How PlayStation helped Adderly Fong ‘conquer’ Road America
Hong Kong driver’s long hours spent playing and studying famous tracks on his PlayStation pays off as he captures a round at the Pirelli World Challenge GT Sprint race in the US
Adderly Fong Cheun-yue’s long hours as a teenager playing in front of his PlayStation paid off when he became the first Chinese driver to capture a round at the Pirelli World Challenge GT Sprint race at the famed Road America circuit in Wisconsin.
The 27-year-old former Lotus F1 development driver had few opportunities to race on US tracks as a teenager growing up in Canada but the Hong Kong star became familiar with the track by playing videos on his PlayStation. And he made it a special win in his first PWC GT race at the famous four-mile road circuit near Elkhart Lake on Saturday.
Driving the No 88 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 sports car, Fong defeated Californian Patrick Long in the No 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R by .0685 seconds in the 24-lap contest.
Watch: Adderly Fong wins round 4 of the Pirelli World Challenge GT Sprint
“Before I became a professional racer, I rarely had a chance to race overseas, especially on the tracks in the US. As a teenager, I used to practise on my PlayStation to try to understand all the different and famous tracks, understand its environment and its turns and corners. I also played on the Road America circuit and it helped me understand how many turns I needed and where I should push or slow down. It probably gave me a head start,” said Fong, who believes video gamers will become future drivers.
