Yoong wows compatriots as China plans F1x2 repeat.

Alex Yoong proved to be the star of the show as Minardi took its two-seater experience on the road to Beijing, the Malaysian tapping into his Chinese roots as he chauffeured various guests around the Goldenport circuit.

Alex Yoong proved to be the star of the show as Minardi took its two-seater experience on the road to Beijing, the Malaysian tapping into his Chinese roots as he chauffeured various guests around the Goldenport circuit.

The event, organised by BSA and Minardi, created history in China as one BSA-liveried F1x2 and a second car in more familiar Go-KL colours gave twelve media passengers the rides of their lives. BSA's executive chairman, Dato Cam Soh, put himself in the record books by being the first passenger to ever do a hot lap in a Formula One car on Chinese soil, when he was chauffeured by Yoong, who is of Chinese descent and attracted tremendous media attention on arrival in Beijing.

The outing also cemented the young Malaysian's relationship with Soh's company, which confirmed that he will be a BSA Alloy Wheels sponsored driver for the 2003 CART campaign.

"I am very happy to be back in China since my last visit here five years ago," Yoong said, "I am grateful to the many Chinese fans and media, whose enthusiasm is simply overwhelming, and the trip has also enabled me to meet various potential sponsors for my 2003 CART campaign."

Sunday saw another 30 VIP and media passengers ready to take their once-in-a-lifetime ride, only for Beijing's first snows of winter to cut short the day after Yoong and team-mate Christijan Albers had completed just one run apiece. The track was declared too dangerous to proceed by the drivers, who did not want to put their passengers at risk. Despite waiting for three hours, both BSA and Minardi decided to abandon the event with two inches of snow covering the circuit and no sign of the fall stopping.

"It was the right decision to stop after the first runs, as it was just too dangerous to continue," Yoong admitted, "For sure, there is a high risk that we might put the car into the walls that line the circuit if we had gone out again after the first runs."

Despite the disappointment, the event had proven such a success that Soh has already said that BSA is planning a repeat sometime in May next year.

"The weather conditions are regrettable, but are beyond our control," he sighed, "We are very glad we managed to give 16 media and guest passengers an experience of their lifetime, and we are also very pleased with the tremendous press coverage we had received.

"We do not intend to risk the limbs and lives of our drivers and our guests, so, cancellation of the rest of today is the only option available to us. We have, however, succeeded in bringing the excitement of Formula One to the people of China through this historical ground breaking event, and we are proud that BSA started the F1 education process for the Chinese people."

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