Lee glad to be back on track after brush with law
Marchy Lee Ying-kin has put last year's troubles behind him and is focusing on winning this season's Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series, which begins with the opening two rounds at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend.
Hong Kong's top single-seat pilot was banned from driving on the road for six months after being found guilty of refusing a breathalyser test last July.
Lee will be competing in his first race in more than a year and his first since his embarrassing brush with the law. He has since regained his road driver's licence (his competition licence was not affected) and is eager to return to competitive racing.
'Last year obviously wasn't my best, and it was tough not racing for a season. I'm so looking forward to getting back on the track again,' the 33-year-old Lee (pictured) said.
'I've put the past behind me and am focused on winning the Porsche series this season. I have the backing of Red Bull China for our campaign, so I'm really keen to bring the title home for them as well as for Hong Kong.
'The competition is really fierce this year, with several very experienced GT specialists, but I have 100 per cent confidence in my abilities. I'm relatively new to GT racing, but that doesn't necessarily count against me as I have raced just about everything during my career so far.'
Lee will be in a brand new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car and, having successfully tested it in Malaysia last month, he is ready to make an impact. The 2004 Formula BMW Asia champion last competed in the Porsche championship in 2007, when he won two rounds of the series at Zhuhai, but he is competing in a full season this time around.
'I've also been concentrating on my fitness with emphasis on endurance training, which is crucial in motorsport, so I'm really in very good physical shape. Mentally, I couldn't be more ready,' he said.
Fellow Hong Kong driver Darryl O'Young will also be competing in Shanghai this weekend, although he will not be taking part in the full season as it clashes with the FIA World Touring Car Championship, for which O'Young has signed up.
Hong Kong drivers Kenneth Lau and Michael Choi (Dyna Ten Motorsport), Morris Ku (Team Daycraft) and Jacky Yeung will all make their series debuts in Shanghai, while Macau's Rodolfo Avila, the youngest contender at just 23, will be racing for Team Jebsen and is among the title favourites after finishing fourth overall on his debut in the series last year.
