Wang Yibo Racing Career Sepang
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In the middle of October 2026, a familiar face appeared in an unfamiliar place. Wang Yibo, the Chinese actor and singer known around the world for the drama The Untamed, was spotted at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, on the track with UNO Racing, preparing for the finale of the China GT Championship. Days earlier he had been photographed eating bak kut teh in Pudu and durian at Jalan Alor in Kuala Lumpur, enjoying the city’s food like any visitor. The two pictures together — the food tour and the race track — tell the story of a career changing shape in public: a star stepping back from acting, and a driver stepping forward into a championship finale.
Wang is 29 years old, and he has said he wants to step back from acting to prioritise quality over quantity, spending more time outdoors and committing more time to professional motorsport. The Sepang weekend, set for 6 to 8 November 2026, is the biggest test of that commitment so far: the final round of the China GT Championship, held outside China, and Wang’s first overseas competition as a professional racing driver. This is the story of how he got there, from a boy-band debut to a GT race car.
From pop star to The Untamed
Wang Yibo entered entertainment in 2014 as the main rapper and dancer of Uniq, a South Korean-Chinese boy band. He made his film debut in MBA Partners in 2016, and reached a far wider audience through the drama The Untamed in 2019, followed by Legend of Fei in 2020 and the film Hidden Blade in 2023. The Malay Mail’s October 2026 reporting traces exactly this path, and notes that his 29th birthday brought a public decision: fewer acting projects, chosen more carefully, and more time given to motorsport.
The decision surprised some fans and delighted others. Wang has spoken about spending more time outdoors and throwing himself into professional motorsport, and his fans have applauded the move as a bold commitment to craft rather than a chase for endless projects. It is a rare thing for a star at the height of fame to choose a harder, slower road — and motorsport is harder and slower than any film set, because the stopwatch does not care who you are.
The birthday statement matters because it frames everything that follows. Wang is not treating racing as a celebrity hobby squeezed between filming schedules. He is treating it as a second profession, with training, a team, and a championship calendar, and the Sepang finale is the proof of that seriousness.
A motorcycle debut in 2019
Wang’s racing story began on two wheels. In 2019, he made his professional motorcycle debut at the Michelin GPGP Grand Prix in Beijing, a competitive debut in a sport where falling hurts and lap times are public. The Malay Mail’s reporting on his Sepang preparations traces his journey to that 2019 debut, and the date matters: Wang was already racing seriously while his acting fame was still rising, not after it faded.
Motorcycle racing teaches lessons car racing cannot. The rider’s body is part of the machine, the margin for error is millimetres, and the courage required is physical in a way acting never is. A driver who learned his racecraft on a motorcycle brings a feel for grip, lean, and risk that car-only drivers take years to develop. Wang’s early years on bikes were not a detour. They were the foundation of the driver he is becoming.
The step from motorcycles to cars is not a small one. The skills transfer — racing lines, braking points, reading a track — but the machine is entirely different, and the driver must learn to trust downforce, tyres, and a team of engineers rather than his own balance. Wang made that step in 2024, and the step has defined his racing career since.
Switching to GT cars with UNO Racing
In 2024, Wang switched to GT car racing with UNO Racing, the team he still races for. GT racing — grand tourer racing — uses powerful production-based sports cars, modified for the track, competing in multi-class fields where professional and amateur drivers share the circuit. It is serious, fast, and unforgiving, and it is a long way from a celebrity race or a publicity appearance.
The car Wang races is a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, a purpose-built racing version of the Mercedes-AMG GT, and he races in the number 85 car for UNO Racing. The GT3 class is one of the most competitive in world motorsport, with professional drivers, factory support, and lap times separated by fractions of a second. A newcomer in GT3 is measured against the best, and the stopwatch is the only judge that matters.
Wang’s commitment shows in the training. He has spent the 2026 season contesting the China GT Championship, a five-round series, and arrived at Sepang with a season of GT racing behind him. The switch from motorcycles to GT cars, completed in two seasons, is a serious achievement on its own, whatever the Sepang result brings.
The 2026 China GT Championship season
The 2026 China GT Championship ran five rounds, and Sepang is the last of them. The season opened at the Shanghai International Circuit in April, continued at Ningbo in May and Zhuhai in July, returned to Shanghai in September, and finishes at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on 6 to 8 November. Sepang is the only venue outside China on the calendar, which makes the finale the championship’s international showcase — and Wang’s first overseas competition as a professional car racing driver.
The season has been a learning curve. Pre-season testing at Shanghai in March 2026 saw Wang and the UNO Racing team working through the new car, and the rounds since have built experience in traffic, in changing conditions, and in the long races GT racing demands. A GT race is not a sprint. It is an endurance of concentration, teamwork, and pit strategy, and a driver learns it only by doing it, round after round.
The finale matters beyond Wang’s own result. A championship finale decides titles, settles rivalries, and draws the largest crowds of the season. For a driver in his first full GT season, racing a finale overseas, in front of Malaysian fans who have followed his career from The Untamed to the track, the pressure is real — and so is the opportunity.
Practice at Sepang and the food tour
Wang arrived in Malaysia early. He was spotted at the Sepang International Circuit on 13 October, hitting the track with UNO Racing ahead of the finale, and he shared training photographs from Sepang on the Chinese social platform Weibo on the same day. The Malay Mail reported the track appearance on 14 October, alongside the food tour that had already charmed local fans.
The food tour was the visit’s human side. On 14 October, Wang was photographed eating bak kut teh — a pork rib soup — in Pudu, and eating durian at Jalan Alor, at a stall in the Duriyen Garden area. The Malay Mail’s report of 16 October describes the meals in detail, and notes that the visit may also include work on a racing documentary, expected to be released in the summer of 2027. The food photographs and the track photographs tell the same story from two sides: a driver who is comfortable in Malaysia, and a star who is enjoying being a visitor rather than a headliner.
Sepang itself is a demanding circuit, and the practice sessions matter. The track is known for its two long straights, where GT cars reach their highest speeds, separated by tight, technical corners that punish mistakes. Learning the track — its braking points, its surface changes in the tropical heat, its afternoon rain — is the work of the practice days, and Wang’s early arrival shows a driver taking that work seriously.
What Sepang means for his career
The Sepang finale is a hinge in Wang Yibo’s career. A strong weekend would confirm that the step back from acting was a step toward something real, and that a pop star can become a racing driver on merit rather than fame. A difficult weekend would still leave the achievement intact: a full GT season, a switch from motorcycles to cars, and a finale contested overseas as a professional.
The longer meaning is about the path itself. Wang’s career now has two tracks, and he has chosen to give the second one his time and his effort. The acting will continue, on his own terms, with fewer projects chosen more carefully. The racing will continue too, with training, a team, and a calendar that does not pause for filming. Few stars attempt both. Fewer still attempt the second one seriously.
On 6 to 8 November 2026, the Sepang crowd will see a driver, not a drama star. The car will be number 85, the team will be UNO Racing, and the stopwatch will be the only critic that counts. Whatever the result, the man in the car will have earned the seat — on the track, in the heat, at speed, where fame buys nothing and lap time buys everything.
The Sepang circuit in numbers
Sepang International Circuit measures 5.543 kilometres, with 15 corners and two long straights, and Wang has said he was getting accustomed to those straights during practice. The layout punishes mistakes: a good exit from a corner leading onto a long straight matters, because the car carries that speed into the next stretch, and a poor exit costs time all the way down it. The tropical heat and humidity add to the work, along with fast corners and the ever-present chance of afternoon rain changing the surface mid-session. Practice ran until 8 p.m. on at least one evening, and Wang was also seen riding a scooter beside the circuit between sessions, a quieter moment in a demanding week. Learning a circuit is not memorising a map. It is building the feel of each braking point in the body, lap after lap, until the track is known the way a road home is known.
The documentary and what comes next
Wang’s Malaysian visit may also include work on a racing documentary, titled Zhangkong Zhi Jie in Chinese, with filming during the trip described as planned and the programme expected to be released during the summer holiday period in 2027. A documentary follows naturally from a career being built in public: the training, the travel, and the finale are a story worth telling, and Wang’s fans have followed both halves of his life — the performer and the driver — with equal attention. What comes after Sepang depends on the season’s end and the choices Wang makes about his two careers, but the direction is set. Fewer acting projects, chosen carefully. More time outdoors, more time in motorsport, and a second profession pursued with the same seriousness as the first. The Sepang weekend is a chapter, not a conclusion, and the next chapter will be written on the track.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wang Yibo a professional racing driver?
Yes, Wang Yibo is a professional racing driver as well as an actor and singer. He made his professional motorcycle debut at the Michelin GPGP Grand Prix in Beijing in 2019, switched to GT car racing with UNO Racing in 2024, and contests the 2026 China GT Championship. The Sepang finale on 6 to 8 November 2026 is his first overseas competition as a professional car racing driver.
What team does Wang Yibo race for?
Wang Yibo races for UNO Racing, driving the number 85 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the China GT Championship. He joined the team for GT car racing in 2024, after his motorcycle debut in 2019. He was spotted practising with UNO Racing at the Sepang International Circuit in October 2026, ahead of the championship finale.
When is the Wang Yibo Sepang race in 2026?
The China GT Championship finale at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is set for 6 to 8 November 2026. It is the fifth and final round of the 2026 season, the only round held outside China, and Wang Yibo’s first overseas competition as a professional racing driver. He arrived early, practising at Sepang and sharing training photographs on Weibo on 13 October.
How did Wang Yibo start racing?
Wang started on motorcycles, making his professional debut at the Michelin GPGP Grand Prix in Beijing in 2019, while his acting career was rising through The Untamed. He switched to GT car racing with UNO Racing in 2024, learning a new machine and a new discipline. The 2026 China GT season, with rounds at Shanghai, Ningbo, and Zhuhai before Sepang, has been his first full GT campaign.
Why did Wang Yibo step back from acting?
On his 29th birthday, Wang said he wanted to step back from acting to prioritise quality over quantity, spending more time outdoors and committing more time to professional motorsport. His fans have applauded the move as a bold commitment to craft rather than a chase for endless projects. Acting continues on his own terms, with fewer projects chosen more carefully, while racing takes a larger share of his time.
Sources
- Malay Mail — From Bak Kut Teh in Pudu to Durian at Jalan Alor: Wang Yibo Eats His Way Around KL Ahead of Sepang Race (fetched 2026-10-28)
- Malay Mail — From ‘Untamed’ Fame to GT Glory, Wang Yibo Revs Up Sepang Showdown (fetched 2026-10-28)
- Asia Daily — Wang Yibo Tries Kuala Lumpur Favourites as He Prepares for Sepang (fetched 2026-10-28)
