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| _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All rights reserve to Jimmy Lin Fans' Zone August 2003 |
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| Jimmy's Racing Faced Red Light In Beijing |
| End of July, Jimmy headed for Bei- jing to participate in a Renault For- mula series race. Although he wa- s filled with confidence before the race begins, in the end, due to so- me technical problems, he had to withdraw from the race. During the practice rounds before the actual race, Jimmy got 4th and was very confident on the day of the race. In addition to his artiste status, he received the most atten- tion from the spectators. Not long after the race begins, Ji- mmy who started out at a modest position began to give a fierce ch- ase and very soon, he was in 7th position. From the situation of the race, Jimmy's driving skill has sh- own to be that of a professional racer. But in the middle of the race, due to overheating during the race wh- ich cause the engine to malfuncti- on, Jimmy's car had to enter the pit stop, being unable to carry on with the rest of the race. During an interview after the race, he expressed that if it wasn't for the heat, he could have gotten the chance to stand on the podium. Seeing his team mates celebrati- ng with champagne, he could only feel his disappointment alone. Discussions (5/8/2003) |
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| Confident That Their Concert Would Be A Bash |
| In the afternoon of 22nd Augu- st, Huang Ping Yuan, Jimmy, Yuki Hsu and Wan Fang cam- e together in Shanghai for a press conference to announc- e about the news of a concert to be held on 19th September in Shanghai's Hong Kou Foot- ball Stadium. In the press conference, the question that the 4 of them were most often asked was how they felt towards the com- petition with many other conc- erts to be held in the same month of September. 4 of the- m, who had been in the singi- ng line for many years, each had their own replies. Huang Ping Yuan said that th- ough the name of the concert "Ji Ping Qing Ge" also has the word Ping as in his name, he said that this 'Ping' doesn't refer to him but it represents 'Ping Zhi' (quality), the quality of all the 4 singers. He said that Jimmy has accumulated a well-reputed artiste image over the years, and would win the audience over. He relate Yuki Hsu to that of a 'bomb th- at's awaiting to explode', filled with spontaneity, where her fi- rst song would be able to bri- ng the audience to a high mo- od. He related Wan Fang as a |
| singer of deep feelings. He said definitely it is most diffic- ult to praise about himself but he would show his best perf- ormance during the concert. The youngest would be Yuki Hsu and said that she would use her voice to show the infl- uence the other 3 singers had on her and sang a short verse of each of their songs, where for Jimmy, she sang his song titled, "Rainy Season of 17". And Wan Fang used 'deep words' to describe about their special points and that they are not afraid to compete with the concerts held by the other singers and believed that they each have their own group of supporters." Jimmy, with his shy expressi- on and his trademark smile looked just like himself when he was 17. He was also full of praises for the other 3 sing- ers, but talked very little about himself. This may naturally be because he had not have any new songs these recent ye- ars, but his fans including rac- ing fans have been increasing over the years, and he most probably know this very well. Article photos & Discussions (22/8/2003) |
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| Jimmy Furnishing His Digital World |
| After stepping out of the entertain- ment circle and signed a contract to be a full time car racer, Jimmy is still complaining of being 'busy'. Racing once every fortnight, he sa- id he has no freedom and felt like ending his contract and step out of the racing circle. At the end of last year, Jimmy had bought a house in Taiwan, but till now, it is still not completely reno- vated. Whenever he has any free days, no matter even for 2 days, he would fly back home to look at the fruits of his hard work. "My room is a world of the future!" He described his house proudly. "From curtains to the television, air conditioning to the water tap, every item can be controlled by the PDA in my palm!" Even when I'm in Sh- anghai, I can switch on a light in the house in Taiwan! The ceiling which formed a network of lightin- gs within, can adjust to all the diff- erent colours to suit with my mo- od, with little stars twinkling up th- ere! The projector and sound sys- tem will be 'hidden' in the ceiling, and when I need it, I just need to press a button and they will mane- uver down from mid air...." Being a fan of technology way mo- re than being a fan of car racing, compiling all his digital collecti- ons, he is able to open a shop! Other than cell phones, almost ev- ery generation of Sony digital cam- eras, video cameras and comput- ers, Jimmy would move all of the- m into his home. The latest MD and memory card, he would buy one almost every month. "If I can, I hope that I'm living in a virtual world of "The Matrix"!" Jimmy stopped moving his fingers on his PDA and looked outside the window expectedly. Discussions (26/8/2003) |
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| On 22nd, putting on a pastel co- loured shirt and sitting in a pre- ss conference, Jimmy still has on his mesmerizing smile. Although this time, he is in Sha- nghai to promote for a concert held next month, many report- ers are keen to ask him more regarding car racing. Just that without waiting for Jimmy to op- en his mouth to give a reply, the organizer had stepped out to st- op them, saying questions that is not related to the concert wo- uld not be entertained. Walking offstage, Jimmy now with light yellow sunglasses on is caught by the journalist and kindly accepted to do a 20 min interview. Unexpectedly, when talking about his favourite car racing, he actually said, "That's totally just paying for a torture." Just a week ago on 17th, Jim- my had just participated in the China Rally Race. And on that day, he had damaged a race car worth RMB 2M. After just driving the car halfway through, it suddenly went into technical problems leading to the breakage of the braking sy- stem and moreover, in front of him was a dead end. Under the situation of driving at a high sp- eed of 100km/h, he had to find a way to stop the car safely. He chose to hit the car at its side- ways, just like the way a plane is being forced to land. After hit- ting against the wall, the car sp- un for a few rounds and eventu- ally stopped. But the whole car was totally damaged. "Actually such situations often happen. 4 years ago, I was also involved in a collision when I was racing in Taiwan. That time, the speed was around 160 and hit against a wall. My right foot was fractur- ed, broke 3 bones." Jimmy bro- ught the matter up like it was no big deal. Although these few years, the structure of the car and circuit has improved greatly in its saf- ety, Jimmy had also accumula- ted a racing experience of 6 ye- ars, many accidents still could not be avoided. This June, he was invited to ra- ce in a Porsche Carrera race in Malaysia, and a minor collision lead to rumours of a damaged car and casualty, overturning car; with all sorts of exaggerat- ed reports that he had to clear all these up by having a press conference once he returned to Taiwan. "Just don't need to wor- ry la, safety is the most import- ant priority, I still remember this point." Thus he expressed that after 35, he would stop car raci- ng, concentrate on dating, mar- riage, so that his wife would ha- ve a greater sense of security. |
| Within one race and a loss of a car worth RMB 2M, doesn't he feel heartache about it? "Of cou- rse I would, but I'm not required to pay for it as they are all spon- sored." It's known that car racing is only the sport of the rich, and from Jimmy, we knew something new -- car racing is no different from burning money. A race car would at least cost more than RMB 1M, a good one would need more than 2M. This is still not inclusive of the fees in modifications. A newly bou- ght car still could not be driven on a racing circuit. Sometimes, the modification fee is equivale- nt to the cost of the car. In this way, there are still the fees for maintenance, fuel, repairs whi- ch are all of a high cost. In addi- tion to that, the accessories for a car racer which would cost up to RMB 20,000, even a rich man like Jimmy may not be able to afford all these. Moreover, the prize in car racing is not much. Jimmy said that the most prize money he ever won was just a few thousand dollars. "That's not even enough to buy a tire." "It was really difficult during the starting 2 to 3 years, as it wasn't enough depending on me alo- ne." But also because within th- ese few years he had some ac- hievements, and attracted som- e sponsors. The sponsors not only helped him to set up a rac- ing team, provided him some money for the needs during the race and even gave him an an- nual salary of more than a milli- on dollars. But on condition that he had to take up the role of be- ing the spokesperson, and like an official sportsperson, sign a contract and had to take part in more than 20 races per year. No wonder he would say, "Every race I take part in, its equivalent to the fees for filming a few epi- sodes in a drama." High spending, high risk plus great discomfort, just could not understand how such a sport could gain peoples' likings. Th- ese few years, the numbers of artistes interested in the sports of car racing are increasing. Li- stening to the reporter listing a whole list of names, Jimmy su- ddenly said, "I'm different from the others. They are not as de- ep into the sport as I am, and are involved in just a few races within a year. Although I'm not the earliest artiste to be involv- ed in car racing, however I'm confident to say that in the ente- rtainment circle, I am the only one that focus deeply into it. So many years, and so many races within a year...." Recalling to 6 years back when |
| Racing Is Spending Money For A Torture |
| he just started car racing, many people said he is just putting a show, trying to attract attention. Eventually he had produced re- sults and proved the others wr- ong. He had even received spo- nsorships and such recognition definitely made Jimmy much happier than going on stage to receive an award. Jimmy said that being a car rac- er for these few years, he had learnt about how remaining cal- m and make accurate and fast judgments. As there's no air co- nditioning in the car and the rac- ers have to put on thick racing suits. The temperature within is around 40C. If he doesn't keep his mind calm, any kind of acci- dents could happen. "While sp- eeding fast on the land, I am much focused, I would not think about any matters, whether it's anything happy or unhappy, I must forget all about them and only put all my concentrations on the car. This is a point why I like car racing so much, you do- n't have the time to think about other matters." Another attraction about car rac- ing to Jimmy is the uncertainti- es. "At the start, it was because of the thrill, the exhilarating feel- ing of overtaking others. But as I gradually go deeper into the sp- ort, I come to realise that car ra- cing is very special and different sport. You may not necessary achieve good results from hard work." There are too many fact- ors to determine the result of the race, such as engine probl- ems, surface situations, collisi- ons, etc, these are all unpredic- table matters. In the end of Feb 1998, Jimmy took part in a rally race in Tai- wan. That was the first time he took part in a rally race. In this 500km race, just remaining with 2km to complete, his SAXO 1.4 race car collided at a sharp be- nd due to some braking proble- ms leading to his withdrawal. He was very disappointed at th- at time as he had been running smoothly all the while. Thus he refers life to racing, "Most importantly is to learn ho- w you get a good hold of your steering wheel, accelerate at the right time, overtaking at the right time." As the reporter doesn't know about car racing, Jimmy patien- tly introduced some of the basic preparations for car racing. The most basic things a car ra- cer must have include a fire- proof suit (4 layers thick, thus very heavy), fire-proof face mas- k, fire-proof gloves, fire-proof shoes and safety helmet. Then the most important is the race car. "It is a light-weight car, |
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| with very sturdy structure and very uncomfortable. It may look really beautiful on the outside, but sitting inside is really uncomfortable, the- refore car racing is spending to lo- ok for torture." Jimmy said with a face of misery. In the car is a roll-cage, so as to protect the racer in the car. On the driver's seat, there safety belts on both the left and right side on each seat so as to hold the driver tightly to his seat. There's no air conditioning or sou- nd system in the car, and a fire ex- tinguisher is a must. There's no glass on both side of the car so the whole car can be said to be empty. Most favourite car racer: Michael Schumacher (MS). I admire the st- eadiness of his strong skills, and his wits in overtaking his oppone- nts at a very short time. I've collec- ted many of his merchandise, inc- luding a limited edition watch whi- ch is kept in a box of 2 F1 wheels. Also MS portrait, safety helmet, model cars, jackets, T-shirts, flag, organiser, pencils, and even sho- wer foam! If I get to meet MS, I'll surely ask for his autograph and a photo. The cars he races: 3 types...used in different races. A Porsche worth RMB2M, a Subaru worth over RMB 1M, and another is a Formula race car also worth more than RMB 1M. The luckiest year: 2001, achieved 7 champions, 1 first runner up and 1 second runner up. In that year, he got the overall champion for Super car race in Taiwan. The best result: Champion for China Formula Open race, won champion for both consecutive ro- unds. Spokesperson for car related eve- nts: Traffic ambassador for Taipei, ambassador against illegal raci- ng, spokesperson for emergency and life-saving public campaign events. Advice to racing fans: Hope that everyone would try not to speed on the road, as a car racing and illeg- al racing is very different. There's safety measures imposed in car racing. Everyone can support car racing events, but do not speed along the common roads. Discussions (27/8/2003) |