Team Komo and Jiawei (Gary) Chen will make their return to Monochrome GT4 Australia this month with a new co-driver in Le Zhang to join them for the upcoming round at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Team Komo and Jiawei Chen last competed in the series back in May at The Bend for the second round of the season, having debuted at Phillip Island prior to that, while Zhang will be making his Australian racing debut as part of the round.
The Chinese-born driver has spent the majority of his racing career doing open-wheel racing in China despite having moved to Australia back in 2013.
Beginning his motorsport journey at the young age of 10 years old, Zhang spent almost a decade karting before eventually making the move to open-wheel racing where he competed in regional Formula categories during 2012 and 2013.
After relocating to Australia in 2013, Zhang stepped away from regular competition but remained involved through testing and track days before returning to China in 2019 to compete in several Formula 4 rounds, including an event supporting the Chinese Grand Prix.
Since 2023, Zhang has shifted his focus to tin top machinery, once again taking part in track days and sprint events after acquiring a Porsche 991.1, while developing his race craft through extensive sim-racing training.
The upcoming round at Sydney will mark his first race in a GT car after being offered the opportunity to race alongside Chen following the pair meeting on social media, developing a friendship through their common interest in motorsport and completing a successful test at The Bend in Chen’s BMW M4 GT4 F82.
As it stands, Sydney will be a one-off for the pair, however, both Chen and Zhang are hopeful of continuing the partnership into 2027 and beyond.
The pair will tackle the Silver Class behind the wheel of Chen’s BMW M4, which is run by Dean Canto and the Team Komo crew, and will be looking to score the entry’s first points of the season.
The Monochrome GT4 Australia 2026 season continues later this month with LIQUI MOLY GT Festival Sydney at Sydney Motorsport Park on 18-20 September.
QUOTES
Le Zhang
#222 Team Komo BMW M4 GT4 F82
“I’m very excited about the opportunity as this will be my first proper race start in a GT car. For this weekend, we just want to finish the race safely and, at the same time, hopefully get a good result,” Zhang said.
“I met Gary through social media this year after hearing that he had bought his own GT4 car. We started talking about racing together and he invited me to test the car at The Bend a few weeks ago.
“I adapted to the car very well and felt pretty confident about doing a race with him, so we came to an agreement to race together. Hopefully, we can do more next year.
“It’s going to be very challenging for me because racing GT cars in a big field is something new, but I’ve done a lot of teamwork through sim racing and I’m looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully, we can finish with a good result.
“This weekend is a bit of a trial for us to see how we work together and how we perform. We haven’t decided yet about doing Sandown, but if everything goes well this weekend, then definitely, why not? Hopefully, this can lead to more racing together next year.
“Of course, none of this would be possible without Jiawei and the assistance and support from my family, so a big thank you to them all for their belief in me.”
Jiawei (Gary) Chen
#222 Team Komo BMW M4 GT4 F82
“I’m looking forward to the weekend for many reasons. I’ve never raced at Sydney Motorsport Park before, and I’m looking forward to learning from Le and seeing what we can bring to the team together,” Chen said.
“We’ve only really met online before, and he came to The Bend to do a test with us, so we’re still getting to know each other. It’ll be a bit of a fun challenge working together, but the main thing is that we have fun and hopefully build a good friendship along the way.
“He’s got some experience and a different background, so I’m sure he’ll be able to bring some valuable skills and knowledge to the team. It’ll be cool to have someone who is like-minded and share the car with him.”