Grapevine: A1GP's Cheng to carry Olympic torch

Chinese A1GP racer Congfu "Franky" Cheng will be one of the flame bearers in the Olympic Torch Relay ahead of Games in Beijing this summer

Steven English Mar 20, 2008, 11:50 AM

The 23-year-old, who will also race in the F3 Euro Series this year, will carry the flame on part of its journey across Greece, which begins on Monday.

"It's a great honour for me to be nominated as one of the bearers. Hopefully my appearance will help to promote motorsport in China and encourage more people there to get involved in the sport," he said.

The Olympic Torch Relay is a tradition dating back to 766BC, when the first recorded Olympic Games were held.

The flame will be lit in Olympia on Monday and passed from the high priestess to the first of the torchbearers.

Cheng will carry it later on the first day of its 1500km journey, which will end on March 30 at the Panathenian Stadium - the site of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

Cheng will head from Athens to China to compete in the penultimate round of the A1GP season at Shanghai.