Full season for Charles Ng

Liqui Moly Team Engstler have confirmed that Hong Kong racer Charles Kaki Ng is to compete for the team in the 2012 World Touring Car Championship. Ng, who made his début in the WTCC for the team in Japan last season, takes the seat vacated by 2011 Yokohama Trophy winner Kristian Poulsen, who has hung up his touring car helmet.

27 year-old Ng scored a best finish of tenth in only six races last year, taking his first points finish in China. Now he is looking forward to continuing with the German-based team and building on his promising performances.

“The start was promising,” said Team Manager Kurt Treml. “Now we make Charles fit for the new season starting soon and for the title defense project.”

Ng is taking his commitments with the team seriously and has recently moved from Califorina on the West Coast of the United States, to Allgäu in Germany where he has been involved directly with the construction of the car and with simulator training. Added Treml: “[It is] so he gets used to the best procedures and can be integrated into the team.”

Ng is committed to a future with the German WTCC team and hopes to be able to add not only German to his fluent language skills but Schwäbisch (Swabian German, a regional dialect) alongside his abilities in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

The forthcoming season with Engstler will be Ng’s most ambitious to date. He has previously been a star in drifting in the USA, where he moved at the age of 19. His first touring car race came in 2008 and in 2010 he took the Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) title in only his second year in the championship.

Ng will compete alongside team-mate and Team Principal Franz Engstler. The team enjoyed their strongest season to-date in the WTCC in 2011, with Englster himself taking their first win at their home race in Germany.