Driven to succeed

    Ye Yifei's landmark Le Mans win is a title nearly two decades in the making

    By LI YINGXUE | China Daily | Updated: 2025-07-14 11:06
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    Bold moves

    Ye in action behind the wheel of AF Corse's No 83 Ferrari 499P at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

    At 12, Ye began traveling alone to Japan for tougher competition. "Karting is about building muscle memory — training your body to instinctively feel what the vehicle is doing," he explained.

    "In Europe, kids my age were already racing against fields of 100 or more drivers. By 14 or 15, they were preparing for Formula cars."

    So Ye made his boldest move yet. At 14, he left China for Le Mans, the spiritual home of endurance racing. He barely spoke a word of French. "I had to learn it through English — it felt impossible at first."

    Homesick and exhausted, Ye would tune into Chinese radio broadcasts on his phone, the familiar voices providing an emotional lifeline. By his second year, he spoke enough French to resume his studies, and even outscore his classmates in the national exams.

    Balancing school and racing, Ye's persistence paid off. In 2016, he won the French F4 Championship, and by 2019 he had joined the Renault Sport Academy, driving in F3.

    The next step was F2 and a shot at F1. However, in 2020, Ye made another bold choice: to switch to endurance racing.

    "At the time, I knew many top manufacturers were preparing to join Le Mans' top class. I saw it as a great opportunity to step onto the world stage as a professional racing driver," he explained.

    The transition proved fruitful. Ye collected multiple wins across endurance events, but, his Le Mans debut in 2021 delivered what he calls the darkest moment of his career.

    Taking over in the final two hours of the race, Ye clawed back a 20-second deficit to seize the lead. By the last lap, he was 40 seconds ahead of second place, poised to make history. But, as he exited Turn 1, his car suddenly broke down. Unable to restart, he and his teammates were forced to retire.

    "It was unbearable. The car just stopped on the last lap. If we had crossed the line, it would've been historic," Ye said. "I couldn't recover. I just kept crying."

    Instead of breaking him, the desolation of victory snatched away at the last moment steeled Ye's resolve. "I kept reminding myself to stick to my original dream and keep working. Setbacks make you stronger — they prepare you for bigger challenges ahead."

    That display of skill and determination didn't go unnoticed. Soon after, Ye secured a contract with endurance racing royalty Porsche. It was the step that led him to, arguably, the most famous motor racing marque of them all and another lifelong dream. By 2024 he was an official factory driver for Ferrari.

    In his second season with the marque, Ye finally conquered Le Mans.

    Since its inception in 1923, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been a linchpin of the motorsports calendar — endurance racing's equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula One or the Rallye Monte-Carlo in the World Rally Championship. Its grueling 24-hour nonstop format places extraordinary physical demands on drivers, particularly their necks.

    To prepare, Ye revealed that he regularly trains his neck by wearing a helmet with an additional 20 to 30 kilograms of weight, repeating a single exercise up to 200 or 300 times.

    Ye incorporates mental training too, often engaging in reaction-based drills with his coach. "We play games under pressure, where I have to focus entirely on my movements instead of the outcome. It helps me handle emergency situations in the car when the pressure is on," he explained.

    When he's not racing, Ye spends time in the Alps — across France, Switzerland and Austria — working on his physical endurance. He enjoys cycling and mountain hiking.

    "These outdoor workouts not only improve my physical condition, but also help me find a sense of inner calm during races," Ye said.

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    亚洲爆乳无码一区二区三区| 久久精品国产亚洲AV无码麻豆| 亚洲精品无码久久一线| 人妻少妇精品无码专区动漫| 久久无码中文字幕东京热| 精品一区二区无码AV| 亚洲Av无码精品色午夜| 欧美中文字幕在线视频| 无码精品国产一区二区三区免费| 在线观看免费中文视频| 免费a级毛片无码| 无码av最新无码av专区| 天堂а√在线地址中文在线| 亚洲午夜无码片在线观看影院猛| 久久久久无码精品国产不卡| 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕| 无码中文字幕乱在线观看 | 中文字幕在线一区二区在线| 日韩电影无码A不卡| 无码少妇一区二区性色AV| 最好看的电影2019中文字幕| 久热中文字幕无码视频 | 亚洲国产精品无码久久久蜜芽| 免费在线中文日本| 亚洲精品无码激情AV| 国产成人无码午夜福利软件| 人妻丰满熟妇AV无码片| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线视频| 免费无码一区二区三区蜜桃| 日韩区欧美区中文字幕| 中文字幕你懂得| 日本中文字幕一区二区有码在线| 精品久久久久久中文字幕大豆网| 亚洲AV无码资源在线观看| 蜜臀精品无码AV在线播放| 国产精品无码永久免费888| AV无码人妻中文字幕| av大片在线无码免费| 99久久国产热无码精品免费久久久久| 色欲狠狠躁天天躁无码中文字幕| 无码人妻精品一区二区|