Minister and officials defend Hong Kong over delayed, shortened rallycross event

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung has defended the organisation of the World Rallycross Championship races this weekend, but said the city “hopes to do better” in future.

“Sometimes, certain adjustments may be necessary based on practical situations,” Yeung said. “It is the first time they have raced on roads used by the public or in the community.

“In the past, it was held in established venues, so these technical aspects may have posed some challenges for them. We will discuss these issues.”

Yeung said the government supported hosting large-scale events, to showcase Hong Kong’s ability to do so and to attract visitors.

“If there is an opportunity to host similar events in Hong Kong in the future, we certainly hope to do better,” he said.

Last-minute alterations shortened the circuit from 1.225km to 800 metres – the shortest in the nine-leg global season.

Matthew, a 21-year-old racing fan who attended both days, was underwhelmed.

“It feels a bit lacklustre and cannot be compared with bigger events in Asia, like the Singapore Grand Prix,” he said. “The shorter track was no good for racing. With two longer straights, there would have been more overtaking.

“I think the government should give more support to motor racing, and they should share the blame 50-50 with the organisers. But having this race is better than nothing, and I hope they can learn from this experience and improve.”

Wesley Wan Wai-hei, chief consultant for the event, told the Post “critics were always looking for negatives”, and said it succeeded, even if spectators missed a morning of racing.

“I am really satisfied we cleared all the hurdles and difficulties,” Wan said on Sunday. “We built the stadium from nothing, and I saw all the spectators shouting.

“We reached our goal … it was a mission impossible for us but we made it happen. Whatever happened before, it was successful yesterday and today. Everybody loved it, the drivers and teams and crews and visitors. They want to come back next year.”

Arne Dirks, executive director of FIA World Rallycross, was similarly defiant.

“If you do something like this for the first time, you cannot expect everything to be perfect,” he said. “When we do the debrief, there will be things we want to improve, and we want to talk about the length of the track.

“We still had a fantastic race and fantastic track, and let’s make it longer next time. We would love to come back next year.”

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On the track, the story of Sunday was third place for English driver Patrick O’Donovan on his series debut.

“I stopped counting the number of selfies I was asked for when they reached about 287,” he said, reflecting a festival atmosphere produced by racing diehards and curious first-timers.

Johan Kristofferson, having retained his world title on Saturday, won ahead of second-placed Volkswagen teammate Ole Christian Veiby.

Darren, a Hong Kong resident from New Zealand, said the event was a “step in the right direction” for the city after Covid-19.

“I would give the organisers a pass this time,” he said. “It cannot be easy setting up something of this size, in this space, for the first time. This got people out and about, they had smiles on their faces and were enjoying themselves.”