Tatler+ BMW
Tung Ho-Pin on the thrill of a race, his new priorities, and the car he always hoped to own
“Quite often, you see boys and girls starting in motorsports because their parents or relatives have a connection. But not in my case; mine was a very typical immigrant family,” explains Tung Ho-Pin, who was born and raised in the Netherlands. His foray into the world of professional racing came later than many, at age 14, when he transitioned from go-karts to racing cars following a success at a talent scouting programme.
While Tung possessed a clear talent for the sport, the decision to pursue it professionally wasn’t a straightforward one, as he was actively considering pursuing a university degree and a more conventional career path. “A year and a half after considering university, I was sitting in a Formula One car. From there, it just continued and continued on. My first Formula One test was at the end of 2003, after I won the Formula BMW Asia championship,” he says. It’s safe to say, Tung adds, that he has no regrets about his decision.
An accident in 2010—which led to a broken vertebra—drew Tung’s Formula career to an abrupt halt. “At that moment, I discovered motor racing had so many other amazing disciplines, and that’s when I shifted my focus to endurance racing.” Never one to do things by halves, Tung later went on to win the prestigious Le Mans 24-hour race in 2017, after several wins in Asia.
Winning Le Mans “was really a highlight of my career, especially because endurance racing is such an interesting discipline. You have to deal with traffic, slower cars around you, and you need to make adjustments,” Tung explains. These conditions won’t be altogether unfamiliar to those conventional drivers endure, and they are aspects Tung considered closely when it came to selecting his own personal car.
“I’m the opposite of what many people might think; I don’t necessarily look for a really hardcore sports car. Being a racing driver, of course, I like performance, but also comfort and being able to feel the road conditions. You need to have confidence in the car.”
His car of choice is the BMW M3. “It’s a car that offers very true performance when you ask it. But at the same time, it’s a saloon car that can fit your entire family, and has the comfort for everyday use,” explains the father of two.
