AUGUST 7, 2003

Cheng impresses Haug

China's Franky Cheng has been trying to establish himself on the British motor racing scene this season after emerging as a star in last year's Asian Formula Renault series. The 19-year-old from Beijing started karting at the age of 11 and became a dominant force in Chinese karting before moving into Formula Renault. He narrowly missed out on last year's Asian FR title, being beaten by Filipino Enzo Pastor but this year headed to Europe, hoping to make his name. He recently made his debut in British Formula Renault and has since been signed up to the McLaren Junior Driver programme by Mercedes-Benz Motorsport director Norbert Haug. With China beginning to open up, clearly all the F1 teams are looking for young drivers who could open the gates to the huge Chinese market.