Weiron Tan

Weiron Tan (, born 3 December 1994) is a Malaysian racing driver who last competed in the GT World Challenge Asia for Audi Sport Team Absolute. He previously competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jackie Chan DC Racing, where he, along with Jazeman Jaafar and Nabil Jeffri, became the first and only driver from Malaysia to win an FIA-sanctioned race at the international level.

Career

Karting

Tan was first introduced to go-karts at the age of 13, and by the age of 15 he was the first Malaysian champion in the PLUS Yamaha SL Cup Championship and the same year saw him emerge as vice champion in the Asian Karting Open Championship. In 2011, Tan made his racing debut in Europe, competing in the WSK Series under the Works Kosmic Racing Kart Team. Tan was also the only Malaysian among 6 other young international drivers chosen in the AirAsia Team Lotus Driver Development Program in 2011, later known as the Caterham F1 Academy.

Lotus GT4 Supercup Asia

In 2011, Tan took part in the Lotus GT4 Supercup Asia Series as the youngest contender. He went on to win the championship, taking the most wins, podium finishes and pole positions.

JK Racing Asia Series

In 2012, Tan competed part-time in the single-seater championship JK Racing Asia Series.

Formula Gulf 1000

Later in 2012, Tan took part in selected rounds of Formula Gulf 1000 as well, the series in which he scored his first Formula race victory in Abu Dhabi. He followed that up with a double race win at the next meet and a fourth win at the season finale in Dubai, taking four victories from a possible six.

Formula Renault 2.0

In April 2013, Tan embarked in the UK-based Protyre Formula Renault 2.0 Championship with Fortec Motorsport. He made a huge impact, scoring five race wins and nine podium finishes to secure runner-up in the championship.

German Formula 3

2014 saw Weiron move up to the ATS Formel 3 Cup with Van Amersfoort Racing. The start of the season proved challenging as he acclimatised to the new series and car, but he rounded out the year with a string of strong results, including five podium finishes and two race wins towards the end of the season finishing fifth overall.

Pro Mazda Championship

Ahead of the 2015 season, Tan made the move to the United States to compete in the Pro Mazda Championship with Andretti Autosport, a series which forms a major step in the Road to Indy programme. Ahead of the start of the season, he competed in the five-race Winterfest, a key learning opportunity for him to compete in the cars. He immediately impressed, scoring two dominant race wins and three second places on his way to taking vice-champion honours. In the main series he had a successful rookie year, finishing fourth in the overall standings, scoring four victories and six podium finishes along the way. Weiron became the first ever Malaysian in history to win in the United States and on an oval race. He continues with the series in 2016, joining championship winning outfit Team Pelfrey, but only competed in the first two rounds.

China GT Championship

In 2017, Tan made a full-time switch to sportscar racing, debuting in the China GT Championship with Absolute Racing competing in a Bentley GT3.

FIA World Endurance Championship

2018 saw Tan compete in the final two rounds of the 2017-18 Asian Le Mans Series with Jackie Chan DC Racing. With backing from Sepang International Circuit, Tan competed alongside fellow Malaysians Jazeman Jaafar and Afiq Ikhwan. The trio successfully won on their debut at Round 3 at Buriram in the LMP2 category. The result later sparked interest in the team to enter the drivers in the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship. Tan and his teammates Jazeman Jaafar and Nabil Jeffri made a very impressive debut season finishing fourth overall having only competed five of the eight rounds in the season due to the unfortunate event of Sepang International Circuit pulling out from the championship. The trio finished fourth in class at their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, later on a second-place finish at Silverstone before securing their first victory at Fuji making history as the first ever all-Asian lineup to win on the world championship.

Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia

After a successful 2018 season, Weiron was picked up by Audi Sport Asia as an official driver to compete in the GT World Challenge Asia Series with Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute. Alongside teammate Martin Rump, they racked up four podium finishes and two wins during the season, finishing sixth overall.

Racing record

Career summary

† As Tan was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete German Formula Three Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Pro Mazda Championship

''NOTE: The first Indianapolis Motor Speedway race was scored as the second NOLA Motorsports Park race because of weather.''

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Weiron
1994 births
Living people
Malaysian people of Hokkien descent
Racing drivers from Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian racing drivers
German Formula Three Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers
Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
Carlin racing drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
FIA Motorsport Games drivers
Aston Martin Racing drivers
EuroInternational drivers
Van Amersfoort Racing drivers
Andretti Autosport drivers
Team Pelfrey drivers
Fortec Motorsport drivers
Formula Renault BARC drivers
Jota Sport drivers
Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers