Alex Yoong

His mother, Johanna Bean, is English, and his father Hanifah Yoong Yin Fah is a Malaysian of Chinese descent through Alex's grandfather Yoong Wan Hoi who emigrated in 1933.

Alexander Charles Yoong Loong (born 20 July 1976), is a Malaysian professional racing driver of Chinese and English parentage.

Yoong began his career in saloon cars before moving into the Proton one-make series.

Yoong was born on 20 July 1976 at the Sambhi Clinic in Kuala Lumpur.

His father started racing sedans in 1978, and his mother followed suit in 1983 in rallying.

Yoong became an avid follower of Formula One by the age of four.

He cited Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna as his racing heroes.

With a Kawasaki 50cc motocross bike he got on his eighth birthday, Yoong first showed his talent at racing.

His early racing career started in saloon cars in 1992 when he was 16.

Yoong became the youngest driver in Malaysian motorsport history and moved into a one-make Proton series.

He secured his first pole and won in his fourth role and ended up winning two out of five races.

In late 1992, Yoong took up saloon racing and took a Toyota Corolla to the Macau Grand Prix and finished third in the 1600cc class in the Guia Race.

Yoong later moved up into a 400-horsepower DTM-spec BMW and was the most powerful saloon in the region.

Moving up into the Formula Asia International Championship in 1994 with a RM 50,000 loan, Yoong took several podium finishes before claiming his first win in the season-ending round at Zhuhai in China.

He later raced in single-seater cars where he won the Malaysian Championship in 1995.

This result led to Yoong to go a title challenge in 1995.

He had won the Malaysian national crown, but the Continental Championship campaign was far less successful; producing eight wins and finishing second in the championship missing out by two points.

Within the same year, Yoong assisted in the filming of Jackie Chan's racing film Thunderbolt at Shah Alam which led to Chan describing him as a "very good racing driver".

Yoong was contacted by Paul Stewart to test a Formula Vauxhall car before he gained the opportunity to test a Formula Renault Sport machine at Donington Park and Snetterton for the Startline Racing team.

He moved into Formula Renault in 1996 with help from sponsors but finished outside the top-10.

Yoong consulted his father, who believed his son would succeed in lower categories.

Yoong began a campaign in Formula Renault with Startline Racing in 1996 along with sponsorship from Malaysian tyre manufacturer, Silverstone tyres.

At the first round in Donington, on lap one, Yoong outbraked three cars entering the Melbourne hairpin with his four tyres locking up, and by the 5th lap, Yoong was in 6th but an eventual collision with Rollo McNally but managed to finish 20th.

Throughout the rest of the season, Yoong managed to score numerous top six finishes but was unable to win a race.

His grandfather worked as a contractor and steel trader but was forced to retire during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Going into 1997, Yoong remained with Startline and believed he had a chance of competing for race wins.

But inexperience shown by a crash at the fourth round at Donington along with an uncompetitive chassis saw Yoong finish outside the top 10 of the championship.

Yoong consulted with his father Hanifah, and believed the best chance was to go into lower categories.

However, he decided to go into Formula Three to convince himself that he was a skilled driver.

He joined Portman Racing Team in their Dallara HKS-Mitsubishi.

Yoong decided to drive in Formula Three but dropped out in 1999 after withdrawal from his sponsors.

He subsequently went into Formula 3000 and managed to improve despite a horrific crash at Spa-Francorchamps during the season.

Yoong also raced in Formula Nippon where he achieved no success.

In an interview in 1999, Yoong states that he sees himself first as a Malaysian, then part Chinese and part English.

Yoong became the first Malaysian to race in Formula One with Minardi at the 2001 Italian Grand Prix and left the sport in 2002.

Yoong had a less successful career in CART World Series but had improved in the Porsche Carrera Cup with a less successful foray into V8 Supercars.

Yoong raced in A1 Grand Prix series between 2005 and 2008 and scored three victories.

In between this, Yoong raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Yoong worked for Lotus Racing as head of driver development and is also a commentator for Fox Sports Asia.

Joining them at Spa, Yoong finished 16th in a field of thirty cars and came 11th at the next round at Silverstone.