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Ye Hongli

From Alfawiki
Ye Hongli
Born (1992-05-22) May 22, 1992 (age 34)
Taizhou, China
OccupationProfessional racing driver
Years active2011–present
Known forGT World Challenge Asia champion, China Touring Car Championship champion

Ye Hongli (, born 22 May 1992), also referred to as Leo Ye, is a Chinese professional racing driver who currently holds the title of GT World Challenge Asia champion. He secured the 2024 championship in partnership with Yuan Bo, representing Origine Motorsport. Previously, Ye claimed the 2018 championship in the China Touring Car Championship, where he competed from 2015 through 2020 as a factory driver for Dongfeng Yueda Kia.

Karting

Ye’s motorsport journey began in karting at age 16, making his first appearance in the China National Karting Championship in 2007. After a modest initial season, he paused his karting pursuits to attend King's College London. Upon returning in 2012, Ye captured the National Open Class title of the Rotax Max Challenge China and successfully defended this crown the following year. During this period, he balanced karting with single-seater racing before turning professional as a factory driver.

Formula Renault

Ye entered single-seater competition in 2011 with a one-off entry in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge at Shanghai, followed by another race at Zhuhai in 2012. After completing his studies in 2013, he committed to a full season, winning three out of four races in the Asian Formula Renault Series and taking part in the closing rounds of the British Formula Renault Championship.

In 2014, Ye competed in Europe as a guest driver for Koiranen GP within both the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, racing alongside notable drivers such as Nyck de Vries and George Russell. His top result was ninth place at Monza.

China Touring Car Championship

In 2015, Ye joined Dongfeng Yueda Kia as a factory driver for the China Touring Car Championship. He finished sixth overall in his rookie season before splitting time between part-time CTCC racing and exploring international opportunities. In 2018, Ye clinched the CTCC title with one event remaining, finishing comfortably ahead by 34.5 points over runner-up Cao Hongwei.

Formula 3

While maintaining commitments in CTCC, Ye returned to formula racing on a part-time basis in 2016 with B-Max Racing Team competing in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, supported by Taiwan’s KRC. He made history as the first Chinese competitor to race in the championship’s top tier. Ye also entered the Macau Grand Prix but was unable to start following a qualifying crash.

Continuing with B-Max Racing in 2017, Ye earned a podium finish at Fuji Speedway during that year’s Japanese Formula 3 campaign.

Sportscar racing

In 2019, Ye transitioned fully into sports car racing, partnering with "Bob" Yuan Bo in the GT World Challenge Asia, having previously participated part-time during 2017 and 2018. He intended to race with Absolute Racing in 2020; however, widespread cancellations amid the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed his season.

Ye competed in China’s Porsche Carrera Cup Asia across the 2021 and 2022 seasons. After securing fourth place overall in 2021, he dominated the following year driving for JUNJIE Racing by equaling Chris van der Drift’s record of six straight victories and clinching the championship with two rounds to spare.

In 2023, Ye reunited with Yuan for another GT World Challenge Asia campaign under R&B Racing, a team they co-founded. That same year marked Ye’s debut at the 2023 FIA GT World Cup representing R&B Racing, where he won the Silver Cup category and placed tenth overall—outperforming established competitors like Kévin Estre and Matteo Cairoli.

The pinnacle of Ye’s career came in 2024 when he secured the overall championship of the 2024 GT World Challenge Asia alongside Yuan for Origine Motorsport, formerly known as R&B Racing. They clinched their title at Shanghai by surpassing defending champion Anthony Liu Xu and teammate Alessio Picariello.

Personal life

Ye was named in honor of the Qianlong Emperor (personal name Hongli) by his maternal grandfather. Alongside his motorsport pursuits, he holds significant business responsibilities. He is the vice chairman of a construction firm based in Shanghai and has prior experience in financial management within an investment company. Beginning in 2024, Ye assumed an executive role at the Returned Overseas Students Association located in his native Taizhou.

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles Fastest Laps Podiums Points Position
2011 Asian Formula Renault Challenge FRD Racing Team 2 0 0 0 0 32 15th
2012 Asian Formula Renault Challenge Privateer 2 0 0 0 0 26 14th
2013 Asian Formula Renault Series - Asian Class Team KRC 4 4 2 4 4 120 3rd
Protyre Formula Renault Championship Fortec Competition 3 0 0 0 0 38 21st
2014 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Koiranen GP 10 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2015 China Touring Car Championship - Super Production Yueda Kia Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team 7 2 1 0 3 43 6th
2016 China Touring Car Championship - Super Production Yueda Kia Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team 12 2 5 4 5 122 6th
2016 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Team KRC with B-Max Racing Team 9 0 0 0 0 5 11th
2016 Euroformula Open Championship BVM Racing 8 0 0 0 0 26 16th
2016 Asian Formula Renault Series Team KRC 2 2 1 2 2 60 10th
2017 align="left" 2017 Japanese Formula 3 Championship align="left" Team KRC with B-Max Racing Team 18 0 0 0 1 13 7th
align="left" 2017 China Touring Car Championship - Super Production align="left" Yueda Kia Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team 10 0 0 1 1 75 12th
align="left" 2017 Blancpain GT Series Asia - GT3 align="left" HubAuto Racing 2 0 0 1 0 0 NC†
align="left" 2017 FRD LMP3 Series align="left" S&D Motorsports 4 0 2 1 0 28 16th
2017–18 align=left 2017–18 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 align=left Taiwan Beer GH Motorsport 2 0 0 0 1 18 8th

2018

align=left China Touring Car Championship - Super Production align=left Yueda Kia Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team 15 3 1 1 6 160 style=background:#FFFFBF;1st
align=left China Endurance Series - LMP3 Trophy align=left PTRS Racing Team 4 2 2 0 4 style=background:#DFDFDF;2nd
align=left 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia - GT3 rowspan=2 align=left HubAuto Corsa

6 

    0        

    1        

    1        

    1        

    60        

    13th
align=left 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia - Silver 
     0        

     2        

     2        

     3        

     77        

     10th
align=left 2018 FIA GT Nations Cup align=left Herberth Motorsport 
     1        

     0        

     0        

     0        

     0        

     5th

2019

align=left 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia - GT3 rowspan=2 align=left Absolute Racing

8 

   1        

   0        

   0        

   3        

   81        

   9th
align=left 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia - Silver 
   2        

   1        

   2        

   3        

   114        

   9th
align=left 2019 Super Taikyu Series - ST-1 align=left TRACY SPORTS 
   4      

   3      

   0      

   0      

   3

† 

      style=
      background:#DFDFDF;
      
            

      -

      China Touring Car Championship - Super Production      

      Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team      

      -

      Asian Le Mans Series - GT      

      FIST Team AAI      

      -

      China Touring Car Championship - Super Production      

      Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team

† Ye participated as a guest driver and was therefore not eligible to earn championship points.
* The season is currently ongoing.

Full Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Results

(Legend) (Races shown in bold denote pole position; those in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final Standing Points
2014 Koiranen GP ALC
Race 1
 ALC
Race 2
 SPA
Race 1
 SPA
Race 2
 MSC
Race 1
 MSC
Race 2
 NÜR
Race 1
 NÜR
Race 2
 HUN
Race 1
 HUN
Race 2
 LEC
Race 1
24 		LEC
Race 2
20 		JER
Race 1
Retired 		JER
Race 2
23 		NC† 0

† Participated as a guest driver and was not eligible to score points

Full Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series Results

(Legend) (Bold indicates pole position; italics indicates fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final Position Points Scored
2014 Koiranen GP IMO
Race 1
19 		IMO
Race 2
19 		PAU
Race 1 		PAU
Race 2 		RBR
Race 1 		RBR
Race 2 		SPA
Race 1
13 		SPA
Race 2
16 		MNZ
Race 1
17 		MNZ
Race 2
9 		MUG
Race 1
28 		MUG
Race 2
17 		JER
Race 1
22 		JER
Race 2
18 		NC† 0

† Competed as a guest entrant and was excluded from points allocation

Full China Touring Car Championship Results

(Legend) (Bold marks pole position) (Italics denote fastest lap)

2017 China Touring Car Championship
Year Team Vehicle Category Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 Race 9 Race10 Race11 Race12 Race13 Race14 Race15 Race16 Final Rank Total Points
2015 Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team Kia K3S]] 'Super Production' Shanghai International Circuit
"DSQ" 		Shanghai Tianma Circuit
"8th" 		Korea International Circuit
"Retired" 		Guangdong International Circuit
"Retired" 		Shanghai International Circuit
"1st" 		Jiangsu Yancheng Street Circuit
"1st" 		Beijing FASC Circuit
"3rd"

6th place

43 points

2016 China Touring Car Championship [Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team] Kia K3] 'Super Production' Jiangsu Wantrack International Circuit Race 1
"Retired" 		Jiangsu Wantrack International Circuit Race 2
"5th" 		Zhuhai International Circuit Race 1
"3rd" 		Zhuhai International Circuit Race 2
"4th" 		Shanghai International Circuit Race 1
"11th" 		Shanghai International Circuit Race 2
"5th" 		Korea International Circuit Race 1
"2nd" 		Korea International Circuit Race 2
"5th" 		Guangdong International Circuit Race 1
"Retired" 		Guangdong International Circuit Race 2
"1st" 		Shanghai Tianma Circuit Race 1
"2nd" 		Shanghai Tianma Circuit Race 2
"1st"

6th overall

122 points

[Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team] Kia K3] 'Super Production' Guangdong International Circuit Race 1
"Retired²" 		Guangdong International Circuit Race 2
"12th"

12th place finish

75 points

|-

2018 and Following China Touring Car Championship Seasons

2018 || Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team || Kia K3 || Super Production || Competed at various venues including Shanghai, Zhuhai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Wuhan || Champion (1st) ||160 2019 || Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team || Kia K3 (BD) || Super Production || Raced at Guangdong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Ningbo, Zhuzhou, Wuhan circuits || Finished in twelfth place ||65 2020 || Dongfeng Yueda Kia Racing Team || Kia K3 (BD) || Super Production || Participated at Zhuzhou and Shanghai Tianma circuits || Eleventh overall ||62
Year Team Vehicle Category Circuits Participated Final Position Points Accumulated


Comprehensive GT World Challenge Asia Outcomes

(legend) (Events highlighted in bold denote pole positions) (Events in italics signify fastest laps)

Year Team Vehicle Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final Standing Points Earned
2017 HubAuto Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (991) Silver SEP
1 		SEP
2 		CHA
1 		CHA
2 		SUZ
1 		SUZ
2 		FSW
1 		FSW
2 		SIC
1
 SIC
2
 ZJC
1 		ZJC
2 		NC 0†
2018 HubAuto Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Silver SEP
1
 SEP
2
 CHA
1
 CHA
2
 SUZ
1
 SUZ
2
 FSW
1 		FSW
2 		SIC
1 		SIC
2 		NIC
1 		NIC
2 		10th 77
2019 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (991) Silver SEP
1 		SEP
2 		CHA
1 		CHA
2 		SUZ
1
 SUZ
2
 FSW
1
 FSW
2
 KOR
1
 KOR
2
SIC
1
SIC
2
9th 114
2023 R&B Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Silver BUR
1
BUR
2
FSW
1
FSW
2
SUZ
1
SUZ
2
MOT
1
MOT
2
OKA
1
OKA
2
SEP < br/> 1 < br/> SEP < br/> 2 < br/>

2nd

211

[[2024 GT World Challenge Asia 2024 Origine Motorsport [[Porsche 911 GT3#992 GT3 R (2023–) Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Silver-Am style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Sepang International Circuit SEP 1 [[Sepang International Circuit SEP 2 style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Buriram International Circuit BUR 1 style= background:#DFDFDF; [[Buriram International Circuit BUR 2 style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Fuji Speedway FSW 1 style= background:#EFCFFF; [[Fuji Speedway FSW 2 style= background:#DFFFDF; [[Suzuka International Racing Course SUZ 1 style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Suzuka International Racing Course SUZ 2 style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Okayama International Circuit OKA 1 style= background:#DFDFDF; [[Okayama International Circuit OKA 2 style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Shanghai International Circuit SIC 1 style= background:#FFFFBF; [[Shanghai International Circuit SIC 2 style= background:#FFFFBF; 1st 238|}

† Ye participated as a guest competitor and therefore was not eligible to accumulate championship points.

External links
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