LMP2 outfit Jackie Chan DC Racing is looking at the possibility of entering the Daytona 24 Hours, according to team owner David Cheng.
After winning its class and finishing second and third overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month, the DC Racing team, run by Jota Sport, is toying with the idea of expanding beyond the World Endurance Championship.
“We’ve done all our homework, and we’ve done our legwork, which is establishing a very good team with a great group of guys, and now from the commercial side with Jackie and all the opportunities in China,” Cheng told Motorsport Week.
“With some foresight and preparation, we’ll be ready for a few different scenarios, including North America.”
“Sebring has been checked off [in 2013 with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports], and now the achievement of Le Mans has been checked off… but Daytona is missing for me still.”
Cheng, who co-founded the DC Racing operation with Hollywood superstar and racing enthusiast Jackie Chan last year, believes a North American venture is possible, but only with stability in the regulations.
“It’s very interesting what’s developing out there with the DPi and LMP2 formulas,” he said.
“Even this month, there have been a lot of fluctuations about whether Prototype should become a split class or if LMP2 should be left integrated, and from my point of view, there’s no reason to split DPi and LMP2 because it’s starting to become very close."
“I think it would be a little premature to do anything drastic with the regulations [under evaluation]."
"There are things that I think we can bring to the table over in America, but few people have taken the opportunity because it’s still very early and these are all new cars to everyone, so we need to make sure we don’t bite off more than we can chew. The opportunities it creates are very interesting, though."
“For us, if we were to go and do anything on the American side, we would want to be fighting for overall victory."
Part of the reason Cheng has been looking at Daytona, and other North American endurance contests such as the 12 Hours of Sebring, is that the team has "done the legwork" in creating a mandate for support.
Since the success of Le Mans, Cheng and his fellow drivers have been travelling back and forth to China to spread the word about their programme to a burgeoning regional market.
With growing interest from home, and from the WEC community, the possibility of Jackie Chan DC Racing expanding its global presence has been given a significant boost. Now, according to Cheng, it is a simple case of waiting for the ideal opportunity to arise.
“Le Mans gave us a boost in our reputation as a team, and it also brought the sport alive back home," he said.
"It opened a market for endurance racing there. There’s a lot of ambition on the table."
“With all those opportunities, we know what may happen and what may come to us, but all I can say is that I can’t control what I can’t control."
"I can go there [to China], do the speeches and give all the reasons why, but now it’s almost like fishing: we just need to wait patiently to see what opportunities will be brought to us.”
"From our side, it’s one of those things where we build the team to be ready for expansion. My whole theory is like Noah's Ark: if you build it, they will come."
