| Marchy Lee | |
|---|---|
 Marchy Lee preparing to race in the Formula Asia V6 by Renault race | |
| Nationality |  Hong Kong |
| Born | (1976-09-02)2 September 1976 (age 48) British Hong Kong |
| Audi R8 LMS Cup career | |
| Debut season | 2012 |
| Current team | Audi Ultra |
| Car number | 1 |
| Starts | 12 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2012 |
| Previous series | |
| 2011 2010 | World Touring Car Championship Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |
| Championship titles | |
| 2012 2004 | Audi R8 LMS Cup Formula BMW Asia |
Marchy Lee Ying-Kin (Traditional Chinese: 李英健) is a racing driver from Hong Kong. Born in 1976 in Hong Kong, Marchy started his racing career at just 9 years old and has become one of the top racecar drivers in Hong Kong.
He is the first Formula 3 driver from Hong Kong and has competed in theMacau Grand Prix.
Marchy currently resides in Hong Kong with his wife and two daughters.
Marchy was born on 2 September 1976 in Hong Kong. Marchy's father was also a racing driver and he has been karting at a young age. When theZhuhai International Circuit was built in 1996, he enrolled in the inaugural China Formula Campus Championship. Upon winning the championship, he received a scholarship to join theLa Filière racing school inLe Mans, France to continue his development.
He spent 3 years in France, progressing fromFormula Campus to FrenchFormula 3, achieving respectable results.
But his funding ran out and he returned to Asia afterwards[citation needed], competing in some Asian and Australian F3 races. He won 2 Asian Formula 3 races atSepang and finished 7th in the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix.[1]
In August 2003, driving a Dallara F301 Renault, he took pole position in the Australian Formula 3 race atPhillip Island in treacherous conditions.[2]
Later that year he won twoFormula BMW Asia races in Beijing and finished 2nd to Hideaki Nakao in theFormula Renault race in Macau.[3] He also took part in thePorsche Carrera Cup Asia race and finished fifth, despite a problem with the gas pedal, behindAlex Yoong,Charles Kwan,Matthew Marsh andNigel Albon.[4]
In 2004, Marchy teamed up with the top Asian racing outfit,Team Meritus, to race in the Formula BMW Asia series. He won 12 races out of 14, making him the first Chinese formula racing champion in an international series. Lee received an extra prize in recognition of his extraordinary achievements – a three-day test with theTeam RosbergFormula 3 outfit.[5]
After winning the 2004 Formula BMW Asia title, Marchy also had the chance to test an F1 car with theMinardi team atMugello, but his run ended up being called off due to a logistics problem.[6][7]
Marchy failed to get any sponsorship deals in 2005 and 2006 to support a full season's racing. But a last-minute deal allowed him to reunite with Team Meritus in theFormula Asia V6 by Renault race atZhuhai. He finished a strong second in the final round of the season toMatt Halliday and set the fastest race lap in the process, rekindling his hopes of racing professionally again in 2007 and beyond.[8]
Marchy raced in the Asian Super Car Challenge in Zhuhai on 24–25 March, claiming one win and one second place in the Ferrari 430. He then drove in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia inSepang where he finished second twice.
Marchy was confirmed as Meritus Racing's driver for the 2007 Formula Asia V6 by Renault series. He hoped that by achieving success in the series, he would be able to progress to theChamp Car World Series in 2008.[9]
On 13 July 2007, Marchy was announced as the driver for a new team set up by Adrian Fu to compete in the remainder of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series under the banner "Racing for Charity", to help increase the profile and visibility of the Child's Dream Foundation.[10]
On 1 August 2007, it was announced byA1 Team China that he would join the rookie test at the end of August atSilverstone, alongside three other drivers. The best performer from this test would joinCheng Congfu as China's two A1GP representatives.
On 20 September 2007, he was officially announced as the second driver forA1 Team China. He made his debut for the team in round 2 in the Czech Republic on 12 October 2007. He gathered data for the team in the rookie sessions. Cheng Congfu went on to score 10th and 4th-place finishes.
On 4 November 2007, Marchy took part in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia atZhuhai International Circuit and won both rounds 11[11] and 12.[12]
On 18 November 2007, he also took part in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia race in Macau, and finished fourth on the road (later promoted to third place after on the road winnerDanny Watts was given a 30-second penalty for passing under a yellow flag.)
Marchy Lee became the first Chinese driver to race in the inauguralSpeedcar Series. He drove car no. 50.[13] He failed to finish his first two races in Malaysia, as well as his first race in Bahrain, but took 4th place in race 2. He then finished 5th and 3rd in the two races in Dubai.
He is also competing in thePorsche Carrera Cup Asia. Racing for Team BetterLife, he finished 2nd and 4th in the opening rounds at Sepang. Then he took 2nd and 5th in round 2 at Shanghai.
In 2010, Marchy raced in thePorsche Carrera Cup Asia for Red Bull Racing (team is run by Dynaten Motorsports). He scored two wins atZhuhai in June. At the last round in Zhuhai, the Hong Kong racer, who began as the only other championship contender, fought hard every inch of the way battling first Simonsen and thenChristian Menzel, but he could not do enough to stay in the running and became championship runner-up for 2010.[14]
On 7 November 2011, Marchy partneredMatthew Marsh andAlex Yoong to drive anAudi R8 LMS for KK Performance (Again, team is run by Dynaten Motorsport) in the2010 1000 km of Zhuhai race, part of theIntercontinental Le Mans Cup. Starting eleventh on the grid, the Audi R8 LMS No. 98 was at the heart of the race, before inheriting the lead of GTC after the retirement of the sister car of United Autosport. Lee, Yoong and Marsh took the chequered flag in 12th position overall.[15]
Two weeks later, on 21 November 2010, Marchy drove the same Audi R8 LMS race car to second place in the Macau GT Cup, beaten only by defending championKeita Sawa'sLamborghini LP560 GT3.[16]
On 10 March 2011, Marchy Lee announced that he would join the2011 World Touring Car Championship with KK Motorsports.[17] But he left the championship after just 3 rounds.
On 11 November 2012, Marchy Lee became the first ever Audi R8 LMS Cup Champion after crossing the line second in the twelfth and final round at theShanghai International Circuit.[18]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | DeTeam KK Motorsport | BMW 320 TC | BRA 1 16 | BRA 2 16 | BEL 1 Ret | BEL 2 DNS | ITA 1 20 | ITA 2 14 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | CZE 1 | CZE 2 | POR 1 | POR 2 | GBR 1 | GBR 2 | GER 1 | GER 2 | ESP 1 | ESP 2 | JPN 1 | JPN 2 | CHN 1 | CHN 2 | MAC 1 | MAC 2 | NC | 0 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Formula BMW Asia Champion 2004 | Succeeded by Salman Al Khalifa |
| Preceded by None | Audi R8 LMS Cup Champion 2012 | Succeeded by |