OCTOBER 27, 2003

Ho Pin Tung to test for Williams

Formula BMW Asia Champion Ho Pin Tung was the dominant force in the new championship in Asia this year, winning 10 of the 14 races and that success has landed him with a test session in a Williams-BMW later this winter.

Formula BMW Asia Champion Ho Pin Tung was the dominant force in the new championship in Asia this year, winning 10 of the 14 races and that success has landed him with a test session in a Williams-BMW later this winter.

The 21-year-old Chinese driver will become the first Chinese to try out a Grand Prix car.

"We've been watching Tung all season and with 10 wins in the series this year, we recognize his potential," said BMW Motorsport's general manager of sponsorship Guido Stalmann.

Tung was hoping for a 100% record of success in qualifying at the final round of the series at the Goldenport Park racing circuit outside Beijing but a broken gearbox cable meant that he missed qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid.

The Team Meritus driver is delighted with his chance to test an F1 car.

"It has been my dream to drive a F1 car since I started racing," he said, "but I never imagined it would happen so soon. It's going to take time for this to sink in. I'm speechless. The only think I have to say is 'When is the test?'."

Tung will be the third Team Meritus driver to get to F1 level, team boss Peter Thompson having previously helped Narain Karthikeyan and Takuma Sato.

"We all knew Ho-Pin was something special even during pre-season testing," he said. "The F1 test is great news and he thoroughly deserves it."