Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Dutch-born racing driver who races with a Chinese license.
Career
Tung was born in
Velp,
Gelderland
Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, to Chinese parents with ancestry tracing to
Wenzhou
Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...
,
Zhejiang Province
)
, translit_lang1_type2 =
, translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese)
, image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg
, image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains
, image_map = Zhejiang i ...
. Tung started
kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...
in the Netherlands in 1997 before graduating to single-seaters. In 2001 he raced in the Dutch Formula Ford championship with
Van Amersfoort Racing. After winning the 2003
Formula BMW Asia series, he was rewarded with a test drive with the
Williams F1
Williams Racing, legally known as Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited and competing as Atlassian Williams Racing, is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams (1942–2021) ...
team.
In 2004, he joined the
ATS Formel 3 Cup. Although he scored race wins and podium finishes, he finished 7th in his rookie year.
Tung stayed in the ATS F3 Cup in 2005, finishing the series in third place, before taking the title in 2006, winning 9 races, 4 pole positions and 5 fastest laps.
At the
2007 Chinese Grand Prix, he was announced as a test driver for the
BMW Sauber F1 Team the rest of the year.

On 4 April 2007,
BCN Competición announced that it had signed Tung as its second driver alongside Japanese driver
Sakon Yamamoto for the
2007 GP2 Series.
Tung drove for
Trident Racing team in the 2008
GP2 Asia Series and GP2 Series, scoring his first podium finish in the latter.
In 2009, he raced in the
Superleague Formula
Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
series. He raced in the first three rounds for
Galatasaray S.K. and the latter three rounds for
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
. He had his first win in the series at the
Jarama round for Galatasaray.
In December 2009, Tung tested for the
Renault F1 Team. In January he was announced as the team's third driver. As part of the deal, he returned to the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...
with the
DAMS
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
team for the
2010 season.
On 23 June 2010, the
FIA granted Tung a four-race probationary
super license, allowing him to compete in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
.
At the
Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...
round of the GP2 season, Tung sustained a minor fracture of one of his
lumbar vertebrae
The lumbar vertebrae are located between the thoracic vertebrae and pelvis. They form the lower part of the back in humans, and the tail end of the back in quadrupeds. In humans, there are five lumbar vertebrae. The term is used to describe t ...
as a result of a first-lap collision with
Jules Bianchi, who spun in front of him and suffered a more serious break of the same bone. Tung was replaced by
Romain Grosjean while he recovered. However, Grosjean kept the seat for the remainder of the season, leaving Tung without a drive until he was called up to replace
Christian Vietoris at
Racing Engineering for the final round, Vietoris suffering from
appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
.
IndyCar
On 22 November 2010, Tung made sporting history as he officially became the first Chinese licensed driver to take the wheel of an IndyCar by testing with the
FAZZT Race Team
FAZZT Race Team was an auto racing team started by Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, race car driver Alex Tagliani, and former Kelley Racing co-owner Jim Freudenberg (thus Freudenberg, Azzi, Tagliani).
Team history
The team's history can be tr ...
at
Sebring International Raceway
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the Southeastern United States, southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida.
Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S ...
.
INDYCAR: FAZZT Eyes Two Cars For 2011
Speedtv.com Media Release November 22, 2010 Indianapolis, IN
Tung attempted to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500
The 95th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the 2011 IndyCar Series season, 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The track opened for practice on May 14 and ...
with Dragon Racing, but was unsuccessful due to a crash on Pole Day that resulted in a mild concussion. He made his IndyCar debut later that season in August at Infineon Raceway driving for the same team.
Sportscars
In 2016, Tung joined Baxi DC Racing to partner team owner David Cheng and French driver Nelson Panciatici (replaced mid-year by Paul-Loup Chatin) in the team's Alpine A460 entry for the LMP2
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...
class of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. The team took a string of minor points placings during the year, and Tung finished the season in 13th position in the drivers' championship standings.
Tung remained with DC, now renamed Jackie Chan DC Racing, for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. At the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, Tung became the first driver in the event's history to lead the race in an LMP2 car, after all the top class LMP1 entries either retired or faded away in the race. Ultimately, his Oreca 07 car finished second overall, and first in the LMP2 class, after it was overtaken by the number 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid car. The Jackie Chan DC crew were also the first Chinese-entered car to win a class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During the remainder of the season, Tung and his co-drivers Oliver Jarvis and Thomas Laurent took further class wins at Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
and the Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
, and two other podium finishes, and finished the season in second place in the LMP2 championship.
Tung remained with Jackie Chan DC Racing for a third season in 2018, to contest the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship 'superseason'.
Racing record
Racing career summary
‡ Team standings.
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
( key)
Complete GP2 Series results
( key)
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
( key)
Superleague Formula
(Races in bold indicate pole position)
American Open-Wheel racing results
( key)
IndyCar
Indianapolis 500
Complete GT1 World Championship results
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
Complete Formula E results
( key)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tung, Ho-Pin
1982 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Rheden
Racing drivers from Gelderland
Dutch people of Chinese descent
Chinese racing drivers
Dutch racing drivers
A1 Team China drivers
Formula BMW Asia drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
German Formula Three Championship drivers
GP2 Asia Series drivers
GP2 Series drivers
Superleague Formula drivers
IndyCar Series drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
FIA GT1 World Championship drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
International GT Open drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
Formula E drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Trident Racing drivers
DAMS drivers
Racing Engineering drivers
Dragon Racing drivers
KCMG drivers
OAK Racing drivers
NIO 333 FE Team drivers
A1 Grand Prix drivers
Campos Racing drivers
Team Meritus drivers
De Villota Motorsport drivers
Alan Docking Racing drivers
Jota Sport drivers
Van Amersfoort Racing drivers
Hitech Grand Prix drivers
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers