Northern Ireland’s Jack Young lands Factory supported Honda Drive in TCR China
| Jack Young will make the move from development driver to factory-supported racer in 2023, driving for the Dongfeng Honda Racing Team (DHRT) in the TCR China Touring Car Championship.
TCR China promises to be one of the most competitive touring car series in the world this year, with 32 cars entered for the opening round at the Shanghai International Circuit. Jack will be one of two drivers for the team which won the 2019 title, as the Japanese manufacturer returns to the series for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. Jack now follows in the footsteps of several international stars who’ve competed in the region, such as Jean-Karl Vernay, Rob Huff, and Colin Turkington. Jack’s team-mate will be experienced Chinese racing driver Martin Xie Xin Zhe, while his race engineer will be David Scott, who’s engineered Jack during his successful two years as part of the JAS Motorsport Driver Development Programme in 2021-2022. The team will field the older Civic Type R FK7 TCR for the season opener while it awaits the arrival of the brand-new third generation Civic Type R FL5 TCR (pictured below) with which Jack will complete the remainder of the season. The 2023 TCR China championship consists of six events, starting this weekend at Shanghai, and ending at the epic Guia circuit in the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macau. 2023 TCR China Touring Car Championship calendar Rounds 1-2: May 12-14 – Shanghai International Circuit Rounds 3-4: Jun 23-25 – Zhejiang International Circuit Rounds 5-6: Jul 14-16 – Zhuzhou International Circuit Rounds 7-8: Sept 8-10 – Shanghai International Circuit Rounds 9-10: Oct 20-22 – Chengdu or Zhuhai Rounds 11-12: Nov 17-19 – Macau Guia Circuit |
Jack Young said:
“I’m really excited about this opportunity to be racing in TCR China. After two years in TCR Europe, it was time to make the next big step, and when this opportunity came up it was definitely the one to take. With the world opening up again, to end up as a factory-supported driver with Dongfeng Honda is a dream come true. These last two years working with JAS Motorsport, the builders of the Honda Civic Type R TCR, has been an absolutely incredible experience, and I’m glad that all the hard work has paid off and we’re now able to go and fight in one of the toughest touring car series on the planet, even if it’s a little bit off most European fans’ radar. It’s not going to be easy though. There are a number of very strong factory programmes in the championship as well, and of course almost all the drivers know the circuits way better than I do, so I’ll have to work hard to make up the difference, but it’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to.”
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