The need for speed

SHANGHAI: While some teenagers might be talking about their favorite types of bicycles, Zhang Zhendong, 15, is driving his go-kart around a training track at full speed.

He drives 150 laps a day, continuously breaking his own lap record.

Zhang, born in Shanghai in 1992, has become the youngest Formula Renault racer in China by making his debut on a go-kart track at the age of 10.

Formula Renault (FR) is a world-famous car racing competition only two levels below the Formula One World Championship.

Despite his age, the young boy has harvested dozens of wins and trophies in adult-class go-kart races, ranking No 1 in the first-class kart championship held in the country in 2006, No 1 in the second-class championship in 2005, and No 4 in a Japanese kart race held by Japan Automobile Federation.

Even standing on the top of the platform, Zhang Zhendong is always shorter than the other two trophy winners. So he felt somewhat uneasy with his childish smile in front of the media flashlights.

In 2006, he joined Asia Racing Team (ART) and made great progress before formally participating in the more advanced Formula Renault 2.0 races in 2007.

According to Zhang Zhendong, his career as a kart racer started on a remote track in Nanhui District, eastern Shanghai. He was the only pupil of his first coach, Zhu Dayi.

"Take the main road, then switch to a narrower road and then walk through a wet, muddy path until you get to the sea. That was where my training track was located," Zhang recalls. "I had to borrow old engines and use bald tires to take part in my preliminary races."

Zhang Zhendong is now in ninth grade, but looks older than his age with his tanned skin and solid limbs - he runs 10 kilometers every day and regularly trains at a nearby gymnasium.

"I love car racing. It is amazing," he says.

"Dongdong (Zhang Zhendong's nick name) is crazy about racing. Therefore I must back him up at any cost," his father Zhang Xuemin says. "And, wow, my boy is good!"

Zhang Xuemin was proud of what his son has achieved through the initial hardships and yet he is also glad to see him growing up - independent, self-disciplined and modest.

"He flew to Japan for the kart races by himself at the age of 11," says his father, taking out four large paper boxes sealed in adhesive tapes. "These are his honors, but he shrugged them off. He is always looking forward to the future."

For the last five years he has been devoting his full time and money to the boy's passion for racing.

However, Zhang Xuemin cannot help feeling helpless when recollecting the past: He did not receive any support, either financially or psychologically. "Not a penny," he says, "we lack the environment for car racing."

Zhang Xuemin used to own a machinery and electric company, a refrigeration company, and a real estate purchasing company. He used to own a garage for auto repairing and used to live in a two-million-yuan (nearly $270,000) apartment that has a bird's eye view of the neighboring areas. He also used to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day.

But he quit smoking three years ago, gave up gambling, sold his apartment, gave up his three companies and now runs the garage that has become his only source of income.

He now spends his money on karts, engines and tires, equipment, and other fittings for racing.

He also spends money in finding experienced coaches and sponsors. He paid for his son's training in Japan and he also paid ART for the technical support and for his son's participation in every single FR competition.

"There is not enough money for FR race yet - one set of tires will cost more than 6,000 yuan ($800) and can only last 10 laps or so before graining," he explains.

According to Zhang Xuemin, most Chinese parents do not want their kids to go to the racing track. It is dangerous - risking the child's life whenever there is an accident, and it is exhausting - sitting in the burning cockpit for hundreds of hours.

"Most of my friends find my supporting the boy as a racer incredible," he says. "But the nation needs excellent racers, to promote the sport as well as to push the entire automotive industry."

The money that he traded his property for can last his son around three years as the annual cost for FR races adds up to 1.8 million yuan ($240,000) a year.

"If my boy cannot make a step forward into a higher level to attract sponsors before running out of money, his career as a racer will come to an end."

Fortunately, Zhang Zhendong has never thought about giving up his career, as he claimed the third prize in Asia-class FR China Open, held on September 2 in Shanghai.

"With my enthusiasm for racing and the support from my dad, anything is possible," he says.

Zhang Xuemin is in his late 40s and said he has been involved in gambling for half his life. Yet he saw hope when his son was standing on the platform, and the increasing number of racing tracks and coaches in China has brought the sport popular attention.

"I am trying something that other parents have never even thought about, a way to success that was usually considered a dead-end," Zhang Xuemin says with confidence. "I am walking towards a future goal with all my courage and belief."

(China Daily 09/27/2007 page20)