Beijing, Oct 29: Apparently impressed by his performance at the Formula BMW Asia Championship, Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung has been invited to test drive the BMW Williams Formula One car.
Twenty-year-old Tung will drive the Formula One car for the first time at the BMW Williams' winter testing programme likely to be held in Spain late December, Xinhua news agency reported.
Tung, driving for team Meritus in the 2003 Formula BMW Asia, claimed twelve pole positions and ten wins in 14 races.
"We have been watching Ho-Pin Tung carefully," BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen was quoted as saying. At the Formula One test, Tung will be compared to other promising young drivers, he said.
"It's my lifetime dream come true, I can't be grateful enough. I'm now going to work hard, particularly on my physical fitness, to be well prepared for the test," Tung said.



The Formula BMW car is powered by a 140 horsepower BMW motorcycle engine while BMW's Formula One engine has an output of more than 900 bhp. China will host its first Formula One race next September in Shanghai.


Bureau Report