Hong Kong driver Jonathan Hui victorious upon return as Sky Tempesta Racing edge 1000km endurance in France

Hui, Chris Froggatt and Eddie Cheever III come back from penalties and pit stops to pip opponents in final minutes

‘You couldn’t have written a better script for how everything unfolded,’ says Hui as team set sights on Belgium

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Hong Kong racer Jonathan Hui celebrates as Sky Tempesta Racing teammate Eddie Cheever III takes first place at the Circuit Paul Ricard 100km pro-am six-hour endurance in Le Castellet, France. Photo: FotoSpeedy

Published: 3:24pm, 2 Jun 2021Updated: 4:04pm, 2 Jun 2021

Hong Kong driver Jonathan Hui showed no signs of track rust as his Sky Tempesta Racing team edged to victory in the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km pro-am six-hour endurance in Le Castellet, France, on Tuesday.

Despite being out of action for half a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and only flying out last week, the 42-year-old Hui set the fastest lap time in the bronze test, before helping teammates Chris Froggatt and Eddie Cheever III qualify second and ultimately seal the race’s top spot.

“I don’t think you could have written a better script for how everything unfolded,” said Hui, who made history last October as the first Hongkonger to podium in the Total 24 Hours of Spa’s 96-year history.

The win did not come easy. Their Ferrari 488 GT3 was slapped with a drive-through penalty early in the race before wasting 20 valuable seconds having overshot the pit stop box, pushing them down a position despite Hong Kong-born Hui originally extending their lead.

Sky Tempesta Racing teammates Chris Froggatt, Jonathan Hui and Eddie Cheever III finish on top of the podium in Le Castellet, France. Photo: FotoSpeedy

The trio were left with a tough four-hour comeback but Cheever III – son of former Formula 1 driver Eddie Cheever – managed to grab first place in the closing minutes.