Making History at Le Mans with Porsche: Hubauto Racing’S Morris Chen Interview

Making history at Le Mans with Porsche: HubAuto Racing’s Morris Chen interview One of Porsche’s many legacies in motorsport is its unwavering success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Over the years, the German marque has secured the most victories, podiums and pole positions of any manufacturer, and claimed many other accolades including the longest winning streak. In 2021, Porsche will make Le Mans history yet again. Taipei-based HubAuto Racing will become the frst Asian team to compete in the LMGTE Pro class when the famous tricolore drops on Saturday afernoon to mark the start of the 89th running of the legendary event. The Pro category has generally been reserved for factory outfts, such as the Porsche GT Team operated by Manthey Racing, with customer teams traditionally competing in LMGTE Am. But this bucking of the trend signals a statement of intent to compete with the best of the best. Founder and Team Principal Morris Chen said he is “immensely proud” of the eforts his team has put in. “What started as a dream has now become a reality,” he added. “We are looking forward to a very competitive race and strong results. We also need to bear in mind our history with Porsche. This strong relationship ensures we are very confdent of taking on the challenges of Le Mans in the Porsche 911 RSR. How remarkable would it be to achieve a podium result and create Porsche Motorsport history for the Asian region?” A racer himself, Morris knows what it takes to be successful. His time with Porsche stretches back to 2017 where he occupied a seat in one of the two Porsche 911 GT3 R HubAuto Racing entered in China GT. The second, driven by Porsche Carrera Cup Asia regulars Bao Jinlong and Martin Ragginger, scored multiple podiums. That year, the two cars made a wildcard appearance in Shanghai for Blancpain GT Series Asia in addition to its full-season GT4 entry with Singapore racer Ringo Chong, who won at the Zhejiang fnale. This weekend is far from the outft’s frst on the world stage, as it felded Porsche works driver Romain Dumas at the 2017 FIA GT World Cup in Macau, alongside Japanese racer Hiroki Yoshimoto with both fnishing inside the top 10. In partnership with Proton Competition, HubAuto Racing also made its frst Le Mans appearance in 2019, fnishing sixth with Vincent Abril and father/son combination Louis and Philippe Prette. “It has always been our vision to grow our team and become one of the greatest GT sports teams in the world and undoubtedly in Asia. “We know racing against the factory teams will be tough but to be the greatest you must frst have the dream. Our sponsors are part of that dream - they believe in our vision and see our capabilities. They were ready to provide further support, enabling us to step up and to realise another step towards our goals.” Morris added that his prior relationship with Porsche was a factor in opting to work with the manufacturer for another Le Mans efort. “Having spoken with a number of manufacturers at the end of 2020, we had certain criteria that needed to be met for 2021. We were impressed with Porsche. They displayed professionalism, integrity and were willing to support and work with our team. Making the decision was very easy – we were happy with what Porsche could provide and importantly we felt very comfortable racing with Porsche again. “We also have a very strong relationship with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacifc and have received a great deal of support from PMAP throughout our Le Mans journey, which we have been preparing for all this year. “Coming from Asia, during the pandemic, is not without logistical challenges and Porsche AG, Alexandre Gibot, and the PMAP team have supported and assisted throughout the entire journey, making it markedly smoother.” In order to take on the immense challenge amongst the global pandemic, which has restricted the travel of key personnel at teams up and down the pit lane, HubAuto Racing has partnered with Team Project 1. The German outft has been racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship since 2018, winning the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans in class and 2018-19 LMGTE Am drivers’ title with Porsche. Behind the wheel is the striking line-up of Maxime Martin, Dries Vanthoor (brother of Porsche works driver Laurens) and Álvaro Parente, each enter the 2021 event with prior experience of Le Mans. Despite this, Morris acknowledges the task ahead in competing against factory eforts in one of the world’s most demanding endurance races. “There have been many challenges even before we arrived at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe. “However, we have a strong technical team who have been working closely with our European partner, Project 1, since early in the year to make this great event possible. We learnt a lot from our 2020 Le Mans outing and we’re no strangers to a challenge. “Maxime, Álvaro and Dries are all extremely fast and highly experienced at Le Mans and we’re confdent in their ability. They are currently or recently were factory GT drivers which also shows their high calibre. They have huge expectations of themselves, and they all aim to achieve a strong result. “For sure we are up against some difcult competition with the factory teams and we need to be realistic. Our aim is to have good pace, to be on the lead lap and to cross the fnish line at the end of the race. “We have a strong team, a strong partner in Project 1 and super-fast drivers with extensive experience - a podium fnish is a realistic possibility.” .

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