The glamour of motor racing will be mixed with the glitz of Hong Kong’s social scene when Two Up Front organises the official launch party for the China leg of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

The VIP evening will be held at one of the hottest venues in town, the brand new Republik club in Hollywood Road, Central, on Tuesday 19 October.

Business leaders and society figures will join drivers, race officials and sponsors at the launch, while photo opportunities will abound with at least one of the racing cars parked outside the venue.

The party will be designed to attract maximum publicity for the race, the 1,000km of Zhuhai, which will be staged at Zhuhai International Circuit in southern China from 5-7 November.

Two Up Front has reached an agreement with the race promoter, ACO China, to organise the high-profile launch.

“This cocktail party will mark the start of the Hong Kong countdown to China’s first ever Intercontinental Le Mans Cup endurance race,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait.

“With its reputation for sophistication and a highly developed appreciation of premium cars and brands, Hong Kong is the logical place to host such a gathering and Republik is the perfect venue.”

Two Up Front has an excellent track record in motorsport, having previously handled worldwide PR – and organised the official launch party – for Hong Kong’s first Le Mans racing team.

The company has also handled PR for Team of Paris, one of the most successful teams at Macau’s annual Grand Prix weekend.

The 1,000km of Zhuhai will be the third and final race of the 2010 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup following the 1,000km of Silverstone in England (12 September) and the Petit Le Mans in Atlanta, USA (2 October). After two days of practice and qualifying, the race will be staged in front of thousands of motorsports fans on Sunday 7 November.

The world’s leading performance car manufacturers – including Audi, Peugeot, Porsche, BMW, Jaguar and Ferrari – will compete across both the prototype (P1 and P2) and grand touring (GT1 and GT2) categories.

Two Up Front also handles worldwide PR and media management for the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens and Korea’s biggest golf tournament, the Ballantine’s Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

In addition, the company produces the official souvenir programme and pocket guide for the world famous Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, the biggest and most prestigious event in the IRB Sevens World Series.

Leading sports PR and publishing company Two Up Front today staged a spectacular launch for Hong Kong’s first ever Le Mans 24 Hours team, Noble Group-GruppeM Racing.

Highlight of the launch - held at one of Hong Kong’s trendiest nightspots, 1/5 - was the unveiling of the team’s car, a Porsche GT3 RSR with Hong Kong’s red-and-white bauhinia emblem emblazoned on its roof.

The launch began with a press conference hosted by leading Hong Kong radio personality Phil Whelan and attended by dozens of media from TV, newspapers, specialist magazines and radio.

The press conference began with a large-screen video highlighting Porsche’s impressive record at Le Mans before Noble Group-GruppeM Racing’s two drivers, Matthew Marsh and Darryl O’Young, entered from a side door and strode to the stage amid lights and rock music.

After an entertaining question and answer session, the drivers and media stepped outside to watch team promotion girls unveil the Porsche before a crowd of onlookers. Marsh and O’Young posed for photos with the car and then conducted TV interviews.

The press conference was followed by a VIP cocktail party at 1/5 attended by nearly 300 guests, including corporate leaders, sponsors, celebrity supporters and sports stars, who mingled and chatted while Steve McQueen’s classic movie “”Le Mans“” played on a giant screen.

“The launch was a huge success,” said Two Up Front’s editorial director, Niall Donnelly. “It was all down to teamwork, with many organisations lending a hand. We’d like to thank everyone who helped, in particular the Hong Kong Automobile Association, which obtained permission from various government departments and the police to station the car outside 1/5 and transported it to and from the venue.”

Hong Kong-based Two Up Front beat off intense competition in April to win the contract to handle public relations on behalf of Noble Group-GruppeM Racing.

The company immediately commenced a sustained media campaign that garnered worldwide coverage for the team. News stories included: the announcement of the Le Mans project; backing for the team from high-profile international racing personalities; and the announcement of team drivers. Features about Marsh, O’Young and the team’s backers have also appeared in newspapers and magazines.

The Le Mans project marks the first time that a car owned and sponsored by Hong Kong companies and piloted by Hong Kong drivers has attempted to enter the world’s greatest endurance race.

Noble Group-GruppeM Racing will take part in four races in Europe this year as part of the Le Mans Endurance Series and will almost certainly also take part in the China leg of the FIA GT Championship at Zhuhai in October. These races will be followed by a trip to Florida next March for the 12 Hours of Sebring race. Good results will almost certainly be enough to secure an invitation to the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2006.