwan has no illusions as to the difficulty of the task facing him. ''The drivers are professionals with years of experience with the Carrera RS. Although I have been driving Porsches for many years, I have not driven a RS for some time so I hope to get to know the car well enough to keep up with the pace of the others. A place in the top 10 would be fantastic for me.'' Kwan is being backed by Hongkong distributor, Jebsen Motor Group.
''I am delighted for Charles, he is an excellent driver and fully deserves the recognition,'' said Jebsen general manager, Chris Thomas yesterday.
''As far as I know, this is the first time a Hongkong driver has been selected to race in such a prestigious European race,'' he added.
Kwan, who has also tried his hand at rallying, has raced and won on every major track in the region including Thailand, Malaysia, Macau and southern China's street circuit at Zhuhai earlier in the year.
