By Zhu Chong(朱冲)
Lifestyle, page 59
Issue No. 549, Dec 19, 2011
Translated by Li Meng (李萌）
Original Article: [Chinese]

Writer and racing car driver Han Han, author of one of China’s most ardently-read blogs, is becoming as big a star on the track as he is on the internet.

His most recent victory makes him the only driver to have won both the China Rally Championship and China Circuit Championship.

"I'm capable of doing two completely different things (writing and car racing) and I hope I can do more and do it well. I want to prove that I am a well-rounded learner," the 29-year-old from Shanghai wrote in one of his blog posts.

Many people thought Han Han was just another young man indulging himself in an expensive hobby, burning away the royalties and fees he’d earned as a novelist.

Like many professional racing drivers, Han Han began with racing karts. "Most of the time, I stuck with one go-kart for the whole day's driving and wouldn't stop until the engine wore out," he said. "To improve my driving skills, I regularly headed to the mountains around Beijing to practice. I could have died on more than ten thousands occasions." He still trains intensively, going karting once a week and visiting the gym every couple of days.

"It costs you 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan a year. Since I started racing, I’ve spent enough to buy a BMW as well as a Porsche […] Instead of racing, I could have driven a BMW or a Porsche to get girls. People probably wouldn't have said anything about this, but now I’m accused of ripping off readers and behaving like a boy racer when I pay out of my own pocket to get strenuous practice, endure the heat of a racing cockpit and suffer injuries as part of my training."

Han Han earned one million yuan from his driving last season, but it doesn't seem like many other drivers can make that much money in China.

"If you want to make tens of thousands of yuan each year out of racing as I do, you have to invest more than ten million yuan in practice, training sessions and instruction etc. before turning professional. On top of that, racing drivers don't have any social security benefits they can rely on," he explained.

"I'll keep racing until I'm not be able to win anymore. The day that I stop enjoying driving is the day it will be time to retire. If I ever feel the itch to race again after retirement, I will get involved in drift racing or autocross since the level is comparatively low and wouldn't be too physically demanding." Han Han believes that he has already fulfilled the most important mission in life - being a father - and that has left him with no regrets whatsoever. "I'd choose to die on race track."

Despite giving the impression of being unapproachable, Han Han is always willing to use his fame to promote the sport of auto racing, "Be a teammate with Han Han" was the recruiting slogan that Subaru (Han Han currently drives for their team) used to appeal to talented young drivers. The race organizers also made full use of his celebrity to promote racing events.

Han Han prefers the label "racing driver” to "writer" and takes offence at being described as a “scholar driver" or "writer driver". Car racing is the only topic that gets him animated with interviewers, among whom he's known for being uninterested and uncooperative. "It was a competition with no suspense, because I hardly had any rivals," he said of his most recent championship title.

When it comes to Formula One, and the growing enthusiasm among Chinese fans for the peak international competition of competitive racing, Han Han is dismissive. "I don't understand their way of thinking at all. Most Chinese know nothing about auto racing. Just like those who are fond of luxury cars and can’t even explain the concept of four-wheel drive, let alone any knowledge of F1. It seems that following F1 is just the trendy thing to do. Those followers even look down upon Chinese racers and have no understanding of their hardship. They should stop pretending to be avid car racing enthusiasts. You can expect tens of thousands of audiences to show up to the Shanghai grand prix, but there are less than a hundred people cheering at domestic rallies and circuit races. I despise those fake fans who talk about F1 all the time. We won’t be able to see a Chinese driver in a F1 team line-up unless someone starts doing something substantial, since it takes tens of millions of yuan to train a young talent to become a F1 driver. While right now it’s impossible to find a Chinese sponsor since they’ll only mock you when you’ve failed.”

This is Han Han, an outspoken, critical and assertive young Chinese man who expresses himself through writing, blogging and car racing. Even on the night before the China Rally Championship’s deciding race, he stayed up late to watch El Clasico, the football match between Spain’s fiercest rivals. "It was a fantastic game. Although Real Madrid were good, Barça were best! Their performances are consistently excellent, and so are mine on the racing track."