Co-Founder David Cheng Says Team Will Compete in Prototype Class to Be Determined
By Mark Robinson
SEBRING, Fla. – David Cheng called it a homecoming, so what better place to announce that Jackie Chan DC Racing will be joining the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship than the site of his biggest IMSA win?
Cheng, co-founder of the team along with its famous film star namesake, made the announcement last weekend during Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts activities. It was at Sebring International Raceway in 2013 where Cheng was part of the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports group that won the Prototype Challenge (PC) class at the famous 12-hour race.
Jackie Chan DC Racing was founded in 2015 and achieved extensive success in the Asian Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship, most notably a 1-2 finish in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and 2-3 overall finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017. Cheng co-drove the car that placed second in class, third overall. The team stopped competing in 2020 during the global pandemic.
Now relocated back to the Pacific Northwest where he grew up following his birth in Beijing, Cheng announced the team’s plan to join WeatherTech Championship competition in 2023, in a prototype class to be determined. The 32-year-old pointed to the growing excitement for the North American series in general and the Grand Touring Prototype (GTD) class that debuts next year in particular as a key reason for the move.
“Everyone has always known us racing in prototypes,” Cheng said. “We’ve had amazing successes in the LMP2 and 3 classes. Of course, that is our wheelhouse. We have a lot of technical expertise in that area and I would say, as far as putting a program together, that is where we aim to be.
“Now that there is a lot of built-up excitement around the new GTP class and the hybrid car categories, and I’ve stated before, the top class of motor racing is always where I want to be. And if there’s great opportunities for that, of course, we will take that.”
The team in in the final stages of selecting their location for a new base in the Western half of the U.S. Cheng is looking to find a location that will provide a strong base of operations as well as enhanced customer experience, while also focused on being in the same region as he has moved back to the Seattle area. As part of that move, he has also secured an alignment with the Circuit of the Northwest, a motorsports facility 20 miles from downtown Seattle.
“For me, this is a bit of a personal choice as well, where I’ve moved back to America and I just settled down back in Seattle,” he said. “I started my career driving in this series. … Having been a driver here, I know there’s an amazing depth of competition in IMSA. And like I said, having a homecoming back in America in this series, there’s nothing I would like more.”
And while Cheng won’t rule out getting behind the wheel of a race car again, he emphasized that his priority is putting the team on solid footing first.
“Being a team owner and a driver and putting on the two halves together (simultaneously) is a tall task, and it’s something that can distract,” he said. “Right now, my focus is on bringing the team back and building the infrastructure. And like I said, bring the family back together. Once we’re here, you know, the sky’s the limits, let’s say.”