Alex Yoong talks to us about racing in the new Audi R8 LMS car

After his victory in Round Three of the Audi R8 LMS Cup held in Buriram, Thailand, we sat down with professional racing driver Alex Yoong (AY) to talk about the new Audi R8 LMS car and learn more about his racing experience.

SGCM: How did you get started in racing, and how long have you been racing for?  

AY: I've been racing 24-25 years now. I was very fortunate growing up. My father ran the Shah Alam Circuit from 1988-98, so I've had a front row seat to motor racing. I can remember being at my first race when I was three, and it's what I've always wanted to do. Every kid wants to be a race car driver at some point, I was just lucky that I had the parental support, and was able to get into the sport in a relatively affordable way.

SGCM: In your racing career, which are some of the most memorable tracks you have raced on?

AY:. Monacco in a Formula One car is very special. That's a unique experience that you won't get anywhere else. But the best track in the world is the Nurburgring. It's too dangerous now for anything faster than a GT3 car, but it's so great. You are airborne seven times a lap, two of those times at over 250km/h. Other great tracks include Laguna Seca, Spa and Suzuka, they are very special. Macau in a Formula Three car is also pretty cool.

SGCM: You guys are running the new Audi R8 LMS GT3 car, and what can you tell us about how the new car compares to last year's model?

AY: Well, it's quite a big step better. It has a lot more downforce, so the aero efficiency is very good, and that's the biggest thing. Audi really upped the game when they brought the old car into the market, because they really treated GT3 like they were delivering a road car, so the car already came fully done. It's the same thing with the new car.

SGCM: Is there any specific part of the new R8 race car that is your favourite?

AY: The downforce, for sure. It's a big step up over the previous model, such that when you go through the fast corners, it's actually a lot more enjoyable. The thing that makes driving race cars fun is the downforce. In Formula One, you can pull 4.5g laterally, or 6g under braking, only because of the downforce, not bigger brakes or bigger tyres. In these cars we're reaching about 2g. It requires more commitment, and you have to be braver, so that's the best part about it.

SGCM: The R8 LMS Cup makes its debut here in Thailand. What are your impressions of this track and how has the car been set up for this track?

AY: This track is quite tricky to learn at first, but once you learn it it's quite a basic track to manage. There is a really long straight, but you have to carry quite a bit of wing because of two very fast corners, so we generally try to set the car up for those two corners. But what is interesting is that we have seen quite a few different teams take different approaches to this track. Some of the other teams are running with very low downforce to take advantage of the long straight, but are then slower through the fast corners. So, there's no ideal set up from what I've seen so far.
SGCM: Talk us through a little bit of the race - what did you find most challenging?

AY: This season is quite a bit more competitive, I think we are going to have 10 to 11 cars within a second in every race, so any mess up means you are going compromise your race weekend. This weekend, we didn't get it perfect in qualifying (third), so there was a lot of pressure to do well.

I had to try a really outrageous manoeuvre at the start, and I'm just really glad it came off. After that, it was just resisting big pressure the whole race.

SGCM: Besides this one-make series, you've also been racing in the GT Asia Series. How would you characterise the differences between a one-make series, such as this one, from a full on GT series?

AY: This is more enjoyable because this is more about the driving. It's really down to the driver and the engineer working to get the most out of the car. In this way, it's more pure, and I like it a lot more. GT Asia has something called Balance of Performance, which means that if your car is fast they peg it back, and that can be very frustrating. But, GT Asia is fun in another way, which is that you get to race against multiple brands, your Ferraris and Porsches and Bentleys, with each car having different strengths at different sections of the track.

SGCM: As a customer racing program, how valuable do you think the Audi R8 LMS Cup is to offering drivers (especially the Am Class) the opportunity to race on some of the world's interesting circuits?

AY: You just have to look at the number of amateur drivers coming on the scene now; I think Audi has done this better than any makes. We have open data sharing between the Pro and Am drivers, so when the Am drivers come into this series they actually get to see what we are doing, set up, telemetry and all. As a result, in the last five to six years, we are seeing a lot more Am drivers, who are not that much slower than the Pros, to be honest. The really good ones are only around a second off.

SGCM: Any tips for aspiring racers?

AY: Be very kind to your parents, sponsors, or whoever's paying your bills. Racing is very expensive to get into, but if you do have success, pick up sponsors and you could make a living out of it.

SGCM: Finally, if you had just one track and one car to race on, where and what car would it be?

AY: You're not going to believe this, because I would love to say Audi GT3 car, Nurburgring, but I don't think I would want to do that all the time. The track is pretty scary. But I would never get bored of that, because the 'Ring' is just too crazy - it's 25km, no other track comes close to that. It would have to be an F1 car, though. That's where the ultimate fun comes. I'm going to say an F1 car around Suzuka - it's a really tough track to have to push 100 percent all the time, and it really brings the best out of you.