Lee aims for two championships
Hong Kong's Marchy Lee Yin-kin is aiming to win two regional championships, only six months after emerging from a self-imposed exile.
Lee's season begins in earnest this weekend in the opening rounds of the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series, support races to the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit.
Hong Kong's top single-seater racer plans to stamp his mark on Asia's premier sportscar series. If that is not ambitious enough, the 30-year-old also plans to contest the open-wheel Formula V6 by Renault series this year, the most senior regional series in the category.
'It would be a huge achievement to win two important championships in two different categories of racing in one season, but I'm up for it,' said Lee, who won the Formula BMW Asia championship in 2004, and raced in Formula Three during his career. 'I don't believe a Hong Kong driver has ever won two major series in one year, and I am determined to be the first.'
Lee knows that contesting both series will involve racing in up to four events on the Sunday of each round, but says he's physically prepared.
'I keep very fit and I've concentrated on endurance training. I know this will be crucial. I have prepared well and have faith in my capabilities.
'It would be extremely hard to do if you're not fit, because you could easily tire and lose concentration, something no driver can afford,' he said.
Although Lee has never contested a full Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season, he made his debut in a one-off race in Thailand in 2003, beating Hong Kong's Charles Kwan.
Since then, he has joined the series for occasional outings, although this weekend will mark his debut in the 997-based Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
Lee made a spectacular return to racing after a year in the wilderness when he made his debut in last October's Formula V6 Asia by Renault finale in Zhuhai, where he overcame technical glitches to put the car on the podium in the final round of the 2006 season.
He will race under the colours of Team Meritus - Asia's most successful outfit - in the 2007 Renault championship, which kicks off in May in Sepang. Joining Lee in the Carrera Cup Asia series are fellow Hong Kong drivers Alain Li, Philip Ma, Chip Connor and Siu Yuk-lung.
Last year's Asian Porsche championship was won by fellow Hong Kong driver Darryl O'Young, who is competing in Europe this year in the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup with Team Jebsen. O'Young is in Bahrain preparing for next weekend's opening rounds, also part of the Formula One weekend.
