David Cheng

David Fei Cheng (, born 21 July 1989) is a Chinese-American sports car racing driver who last competed in the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy. He previously competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jackie Chan DC Racing, and finished on the overall and class podium at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, becoming the first Chinese driver to do so. He is a three-time champion of the Asian Le Mans Series, having won the championship twice in the LMP2 class in 2013 and 2014, and in the LMP3 class in 2016.

Racing career Born in Beijing, Cheng moved to Seattle in the United States at the age of six and was introduced to kart racing by a friend of his father; he had to do so in secret as his mother believed auto racing was too dangerous. In 2011, he moved up to sports cars, racing in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the 24 Hours of Daytona. A year later, he split time between the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and Scirocco R Cup.

In 2013, Cheng joined OAK Racing in the Asian Le Mans Series, driving for an all-Chinese stable alongside Ho-Pin Tung. Cheng repeated the feat a season later. and Thomas Laurent. The team ended the season with the Team Championship and a guaranteed spot in the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In March 2015, Cheng met actor and martial artist Jackie Chan, who discussed his enjoyment of Steve McQueen's movie Le Mans as well as his interest in racing. After Cheng finished ninth in the LMP2 class at Le Mans that year, Chan raised the possibility of owning a team together for 2016, to which Cheng agreed. Together, the two entered DC Racing into the FIA World Endurance Championship under the Baxi DC Racing Alpine banner, partnering with Signatech Alpine and fielding Alpine A460s in the LMP2 class. In October, the team was rebranded as Jackie Chan DC Racing.

In 2017, Jackie Chan DC Racing allied with Jota Sport. At Le Mans, the team's No. 38 LMP2 took advantage of problems striking the LMP1 field to lead overall laps, becoming the first lower-class team to do so at Le Mans. but Rebellion Racing's No. 13 was disqualified after failing post-race inspection and Cheng's No. 37 was promoted onto the podium. The No. 38's effort marked the first time a Chinese team won its class at Le Mans.

Racing record Racing career summary

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2014 OAK Racing Ho-Pin Tung Adderly Fong Ligier JS P2-Honda LMP2 347 12th 7th 2015 Pegasus Racing Ho-Pin Tung Léo Roussel Morgan LMP2-Nissan LMP2 334 19th 9th 2016 Baxi DC Racing Alpine Ho-Pin Tung Nelson Panciatici Alpine A460-Nissan LMP2 234 DNF DNF 2017 Jackie Chan DC Racing Tristan Gommendy Alex Brundle Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 363 3rd 2nd 2018 Jackie Chan DC Racing Nick Boulle Pierre Nicolet Ligier JS P217-Gibson LMP2 355 12th 8th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) † As Cheng was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. Season still in progress.

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points 2015 RG Racing P Riley Mk XXVI DP Dinan (BMW) 5.0 L V8 DAY SIR LBH LGA DET WGL MSP ELK COA PET 27th 26