Jackie Chan DC Racing announces return with 2023 IMSA programme

Team boss David Cheng, who became an entrant in 2015 and then linked with up with movie superstar Chan a year later, is setting up a new operation on the west coast of the USA for what is most likely to be an attack on the LMP2 class of the IMSA series next season.

It follows a hiatus precipitated by the world health crisis after the end of its 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign in association with the British JOTA team. 

“The world situation meant we had to step back from racing, because I had to focus on the family business, which is based in Wuhan [in China],” Cheng told Motorsport.com. 

“But we’ve spent the time exploring opportunities to compete and I’m thrilled to be making this full-time move to race in IMSA.

“I’ve moved with my family to America and have done a lot of racing here, so it’s a bit of a homecoming.”

Cheng confirmed that the team would definitely be running in one of IMSA’s prototype classes on its return next year. 

“All our experience is in prototypes and in terms of putting the programme together that is where we want to be,” he said. “We have experience of LMP2, so it something we can get off the ground quite quickly.”

He suggested that the team could run one or two cars in a full IMSA programme next year: “We are interested in LMDh in the new GTP class, but it is at a different level in terms of complexity.”

#33 Jackie Chan DC Racing Ligier JSP217 Gibson: David Cheng

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Cheng explained that Chan would remain a “core member” of the team, adding: “He doesn’t write us cheques, but he finds us partnership and gives us the support we need - he is huge boost."

He also stressed the importance of his team building its own structure for its return. 

“We feel it is important to build our own bricks and mortar infrastructure,” Cheng explained. “With our own staff we will be able to run one or two cars, but we are opening to partnering with another team.”

DC Racing previously teamed up with JOTA and, before that, with Signatech/Alpine for its LMP2 programmes in the WEC and also the Asian Le Mans Series, but DC Racing did have his own operation for his LMP3 campaigns in Asia.

Cheng, 32, would not be drawn on whether he would be part of the driver line-up on the re-establishment of the team next year.

He stepped down from driving duties after DC Racing’s 2017 WEC campaign, which encompassed a 1-2 finish in P2 at Le Mans with its pair of Oreca 07s in second and third positions overall.

The team finished second in the P2 points in the WEC that season and took the runner-up position again the following year in the 2018/19 superseason.