Scheduled for 1-3 November and with the nearby Vallelunga Circuit staging the on-track action, the international contest will see competitors from across the globe chase gold, silver and bronze medals in six distinctive racing categories. It draws inspiration from last year's FIA GT Nations Cup, which was successfully staged by the FIA and SRO Motorsports Group at the Bahrain International Circuit. The expanded programme will return later this year, with Ip and Lee set to pilot a Honda NSX GT3 in the re-named GT Cup category.
Best known as the founder and team principal of the accomplished KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) operation, Ip can also draw upon considerable experience behind the wheel of contemporary racing machinery. His recent exploits have included outings in select rounds of TCR Japan and the Super Taikyu, driving a Honda Civic Type R. He has enjoyed success in GT3 machinery as well, having been crowned Asian Le Mans Series GT Am champion in 2015-16.
His involvement with the 2019 FIA Motorsport Games extends beyond driving, as earlier this year KCMG was selected to build the new Formula 4 car that will be used for the F4 Cup category during November's event. Launched during July's Total 24 Hours of Spa, this groundbreaking new machine will be the first hybrid-powered single-seater outside Formula 1 and the first F4 car to feature a Halo safety device. Due to this commitment, KCMG has elected not to run the Hong Kong entry and will instead entrust Reno Racing to field its NSX GT3.
Ip's teammate for the FIA Motorsport Games will be the vastly experienced Lee, whose career has included spells in GT, single-seater and touring car categories. Among his major achievements Lee won the Formula BMW Asia title in 2004, took GTC class honours at the 1000km of Zhuhai in 2010, and was crowned Audi R8 LMS Cup champion in 2012.
The Hong Kong duo will form part of a grid of international line-ups representing their home nations at the FIA Motorsport Games, with the top-three drivers in the deciding 60-minute race awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.
This will be the case across six distinct classes, with the GT Cup running alongside the Touring Car Cup, Drifting Cup, F4 Cup, Karting Slalom Cup and Digital Cup. The results from each will produce an overall medal table, with the top National Sporting Authority (ASN) awarded the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games trophy during the closing ceremony in Rome.
Paul Ip: “It’s an honour for me to represent my home country at the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games at Vallelunga. KCMG will already have a strong presence there as the supplier of the KC MG-01 F4 cars, and we’re still very much looking forward to seeing them in action. Last year’s FIA GT Nations Cup event in Bahrain was fantastic, showing huge potential, and I believe this edition will be even better. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of a GT3 car and hopefully having some exciting races. Thank you to the Hong Kong Automobile Association and FIA for making this all possible.”
Marchy Lee: “I am very pleased and happy to be selected together with Paul as the representatives of Hong Kong in the GT Nations Cup. It’s great to bring the Hong Kong flag to the FIA Motorsport Games and try our best to achieve a good result. I am looking forward to sharing a car for the first time with my old friend Paul and I am sure we both will have a lot of great moments together at Vallelunga. Let’s push and hopefully come back with a trophy for Hong Kong.”
___