Cheng Congfu
Frankie Cheng | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cheng Congfu August 15, 1984 China |
| Occupation | Professional racing driver |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | First Chinese driver to start, finish, and podium at 24 Hours of Le Mans (2008) |
Cheng "Frankie" Congfu (程丛夫; pinyin: Chéng Cóng Fū; born August 15, 1984) is a professional racing driver from China.
Karting
Cheng started his karting journey in China in 1996. He earned national titles in the junior category in 1998 and captured overall championships in both 2000 and 2001. His international karting experience includes placing 15th at the 1999 European Karting Open and finishing as runner-up in the 2001 Asian Karting Championship.
- 1996: Champion, Beijing Shunxiang Cup Karting Competition
- 1997: Winner, Beijing Shunxiang Cup; Runner-up, Beijing Zhuangzhou Karting
- 1998: Champion, Beijing Karting Championship; Champion, China Karting Championship Junior division; Winner, Xiangmihu Kart Racing Club
- 1999: 15th place, European Karting Open; Runner-up, China Karting Championship; Winner, Macao Karting Championship; Winner, Ericsson Masters Cup Challenge (Hong Kong)
- 2000: Champion, China Karting Championship; Winner, Ericsson Masters Cup Challenge (Hong Kong)
- 2001: Champion, All-China Karting Championship; Runner-up, Asia Karting Championship
Racing career
Cheng Congfu's entry into formula racing began with the British Formula Ford Winter Series in 2001. In 2003, he was selected to join the McLaren Formula One driver development program.
From the 2006-07 season until 2009, he represented A1 Team China in the A1 Grand Prix series. Additionally, he competed in the Formula Three Euroseries during the 2008 season.
Notably, Cheng became the first Chinese driver to start, complete, and achieve a class podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing third in the LMP2 category with Saulnier Team's Pescarolo in 2008.
In May 2009, Cheng participated in the ADAC 24 Hours of Nürburgring driving Volkswagen Motorsport III’s Scirocco GT 24. He secured 20th place overall and third in the SP3T class, marking him as the first Chinese racer to reach the podium at this event.
He entered the 2010 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with Mercedes, becoming only the second Asian competitor in this championship after Japan’s Katsutomo Kaneishi in 2003.
In November 2011, Cheng teamed up with two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen and Lance David Arnold to pilot a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG at the 2011 6 Hours of Zhuhai, part of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | Fastest Laps | Podiums | Points | Position | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship | Hill Speed Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 30th | |||||||
| 2004 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship | Manor Motorsport | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 22nd | |||||||
| 2005 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship | Manor Motorsport | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 217 | 11th | |||||||
| Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 101 | 2nd | |||||||||
| 2006 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship | Manor Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 374 | 3rd | |||||||
| French Formula Renault 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34th | |||||||||
| 2006-07 | A1 Grand Prix | A1 Team China | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22‡ | 15th‡ | |||||||
| 2007 | British Formula 3 International Series - National | Performance Racing Europe AB | 20 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 267 | 2nd | |||||||
| 2007 Masters of Formula 3 | Manor Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 19th | ||||||||
| 2007-08 | 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season | A1 Team China | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 55‡ | 13th‡ | |||||||
| 2008 | 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series | RC Motorsport powered by Volkswagen | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29th | |||||||
| 2008 Macau Grand Prix | Signature Team-Plus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 13th | ||||||||
align=left 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2
|| align=left OAK Racing-Saulnier Racing || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || N/A || style="background:#FFDF9F;" 3rd | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008-09 | align=left 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season | align=left A1 Team China | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7‡ | 18th‡ | |||||||
| 2009 | align=left 2009 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP3T | align=left Volkswagen Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | style="background:#FFDF9F;" 3rd | |||||||
| 2010 | align=left 2010 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | align=left Persson Motorsport | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17th | |||||||
| 2012 | align=left 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship | align=left Rebellion Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | ۰ | ٰ۰ | 12 | 24th | |||||||
| align=left Blancpain Endurance Series - Pro | align=left Black Faklcon | 2 | ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۱ | 18 | 18th | ||||||||
| 2013 | align=left 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship | rowspan="3" align=left Rebellion Racing | 3 | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | 17 | 18th | |||||||
| align=left 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP1 | 1 | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | N/A | 8th | |||||||||
| align=left American Le Mans Series - P1 | 1 | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | ٰ۰ | N/A | NC | |||||||||
| align=left 2013 Asian Le Mans Series | align=left OAK Racing | 1 | ۰ | ۱ | ۱ | ۱ | ۱۹ | ۹th | ||||||||
| align=left GT Asia Series - GT3 | align=left Team R8 LMS Ultra | 4 | ۰ | ۰ | ۰ | ۰ | ۴۳ | ۱۲th | ||||||||
| Audi R8 LMS Cup China | Audi Ultra Team | 9 | ۰ | ۰ | ۱ | ۵ | ۹۸ | ۵th | ||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
† Guest driver not eligible for points
‡ Teams' standings
Full A1 Grand Prix Performance
(legend) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole positions) (Races in italics signify fastest laps)
| Season | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Final Position | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | A1 Team China | NED SPR 11 |
NED FEA 9 |
CZE SPR 4 |
CZE FEA 8 |
BEI SPR 13 |
BEI FEA Ret |
MYS SPR 10 |
MYS FEA 16 |
IDN SPR |
IDN FEA |
NZL SPR |
NZL FEA |
AUS SPR |
AUS FEA |
RSA SPR |
RSA FEA |
MEX SPR |
MEX FEA |
SHA SPR 11 |
SHA FEA 15 |
GBR SPR Ret |
GBR FEA 10 |
15th | 22 |
| 2007–08 | NED SPR 17 |
NED FEA 15 |
CZE SPR 10 |
CZE FEA 4 |
MYS SPR Ret |
MYS FEA 5 |
ZHU SPR 3 |
ZHU FEA 9 |
NZL SPR 14 |
NZL FEA Ret |
AUS SPR 14 |
AUS FEA 10 |
<style='background:#dfffdf;'> RSA < br > FEA < br > < small > ' 6 </ small > |
style = " background : # cfcfff ; " > mex < br > spr < br > < small > '17' </ small > | style = " background : # dfffdf ; " > mex < br > fea < br > < small > '10' </ small > | style = " background : # dfffdf ; " > sha < br > spr < br > < small > '10' </ small > | style = " background : # cfcfff ; " > sha < br > fea < br > < small > '15' </ small > | style = " background : # cfcfff ; " > g b r < br > spr < br > < small > '21' </ small > | style = " background : # dfffdf ; " > g b r < br > fea < br > < small > '4' </ small > | 13th | 55 | ||||
| 2 0 0 8 –09 | n e d < br > spr < br /> | n e d < br > fea < br /> | c h i < br > spr < br /> | CHI FEA | 18th | 7 |
Full DTM results
(legend)
| Season | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Final Standing | Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Persson Motorsport | AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2008 | HOC 13 |
VAL 12 |
LAU 12 |
NOR 14 |
NÜR 12 |
ZAN 16 |
BRH 13 |
OSC Ret |
HOC Ret |
ADR 13 |
SHA 15 |
17th place | 0 points |
24 Hours of Le Mans performance
| Year | Team Name | Teammates | Car Model | Category | Completed Laps | Overall Position | Class Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Saulnier Racing | Pierre Ragues Matthieu Lahaye |
Pescarolo 01-Judd | LMP2 Class | 333 laps | 18th overall | 3rd in class |
| 2013 | Rebellion Racing | Mathias Beche Andrea Belicchi |
Lola B12/60-Toyota | LMP1 Class | 275 laps completed | 40th position overall | 8th in class |