Grand Prix [Archive] - SkyscraperCity

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 05:38 AM

Macau plays host to Formula One hopefuls

Those wanting a guide to Formula One stars of the future could do worse than check out this weekend’s Macau Grand Prix, which brings together some of the world’s finest Formula Three talent.

Among those on the entry list for the prestigious event are three sons of ex-Formula One world champions. Nico Rosberg, son of flying Finn Keke, and Nelson Piquet Jr will be competing for Opel Team Rosberg and Piquet Sports respectively, while Christian Jones, son of Alan, will start for TME racing.

Rosberg and Piquet have tested for Williams in the past, but there are several other men on the Macau grid who are no strangers to Formula One power. Japanese driver Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Frenchman Franck Perera have both tested for Toyota as members of the team’s Driver Academy, while Ho Pin Tung is another man with Williams experience.

They will be joined by a host of other Formula One hopefuls, all of whom know that a strong performance around the famous Guia street circuit can only impress team bosses. They include British drivers Adam Carroll and James Rossiter, who finished second and third behind Piquet in this year’s British Formula Three championship, and 2004 F3 Euroseries winner Jamie Green.

The annual Macau event, now in its 51st year, hosted its first Formula Three race in 1983, when the winner was a young Ayrton Senna. Since then it has become recognised as something as a proving ground for up-and-coming motorsport talent, bringing together the best drivers from the world’s premier F3 competitions.

Michael Schumacher took victory in 1990, but only after losing the first of the race’s two heats to future Formula One adversary Mika Hakkinen, and then controversially colliding with the Finn in the second. Second place went to future Ferrari and Toyota star Mika Salo, while Schumacher’s future team mate Eddie Irvine was third.

David Coulthard was victorious the following year, while the 1992 race saw Jacques Villeneuve finish third. In 1995 all three podium spots were again filled by future Grand Prix stars, with Ralf Schumacher winning from Jarno Trulli and Pedro de la Rosa.

One-time Jordan driver Ralph Firman crossed the line first in 1996, seeing off the likes of Trulli, who came home third, Nick Heidfeld and Juan Pablo Montoya. Jenson Button was runner-up in 1999, while his BAR team mate, Takuma Sato, won in 2001.

And for anyone who thinks they have spotted the next Senna this weekend, they might well have – literally. Ayrton’s nephew Bruno is also on the Macau bill, competing in the supporting Asian Formula Renault Challenge.

Interestingly, he will up against American Scott Speed, one of the brightest stars in Red Bull’s Junior team, and a man already being linked by the media to a possible future drive with the Red Bull Racing Formula One team.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 05:39 AM

The fever rises with the warming up of the engines at the Macau Grand Prix. On November 20th the light will turn green on the island of Macao, the ex-Portuguese colony which recently became part of Chinese territory, where the most fascinating of all road races will take place - with Aprilia's presence duly noted.

It will be the Tuono 1000 R belonging to Giorgio Cantalupo, the Italian multi-champion and the European SKB runner up in 1997, to test himself on the "Guia"; the city circuit 6.2 kilometers long and crowded with passionate and colorful fans. Just as at previous installments of this race, about 700 thousand spectators are expected to line the track during the course of the weekend. For Giorgio it is yet another occasion to show off his talent and that of the 1000 from Noale, especially coming off yet another great performance at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle Of Man, a similar road race yet with the terrible distance of 60+ kilometers. At the British circuit, inn the seat of the naked motorcycle from Noale, Giorgio gave a huge demonstration on the enormous potential of his bike while measuring himself up against the SBK and racing without reserve.

Now, along the banks of the Chinese Sea, he finds himself on the eve of a race which always draws large amounts of attention, both for the pilots and the public since it is not tied to any official Series. At the Macau Grand Prix you can expect fans to do anything to find tickets for a weekend which, on Saturday, showcases the motorcycle-only races and, Sunday, allows fans to enjoy various automobile challenges and the prestigious Formula 3 GP.

Regarding the motorcycles, the record is held by Michael Rutter with a fantastic run of 2:28:33 with an average of 148 kilometers per hour. This year Rutter will attempt to repeat last year's success bringing his number of total wins on this track to four, approaching the absolute record of six held by the record-man himself, Ron Haslam.

Looking at the Italian presence, besides the exploits of Dario Marchetti who won one edition, no other Italian has made it to the podium of the Guia Circuit: this year Giorgio issues a challenge with the same grit with which he confronted the TT. And in the seat of the Tuono, he will seek out the same fantastic feeling he had as the protagonist of the asphalt at Man.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:32 AM

Michael Rutter, the 31-year-old racer from Leicestershire, topped the second free practice session for Saturday's 38th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna, this afternoon.

Rutter, on the 1000cc Red Bull Honda, had only been fourth fastest in the morning session, but was quickest of all in this outing, though he failed to go faster than he had earlier in the day.

His pre-race rival, John McGuinness (999cc Monstermob Ducati), who had been best in the early morning, was second quickest just six tenths of a second down.

Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter (1000cc Yamaha), second fastest in the morning, was third best but almost two and a half seconds slower than McGuinness.

First-time American visitor, Josh Hayes (1000cc Attack Racing Kawasaki) continued his astonishing debut performance by setting fourth quickest time after being eighth best in the morning.

Callum Ramsay, the 29-year-old Scot, continued to dominate the FIM 600 Supersport class. He was again quicker than his Valmoto Triumph team mate Chris Palmer with last year's winner, Australian Cameron Donald third best on his China Yuan XGJao Honda.

The session was halted following an incident involving the Austrian rider Erwin Wilding (1000cc Honda).

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:33 AM

Fabio Carbone quickest in first practice

Brazilian Fabio Carbone saved his best until last during Thursday's opening free practice session for this weekend's Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix to set the fastest time. The Three Bond Racing driver, who was on pole position for last year's race, moved to the top of the timesheets in the closing seconds of the session - before beating his best time on his final lap.

"We have started okay," he said. "There were lots of small things on the car that we had to work on, but it is a good start. I think I learned a lot after last year and now let's just wait and see for qualifying this afternoon."

Carbone's closest challenger was American Richard Antinucci, who also set his best lap on his final tour to the chequered flag. The TOM's driver's best lap was 0.612 seconds behind Carbone.

Briton Lewis Hamilton managed to set the third best time, despite losing valuable track time after being forced into the pits with a broken wheel nut. The Manor Motorsport driver had been at the top of the timesheets, two seconds clear of the opposition, when he encountered the problem.

"It felt like I had a flat tyre and I just had to slow down," explained Hamilton. "I could not see what it was in the mirrors so I thought it best to come into the pits to see what it was - especially as I was sure I hadn't hit the wall. Despite that, the car feels sweet at the moment and I've got a good feeling about this weekend. This track is mega."

Poland's Robert Kubica was fourth quickest, despite a brush with the wall at Lisboa early in the session after he was forced to take avoiding action to stop himself from hitting Alvaro Parente. He also understeered into the wall at the hairpin later that lap after running wide on cement dust laid down after an earlier session had left oil on the track.

Nelson Piquet Jr., one of the pre-event favourites, had a troubled session as he ran wide at the hairpin early on and then suffered suspected steering problems to end up 23rd overall.Franck Perera had a spin.Danny Watts said he was 'surprised' to end up eighth overall after suffering a puncture early in the session and losing track time

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:34 AM

First Qualifying (Thursday November 18th):
Weather: Warm, sunny.

After a rain of Renaults, and a fairly messy local touring car race, the first official qualifying session for the 51st Macau Grand Prix finally got underway a mere 15 minutes later. With sunny skies and dry weather set in for the day, (and hopefully the weekend) conditions were as close to the optimum as they were likely to get on this tricky street circuit. As a result there was a long line of F3 cars waiting to go out on the track by the time the green lights went on and the cars were released onto track. The green flag symbol came up on the timing screens, but for some reason the officials in the pit lane were rather slow to get the message. Still, with 45 minutes to go, it probably wouldn't matter too much at the end of the day. One of the questions in everyone's minds was what sort of pole time we could expect. Fabio Carbone (Three Bond Racing) was in the low 2 minutes 13 seconds bracket last year, and was two seconds slower this morning (though still fastest overall by a good half second from Richard Antinucci, racing with TOM'S this year after a year in Japan). With lots of traffic to contend with you needed a lot of luck and a clear lap, which might explain why Loïc Duval (Signature) was clearly in no rush to go out, letting most of the rest of the field go before he emerged from the pits. Getting out there in the crowd could get you in serious trouble, or at least make you look a bit stupid, as demonstrated by Kazuki Nakajima (TOM'S), who shot off up the slip road at Lisboa Bend and had to be hauled back.

Danny Watts (Hitech Racing) and Marko Asmer (Carlin Motorsport) were the first to set times but they weren't doing anything special yet; meanwhile Lewis Hamilton (Manor Motorsport) banged in a 2:16 on his very first lap, while Jamie Green (ASM Formule 3), Alexandre Premat (ASM Formule 3) and Franck Perera (Prema Powerteam) were all close to his time. Asmer was quickly up there too, but Hamilton was flying. Meanwhile, Giedo van der Garde (Signature) had made a bit of a fool of himself and crashed out on his out lap at San Francisco. With the wheels off the car on one side, he was clearly not going anywhere fast. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Green and Robert Kubica (Manor Motorsport) now made up the top three, and they were all in the 2.16s, where they were rapidly joined by Carbone, who leapfrogged to the top of the order, only to get shoved back when Hamilton found a couple of seconds from somewhere, and set a 2:14! Elsewhere, James Rossiter (Signature) had been last all bar his stricken teammate, but then he shot up the screen to go 6th.

With Hamilton ahead by over 1.5 seconds, the session was red flagged after Eric Salignon (ASM Formule 3) crashed out at Maternity Bend, and had to be retrieved. So with 34 minutes left to run, everyone trundled back to the pits while cleanup operations were instituted. The order at this point was Hamilton, Premat, Carbone, Green, Kubica, Antinucci, Rossiter, Ronnie Quintarelli (Inging), Marchy Lee (Meritus) and Lucas di Grassi (Hitech Racing).

And pretty much as soon as they got going again we had more mayhem with another of the sort of used car parks that you so often get at Melco Hairpin. Except that the driver that started it, Kubica, got out of his car in the middle of the track, abandoning the wreckage for the marshals to deal with. With another two cars involved - those of di Grassi and Daisuke Ikeda (Swiss Racing Team) - it took a while to clear the mess away and get most of the field moving again, Green being the first man to squeeze past and go on his way. As a result of all the mayhem, and that fact that the track wasn't clear, it was very hard for anyone to improve. Hamilton certainly didn't seem to think there was much point staying out there while the mess was being cleared away. As a result, the mid-part of the session proved singularly uneventful in terms of improvements, with most people diving into the pits for new tyres, taking advantage of the self-imposed pause. Meanwhile, Katsuyuki Hiranaka (Prema Powerteam) was able to make the first improvement, moving up to 9th, but otherwise there was not much going on out there. And then, with the track clear, and the Yokohama tyres nicely warmed up, the timing screens went mad. First Parente jumped to 6th, then Watts made a tremendous effort to 2nd, although he was still over half a second adrift of Hamilton. The next change came when Nakajima snatched 4th, just ahead of Adam Carroll (Menu Motorsport), who seems to have settled in nicely on this demanding circuit. Nico Rosberg (Opel Team Rosberg) then flexed his muscles to claim 3rd, while Perera was able to improve to 6th. Quintarelli was another to join the lemming-like rush up the order, and was now 4th. So, with slightly over a third of the session to go, Hamilton led, from Watts and Rosberg. That soon changed, however, with 2nd and 3rd going to Green and Parente, which meant Watts was 4th, from Rosberg and Quintarelli. Nakajima then showed that he's more than a chip off the old block, by slotting into 5th place. And he was joined on the 3rd row by Duval, who was almost immediately demoted a place by Naoki Yokomizo (Inging). Nakajima immediately leapt up a place, only to find he had Rosberg ahead of him in 3rd. Meanwhile, Perera and Antinucci finally managed to join the top 10. And then it all fell apart yet again. This time it was Parente in the wall at Teddy Yip Bend with terminal damage to the car. And so, with 10 minutes left to run, the session was once again red flagged while the overworked (and possibly overwrought) marshals rescued yet another batch of F3 boys.

At this stage the order was still Hamilton on provisional pole, from Green, Rosberg, Quintarelli, Parente, Nakajima, Yokomizo, Perera, Watts and Antinucci. At the restart it quickly became apparent that most people had either given up or their tyres were shot. There were few changes, although Carbone appeared to still have something in reserve. The only question was would it be enough? At least he was now backing in the top 10, with 8th place. The trouble was that Hamilton had now managed a 2.12 second time and was absolutely flying. He was beginning to look unstoppable, which should be no surprise to anyone who saw what he was capable off last year. He was now 1.3 seconds faster than Green, who seemed to have run out of answers. So Carbone had a go, upping the ante to go 2nd, less than a second behind Hamilton, who wasn't going to take that lying down. Green, meanwhile, dug deep to take 2nd back, though he was still a long way off Hamilton's time. Further down the order, Adam Carroll was now 9th looking steady on his debut here, while Watts had dropped to 10th. And then Hamilton went even faster, making you wonder what he was capable of. While all this was going on at the front, Antinucci joined Carbone on the 2nd row, and as the chequered flag came out Watts grabbed 5th.

And so, with the second session to be run tomorrow afternoon, the provisional order is Hamilton, Green, Carbone, Antinucci, Watts, Rosberg, Perera, Nakajima, Quintarelli and Parente.

11th was Carroll, from Rossiter, Premat (who suffered a puncture at a critical stage), Yokomizo, Duval, a severely spooked Nelson Piquet (Piquet Sports) who couldn't seem to cope with the Melco Hairpin at all, Rob Austin, (Menu Motorsport), Hiranaka, Ho Pin Tung (Hitech Racing) who appears to have become Dutch again, having been Chinese for a couple of years when his handlers thought it might be financially advantageous, and Kubica.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:35 AM

Andy Priaulx leads the way in first practice

Newly crowned European Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx led the way during first practice for this weekend's SJM Guia race as he dominated the morning session to outpace his BMW Team Germany team-mate Dirk Muller by 0.868 seconds.

Despite a red flag halfway through the session, Priaulx's practice proved completely troublefree and left him feeling confident for the afternoon's first qualifying session.

"That was good," said Priaulx straight after the session. "I have not had time to look at the timesheets, but it is definitely a good start. I've got a lot of experience at this track and although Dirk has never been here before, I am expecting a strong challenge from him."

Muller has spent the last few days trying to learn the challenging Guia circuit on his computer and, after managing to stay away from the barriers during the first practice session, he admitted that he did not expect to set such a strong pace.

"I have had to get used to the track and it has been awesome," explained Muller. "There was a lot of traffic out there so it was difficult to get into a rhythm, but I must admit I am surprised to be second overall. It is like a roller-coaster ride out there!"

Although BMW heads into the weekend as favourites for victory, the SEAT Sport team remain upbeat about their chances of being able to fight for the win. Sweden's Rickard Rydell proved that such optimism was justified by setting the third quickest time, although he struggled to find a clear lap during the 30-minute session.

"That session was just traffic, traffic, traffic," he said, after pipping Jorg Muller. "I think I only got one or two fairly clear laps. My car was not too bad but we will make some small changes to the set-up before first qualifying."

Dutchman Duncan Huisman, who is chasing a fourth consecutive victory in the Guia race this weekend, was only ninth quickest but he was far from unhappy. "I took it easy and didn't want to take any risks," he said. "I needed to get used to the tyres and I will sort out my set-up before qualifying, but we are going in the right direction."

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:37 AM

MACAU (AP) - Austrian motorcycle racer Erwin Wilding was hospitalized Thursday after his Honda 1000cc bike crashed against a side barrier and exploded in flames during a qualifying round at the 38th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Wilding, 34, was motionless as he was sent to the San Januario Hospital. Hospital officials declined to immediately detail his condition.

The accident occurred near the finishing line of the 6.2-kilometre Guia street circuit toward the end of the qualifying round.

The qualifying round was changed to a practice because of the accident.

Race organizers delayed qualifying to Friday. The 15-lap official race will be run Saturday, with 40 competitors.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:38 AM

Michael Rutter topped the second free practice session for Saturday's 38th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna, on Thursday afternoon.

Rutter, riding a 1000cc Red Bull Honda, had only been fourth fastest in the morning session, but was quickest of all in the second outing, though he - like many of his rivals - failed to go faster than earlier in the day due to fluid on the track

His pre-race rival, John McGuinness of the Monstermob Ducati team, set what would be the fastest time of the day in that first session, then finished second quickest - just six-tenths of a second behind Rutter - in the afternoon.

Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter, riding a 1000cc Yamaha, had been second fastest in the morning, and finished third best this afternoon - but was almost two and a half seconds slower than McGuinness.

Meanwhile, first-time American visitor, Josh Hayes continued his astonishing debut performance by setting fourth quickest time on his Attack Kawasaki after being eighth best in the morning.

29-year-old Scot Callum Ramsay continued to dominate the FIM 600 Supersport class. He was again quicker than his Valmoto Triumph team mate Chris Palmer with last year's winner, Australian Cameron Donald third best on his China Yuan XGJao Honda.

The session was halted following an incident involving the Austrian rider Erwin Wilding (1000cc Honda).

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:38 AM

Josh Hayes (1000cc Attack Racing Kawasaki) and Geoff May (1000cc Hot Bodies Racing Suzuki) grabbed top ten qualifying positions for today's 38th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Hayes, making his debut at the Far East Classic, had been consistently fast in the earlier practice sessions, taking 8th fastest time in Thursday morning's session and then 4th best in the afternoon free practice.

Hayes had a lucky escape, though, in the second session which was cut short following an accident involving 37-year-old Austrian Erwin Wilding who fell off his 1000cc Honda going in to a fourth gear left hand kink. Bike and rider hit the barrier rebounding across the road before bursting into flames.

Hayes was chased by the flaming motorcycle, but escaped injury in the spectacular accident.

May, riding the Suzuki he has been competing on in the AMA Superbike series, started slowly in practice. He was 11th best in the first untimed session and then finished 19th in the second on a track that had far too much oil and liquid on following earlier incidents in the car events.

However, he clicked in to form in today's one hour qualifying session finishing 10th fastest, just over one tenth of a second slower than Hayes.

Jeremy Toye on the Roadracing World Yamaha was 13th and 7th in Thursday's two practice sessions, but was slowed by a cracked rear wheel which let the air slowly out of the tire. He finished in 16th place, 1.5 seconds slower than May.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:39 AM

Twenty-year-old Polish driver Robert Kubica has taken pole position at the Macau Grand Prix ahead of his Manor Motorsport team mate Lewis Hamilton. The two men were separated by two-tenths of a second but were clear of the rest of the pack, led by Richard Antinucci (TOM's Dallara-Toyota) and Nico Rosberg (Team Rosberg Dallara-Opel). Next was Nelson Piquet Jr (Piquet Sports Dallara-Mugen) who was just ahead of Eurocup winner Jamie Green (ASM Dallara-Mercedes). The top 10 was completed by Fabio Carbone (Three Bond Racing Dallara-Nissan), Alexandre Premat (ASM Dallara-Mercedes), Kazuki Nakajima (son of ex-F1 driver Satoru) in his TOM's Dallara-Toyota and Lucas di Grassi (Hitech Racing Dallara-Renault). There were disappointing performances from James Rossiter (Signature Dallara-Opel) and Adam Carroll (Menu Motorsport Dallara-Opel) who were only 17th and 18th.

The performance is a big boost to Kubica's career. The Pole started car racing in 2001 and did well enough to be picked to join the Renault Driver Development programme but was inexplicably dropped at the end of 2002. Instead he signed for Prema Racing in Formula 3 but his career hit a problem when he broke his arm badly in a road accident before the start of the season. He had 16 pins in his arm and had to sit out the first six races of the year. When he returned to racing he was wearing a plastic brace to support his arm but won in style at the tough Norisring circuit on his F3 debut, beating his team mate Ryan Briscoe (who went on to be champion). This year he switched to Mucke Motorsport but could do no better than seventh in the championship.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:40 AM

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Briton Lewis Hamilton was in a class of his own during first qualifying for this weekend's Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix after he ended the day more than one second clear of his nearest rival.

The Manor Motorsport driver kept his cool during an incident filled session to outpace fellow Briton Jamie Green, with Brazilian Fabio Carbone third overall.

Hamilton moved to the top of the timesheets from the first lap of qualifying and consistently improved his advantage despite a spate of session-stopping incidents that caused the red flags to come out twice. He even had a small moment himself – running wide on the dust – but was fortunate enough not to hit the wall.

"That was close," said Hamilton of the incident. "Considering that was my only scare in 45 minutes of running is not too bad, and I think I even impressed myself.

"I know what I came here to do and whether I am two seconds clear of the rest or one tenth doesn't really matter. Every lap I was doing out there was quicker and considering we did not use any new tyres, there should be more time to come."

Rival Green had been consistently quick through the session and set his best lap on his final flying lap – just pipping last year's pole position man Fabio Carbone. Richard Antinucci moved up the timesheets in the closing minutes to set the fourth fastest time, while Danny Watts admitted to taking a conservative approach as he took fifth place, one slot ahead of Nico Rosberg.

"I didn't use new tyres and just spent the session dialling myself and the car in," said Watts. "I decided to take the conservative approach today and I hope it pays dividends tomorrow."

The first red flag of the day was caused by Frenchman Eric Salignon, who crashed his ASM car at the Solitude Esses one third of the way through the session. After a short break, while his car was cleared from the track, the session resumed but almost straight away there were further incidents as a spate of drivers – including Robert Kubica, Marchy Lee, Lucas di Grassi and Marco Asmer – all came to grief out on the track.

Alvaro Parente caused the second red flag when he badly damaged his Carlin Motorsport car out the back of the circuit.

Nelson Piquet Jr., one of the pre-event favourites, struggled to find pace and ended up 16th.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:42 AM

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John McGuinness, the 32-year-old British rider on the 999cc Monstermob Ducati, topped the opening practice session for Saturday's 38th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix * Hotel Fortuna. McGuinness, the fastest man ever round the Isle of Man TT Circuit in June threw down the gauntlet to his major rival four-time winner Michael Rutter in the opening session.

Rutter, the 31-year-old from Leicestershire looking for his third win in a row, was only fourth quickest in the 1000cc Red Bull factory Honda, 2.4 seconds a lap slower than McGuinness.

Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter on the 1000cc Yamaha pulled off the biggest surprise of the 50-minute session by setting second-best time, 1.8 seconds slower than McGuinness.

Gus Scott, the 40-year-old from Cumbria, was third best just over a tenth of a second slower than the Austrian.

Scot Roger Bennett, back at Macau after a two-year absence, was fifth best on the 998cc ETI Racing Ducati, and German Markus Barth on the 1000cc Fylde Superbikes Kawasaki rounded off the top six.

American Josh Hayes was eighth fastest on the 1000cc Attack Racing Kawasaki despite it being his first ever visit to the Far East road circuit event.

Callum Ramsay on board the Valmoto Triumph was best of the FIM 600 Supersport competitors, in 14th place overall, lapping one and a half seconds a lap quicker than his British team mate Chris Palmer who was second best.

Cameron Donald, China Yuan XGJao Honda, two-time winner of the class which runs concurrently with the Grand Prix, was third best in the 11-strong line up.

First qualifying will be later this afternoon with the second and deciding session on Friday morning to set the grid for the 40-strong field in Saturday afternoon's 15-lap race.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:43 AM

SJM Guia Race - Qualifying 1
Weather: Clear and Sunny

Jorg Muller takes comfortable provisional pole

Jorg Muller took what appeared to be a fairly straightforward provisional pole position during first qualifying for this weekend's SJM Macau Guia Race as he edged out his BMW Team Germany team-mate Dirk Muller by 1.033 seconds.

The German, who was at the centre of a controversial incident during last year's Guia race, admitted that there was plenty of work to do with his car despite his speed.

"The car is still not perfect," he said. "But when you are fastest it is always quite difficult not to be happy. It was hard out there trying to find some free space on the track and I think I still have a little bit of work to do on the set-up."

Dirk Muller, who is racing in Macau for the first time, had a relatively untroubled time to set the second fastest time, ahead of Sweden's Rickard Rydell in the Seat.

Briton Andy Priaulx, who had been quickest in the morning's free practice session, failed to get a completely clear lap during qualifying and was caught up in an incident with Tom Coronel in the closing minutes.

"I was slipstreaming Tom and Dirk Muller down the main straight and as we came to brake my foot got caught half on the throttle," he said. "So I braked too late and I had a choice to hit them both or tap Tom into a spin. It was a bit of a nightmare but I didn't do it on purpose."

Coronel was not too bothered by his clash with Priaulx - although was ruing the fact that he had lost the time gained slipstreaming Dirk Muller. "I must have been about half a second quicker up to that point," he said.

Coronel's team-mate Duncan Huisman, chasing a fourth straight victory in the Guia race this weekend, confessed that his car will need some set-up changes ahead of Friday's second qualifying session. There was one red flag during the session after Jordi Gene crashed into the stationary car of Richard Meins and blocked the track.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:44 AM

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes clocked the fourth fastest time in the second free practice session for Saturday’s Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, the Mississippian improving from eighth fastest in the first practice in his first visit to the southeast Asian street circuit.

Finishing in front of Hayes were Englishman Michael Rutter, the two-time and defending champion on the Red Bull Honda Fireblade; Monstermob Ducati’s John McGuiness, the fastest rider in the morning’s free practice; and Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter (Yam), second fastest in the first practice session.

Final qualifying will be run on Friday morning to determine the starting grid for Saturday’s 15-lap race.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:45 AM

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MonsterMob Ducati riders John McGuinness and Stuart Easton claimed second and third places respectively in the 38th Hotel Fortuna Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix to give the Paul Bird Motorsport team a glorious send-off in its final race with the Italian marque.

After four memorable years, in which the team accrued 40 race wins from 102 starts, with a further 44 podium finishes also, the VK MonsterMob F04 pairing were hoping to add to the victory tally having qualified first and second on the grid. Polewinner McGuinness led for the opening seven laps, chased hard by reigning champion Michael Rutter, with 21-year old Easton keeping a watching brief in third place as the trio pulled clear of the field.

Rutter hit the front at half distance, as McGuinness proved slow onto the straight to Lisboa, but the 2001 race winner shadowed the Honda before having to settle for second place once more.

“It was very frustrating when Michael took the lead, as he was holding me up in the ‘Town' section, but I just couldn't put a safe pass on him," six-time TT winner McGuinness reported, "I had a look at a couple of the hairpins, and was hoping to do it on the last lap, so I'm really disappointed I couldn't pull it off. The team deserved this win but it wasn't to be.”

Easton, meanwhile, rode an exceptional race to clinch third place ahead of a number of experienced Macau veterans. On only his second ever superbike race at the former Portuguese colony, the Scot, reunited with the team that he won the 2002 British Supersport title with, was happy with his performance.

“A rostrum is perfect for me - and is what I came here to achieve," Easton admitted, "It was great to work with the team again and it's a pity we couldn't have sent them away with a win on their swansong with Ducati, but a double rostrum is a good result for us all.”

Team boss Paul Bird spoke highly of both his riders afterwards.

“I could have asked for no more from them - they both gave 100 per cent and that's all I can ever ask of a rider," he said, "Of course, it would have been nice to win our final race for Ducati, and it was very frustrating for John that he couldn't re-pass Michael. I reckon he could have won that race.

"As for Stuart, he was simply sensational. I'm very, very proud of my team and can honestly say that this is an end of a very special era. Even John had a tear in his eye - which is most unusual!”

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:46 AM

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Proving his racing talent and determination in the face of adversity, Nelson Piquet Jr put in a spectacular drive in a thrilling 51st Macau Grand Prix to climb from 27th place on the grid to a tenth place finish by the time a red flag brought an early finish to the event.

Starting near the back of the grid after third placed qualifier Richard Antinucci stalled on the grid in front of him in the qualification race on Saturday, Nelsoninho claimed back eight places by the end of the first two corners of the first lap alone. After an accident involving Nico Rosberg on the second lap, Nelson had already climbed to 14th, and gained four more places over the following laps to eventually finish tenth.

The safety car was deployed twice during the race and then, on lap 13, Estonian Marko Asmer ended up in the middle of the track after spinning and caused a multiple pile up which caused the race to be red flagged. The final results were taken from the standings at the end of lap eleven, leaving Piquet inside the top ten, although he admitted it could have been higher had the race not been stopped.

“I was pushing but still careful on the first lap because you are going at such a high speed, you not only have to avoid any incidents in front of you but also take care yourself,” he said. “I did make up a lot of places, and I think if it was not for the red flag I could have been sixth or seventh. If I had started higher up nearer to my qualifying position of fifth I could have done so well.

“I really want to come back and do the race again next year. It's such a special race and experience counts a lot here. It's really interesting for a driver because it's so difficult and it's a great feeling when you put in a good lap. I think because it's so challenging the feeling to win would be amazing so I want to try again.”

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:46 AM

Race (15 laps)
1 Michael Rutter GB Honda 37m 30.397s
2 John McGuinness GB MonsterMob Ducati 37m 30.915s
3 Stuart Easton GB MonsterMob Ducati 37m 55.218s
4 Thomas Hinterreiter AUT Yamaha 38m 07.931s
5 Josh Hayes USA Kawasaki 38m 22.854s
6 Geoff May USA Suzuki 38m 29.513s
7 Jeremy Toye USA Yamaha 38m 44.366s
8 Steve Allen GB Kawasaki 38m 49.768s
9 James McBride GB Suzuki 39m 10.095s
10 Stephen Thompson GB Suzuki 39m 12.421s

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:47 AM

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Michael Rutter, on board the 1000cc Red Bull Honda, made it three wins in a row when he won the 38th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna this afternoon.

The 31-year-old racer from Leicestershire had to work hard for his win, the fifth of his career in the Far East Classic, after rival John McGuinness (999cc Monstermob Ducati), who had been fastest in practice, took the lead at the start of the 15-lap race.

Rutter admitted that he thought his rival had pulled too far away to be caught on the opening lap, but decided to ride as hard as he could and hope that McGuinness would make a mistake.

Rutter's chance to take the lead came on lap eight when McGuinness, the 32-year-old from Lancashire, was slower than normal on the fast straight to Lisboa Bend and Rutter was able to pull out of the slipstream and pass him on the brakes.

McGuinness refused to give in though, and was only half a second down on Rutter at the chequered flag.

It was a good day for the Cumbrian-based Paul Bird-owned Monstermob Ducati team with 21-year-old Scot Stuart Easton finishing third.

Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter (1000cc Yamaha), was fourth, nearly 13 seconds behind Easton.

Three Americans pulled off a major surprise by filling the next three places. Josh Hayes, 29, on the 1000cc Attack Kawasaki making his debut at the race, was fifth, 24 year-old Geoff May on the 1000cc Hot Bodies Racing Suzuki was sixth and Jeremy Toye (1000cc Roadracingworld.com Yamaha) took seventh place.

Callum Ramsay was the winner of the FIM 600 Supersport event, but a one-time 14 second lead had been cut to just over two seconds by Australian Cameron Donald (China Yuan XGJao Honda) at the end of the race.

Chris Palmer, Ramsay's team mate, on the second Valmoto Triumph was third, just over two seconds behind Donald with the trio taking 19th, 20th, and 21st places in the overall results.

Cheung Wai On, the talented 23-year-old Hong Kong racer, made an impressive debut on a home-built 600cc Honda, finishing 25th overall out of the 34 starters and fourth in the 600 Class.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:49 AM

Second Qualifying (Friday November 19th):
Weather: Hot, sunny.

After yet another rain of Renaults, the second and final qualifying session for the 51st Macau Grand Prix was also somewhat late starting. And of course, when it did, it would be quite a long while before the times really started to come down. The 32 competitors in this year's Macau Grand Prix weren't aided in their quest for increased speed by the behaviour of some of their number. Things started to go awry when there appeared to be a car stuck in the middle of the Melco Hairpin, which meant everyone had to veer off the racing line to avoid it. This was particularly galling for those who'd had a troubled session on Thursday. Among them was Lucas di Grassi (Hitech Racing), who'd been largely sidelined by battery problems, and Nelson Piquet (Piquet Sports) who was stymied by the fact that the team had forgotten to reset the steering so that he could turn the wheel far enough to allow him to get round Melco, and Rob Austin (Menu Motorsport). Unfortunately for Austin, he was one of the first casualties, having a battery problem that caused his car to have no power to speak of. He limped round and spent the next 15 minutes in the pits. it wasn't what he needed.

Giedo van der Garde (Team Signature) finally got a time in the two-minute bracket at last, despite crashing in this morning's untimed session at exactly the same place he went off yesterday. And then it all fell apart, with Lei Kit Meng throwing it into the wall at Faraway, and then being clipped by Rodolfo Avila (Carlin Motorsport), the youngster arriving to find Lei attempting a several-point turn in the middle of the track. The resulting traffic jam was sufficient to require a red flag to sort out the mayhem, and occurred just as the tyres were starting to come into their own, as demonstrated by the fact that both Jamie Green (ASM Formule 3) and Lewis Hamilton (Manor Motorsport) had started to improve their times down. Now they'd all have to start again. Avila was able to continue, but there was a hole in the Carlin Dallara's nose, so he needed to pit for a new one; to add insult to injury the officials blamed Avila for hitting Lei, claiming that he had ignored yellow flags. They fined him $3,000 dollars, which seemed a bit harsh. No matter how much he'd slowed, Lei was manoeuvring across the track so it seems unlikely the youngster would have missed his fellow Macanese unless he'd actually come to a complete halt.

Anyway, the session was eventually restarted and once again it was a while before any changes started to happen. They came, as expected, from Hamilton, who was now in the 2.13s, from Green, and from Nico Rosberg (Team Rosberg) who suddenly banged in a quick time to go 3rd. Another good effort from Green saw him improve on his time from Thursday's effort, and he was among the first to do so. Alexandre Premat (ASM Formule 3) was now beginning to show at the front of the order too, the quiet Frenchman slotting in to 4th. Meanwhile, his teammate, Eric Salignon, was still struggling, having crashed out of the first qualifying session. It's debatable whether Eric should be back in a racecar at all, after a serious car crash earlier in the year. He seems to have not quite shaken the after effects off, and it's questionable whether he really should have been passed fit to race. He's a street race specialist and could only manage 18th so far. Hamilton, meanwhile, was flying with another 2.12. To prove it wasn't just a case of Hamilton being fast, his teammate promptly joined him on the front row, snatching 2nd. With everyone beginning to bring their times down it looked like we might be in for some very quick times, but then we got another series of incidents, starting when Marko Asmer (Carlin Motorsport) hit the wall at Police and had to be craned away. The debris from his accident promptly caught out Franck Perera (Prema Powerteam), who also hit the barrier. While all this was going on, Kazuki Nakajima (TOM's) had started to show signs of speed and was 5th. However, with debris on the track and yellow flags everywhere, most people opted to pit for new tyres while the rubbish was removed.

With 19 minutes remaining, almost everyone was in the pits, and the order was now Hamilton, Kubica, Rosberg, Green, Nakajima, Richard Antinucci (TOM's), last year's pole position man Fabio Carbone (Three Bond Racing), Premat, a rapidly improving Nelson Piquet (Piquet Sports) and Danny Watts (Hitech Racing). Meanwhile Alvaro Parente (Carlin Motorsport) was able to improve to go 12th. However, it all went pear-shaped yet again with 15 minutes of the session left. This time it was Salignon, crashing at the same place as on Thursday, thus ending his session prematurely again. This time he hit the wall at Maternity, because he was attempting to get out of the way of Kubica, who was on a quick lap. He also ended the session again, as the red flags were hauled out again.

By the time they got going there were only really 12 minutes left to try and set a time. Marchy Lee (Meritus) was the next to mess up the session, clobbering the barriers at the ever-popular Police (Moorish Hill) and having to be craned away. The marshals were beginning to look very tired, but were still performing very efficiently. There were improvements soon afterwards from di Grassi and Carbone. The former was still only 19th, while the latter was clearly after another pole and was 5th. Almost immediately afterwards, Carbone baulked Hamilton badly, which caused the Manor driver to hit the wall at Dona Maria, damaging the car. Limping round, he had some difficulty negotiating the Melco Hairpin, and got stuck, taking Adam Carroll (Menu Motorsport) and Michael Ho (TME Racing) with him. In addition, Green had torn a wheel off his car, and there was debris all over the place again. This was rounded out when Nakajima failed to get round Fisherman's Bend cleanly, and cannoned into the wall. The car shed parts in all directions, and again the session had to be stopped. At this rate there would be no cars left by the time the chequered flag came out. However, the big story came just before the incident involving Nakajima. After a dreadful day on Friday, when he made numerous mistakes, Kubica put it all together and snatched pole from his teammate Hamilton. In a display of Manor solidarity, the Pole was on pole!

The order now was Kubica, Hamilton, Rosberg, Green, Carbone, Nakajima, Antinucci, Premat, di Grassi (who was at last finding some speed from somewhere) and Piquet.

And so, with enough time left for one flying lap apiece, what was left of the field was turned loose on this unforgiving street circuit once again. OK lads! One more time - but with a bit less feeling please! It proved to be worthwhile both for Piquet and Antinucci. Piquet rocketed back up the order to finish in 5th, just behind Rosberg. Antinucci, on the other hand, pulled out a great lap to grab 3rd just as the session ended. He was still disappointed afterwards though, feeling sure that his aborted lap before the last red flag had been good for a 2:11. Of course a driver's "next" lap is always going to be his fastest one, but this time he might even have been right.

And so Kubica and Hamilton locked out the front row for Manor, with Antinucci ahead of Rosberg, Piquet, Green, Carbone, Premat, Nakajima and di Grassi. Saturday's qualifying race should prove interesting.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:52 AM

Richard Britton was eighth in yesterday's first qualifying session for tomorrow's Macau Grand Prix in the Far East.

Riding a PJ O'Kane Suzuki the Enniskillen rider was 6.5 seconds slower than last year's winner Michael Rutter who has provisionally taken pole position on his Honda.

Dubliner Martin Finnegan was 13th on a Yamaha with Crumlin's Stephen Thompson (Suzuki) 25th.

Second to Rutter was fellow Englishman John McGuinness on a Ducati - they were separated by just 0.6 seconds.

There is a further qualifying session today at the round-the-houses circuit.

Meanwhile, the Irish Trials Championship continues tomorrow with the Lightweight club's Calvin Cup third round at Leitrim near Castlewellan.

Andrew Perry leads the way with 37 points followed by Dubliners Michael Burton (35) and Sean Doyle (25).

Bangor schoolboy Robert Andrews heads grade B with 37 points while Willie Dickie and Brian McLoughlin are joint second on 28.

David Rodgers also has 37 points to set the pace in grade C where David McKnight has 24 and Glen Coard 20.

Warren McKee has a one point lead over Greg Whyte, 29 to 28, in grade D where Trevor Cathcart is third on 24.

The only two riders with maximum points are Paul Abram and Jordan Scott - they are the youth division class A and B leaders.

Davy McKee may have wrapped up the P & O Irish Sea Winter Supermoto Championship in double quick time but he will want to win Sunday's final round which is taking place near Dundee.

Assuming that he is successful it will mean five rounds undefeated, quite an achievement!

However the minor positions are still up for grabs among Alan Morgan, Johnny McAndrews, Jay Smith and Ian Lowry.

Mark Troughton is looking good for the quad title - his only challenger would appear to be Andrew Armstrong.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:53 AM

Rob Collard showed his pace and ability to learn quickly as he tackled the prestigious Guia Race on the final day of the 51st Macau Grand Prix meeting, only to face disappointment when his race came to an end on the opening lap of the first leg.

On his first visit to the event, and in the unfamiliar BMW 320i, Collard was faced with the challenge of learning both car and track over the two free practice and two qualifying sessions ahead of the event, held over two legs of eight laps each. Collard soon had the Edenbridge Racing BMW lapping quicker and quicker and lined up eleventh on the 35-car grid after final
qualifying on Friday.

However it was all downhill after that, as Collard became one of six drivers who failed to make it to the end of the first lap.

"I made a good start and went past a couple of cars," Collard said after the race, "then I went outside Simon Harrison's Honda into the first corner. He held me wide and put me onto the dirty part of the track, I lost grip, clipped a barrier, and that was that. That was a huge disappointment after travelling so far, and having had to work our way through lots of car problems - we never ran a full session in qualifying or practice.

"It was my first time on a track circuit and it was an awesome experience. Macau is a fantastic circuit, half the island seems to close down and the track goes round the city centre - you can see shops and taxis and everyone going about their daily business as you go past.

"I'm on a plane home tomorrow night [Monday] and the whole week has had a big party atmosphere. It's been very friendly out here and everyone from the different teams mixes and you really get to see what is going on.

"It was frustrating to end the event how I did, but it has been a great experience to come all this way for a race meeting. We might have done so much better if we could have sorted the car sooner, but that's racing. I'm now hoping to do a tarmac rally in December - another complete contrast."

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:53 AM

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes survived his first Macau GP, taking a cautious fifth on a track where safety wasn’t the first concern.

“I was a little slow on the start, but I worked my way past Markus Barth on the first lap and the leaders,” Englishmen John McGuinness, Michael Rutter, and Stuart Easton, “got out pretty far out. (Thomas) Hinterreiter (Yam) got out to a 12 second gap.

“The next couple of laps I was in the in 31’s and I reeled him in to 2.2 second gap. Then I caught some traffic in some bad places, like Lisboa Corner, which leads up the San Francisco Hill. It kind of hurt my drive. Hinterreiter got pretty far out there again and at that point I had pretty good gap and I said I’ll take it easy and go to Thailand. I backed off like four seconds a lap.” Hayes and his crew are vacationing in Thailand for the next week.

The race was won by Red Bull Honda’s Michael Rutter by half a second over Monstermob Ducati’s John McGuinness, with Stuart Easton third on the second Monstermob Ducati. Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter was fourth.

As for the circuit, which is laid out on public roads, “It’s a pretty scary place,” Hayes said, adding that it’s worse than it appears in the photos. “You don’t realize how fast it is from the pictures, how fast you’re going.”

How bad is it? “It makes you appreciate Daytona,” Hayes said. “There are two turns you have the ability to go straight and they only go for 200 yards. Only two turns on the entire track. Everything else is a guardrail wall.”

With so little margin for error, Hayes said you change your approach. “You do all your braking straight up and down. You don’t trail brake in and take chances and you work to get off the turns pretty good.”

The Mississippian survived one particularly harrowing incident in untimed practice when a crashed rider’s flaming motorcycle bounced into his path. “I had to accelerate hard to get in front of it,” he said.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:55 AM

Misfortune continues for Lee at Macau

Chinese racing champion Marchy LEE Yin-Kin's Macau Grand Prix weekend went from bad to worse, after a start-line incident took him out of Saturday's qualifying race, which will put him at the back of the grid for Sunday's main race.

The Monarch Lubricants Red Bull Team Meritus driver from Hong Kong was back in 25th at the start of the qualification race, which determines the start order of Sunday's race. Other on-track incidents had hampered his qualifying performance on Thursday and Friday. Lee made an excellent start when the lights went out, making one place immediately, but was forced to the right to avoid an accident involving the stalled Japanese driver Nakajima. However Tung Ho-Pin, who had started directly behind Lee, was unable to avoid Lee's evasive manoeuvre and the two clashed, sending Tung into the air and Lee in to the wall.

"I knew from my experience in Macau that the lights would go out quite quickly, so I made a really good start, but this meant I came up on the accident really quickly. The only way I could go was to the right, and unfortunately Ho-Pin [Tung] hit me and we were both out of the race," said a disheartened Lee. "I'll be starting from the back tomorrow, but this is Macau so anything can happen. I hope to make up quite a few places and get the best result I can considering the circumstances."

The qualification race was eventually won by Lewis Hamilton in 33mins 16.057secs, followed by Nico Rosberg and Alexandre Premat, although 4 of the 10 laps were run behind the safety car as the two major starting incidents had to be cleared. Hamilton also broke the race lap record with a 2mins 12.801secs. Jamie Green, another former Meritus racer, had a very good race, finishing fifth for tomorrows start.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:56 AM

SJM Guia Race - Race 1
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Weather: Clear and Sunny

Jorg Muller takes victory in first leg

German Jorg Muller turned his pole position into a victory during the opening leg of Sunday's SJM Macau Guia race as he comfortably held off a challenge from BMW Team Germany team-mate Andy Priaulx. Rickard Rydell finished third for SEAT.

Muller led away from the lights, with Priaulx and Rydell right behind him, but the Safety Car had to be called out after the track was blocked at Lisboa Bend on the first lap. Marc Hennerici had gone off into the tyre barriers after being nudged by another car and he was hit from behind by an unsighted rival.

The Safety Car stayed out until the end of lap three before Muller got away cleanly and instantly set about building up a cushion at the front of the field. Evidence of how hard he was pushing came at the end of the lap when he came close to brushing the barriers at the final corner.

Muller had little trouble building up a lead, despite locking up his tyres and nudging the barriers at the Melco Hairpin on lap seven, and was more than one second clear by that stage. He eased off over the final lap to come home 0.4 seconds clear of Priaulx.

Rydell appeared to have little in reserve to challenge the two BMWs, despite looking down the inside of Priaulx at Lisboa following the restart. Although he could stay with the leading cars during the early stages of the race, he dropped back dramatically over the last two laps - eventually trailing home more than 11 seconds off the lead.

Reigning Macau Guia race winner Duncan Huisman's hopes of winning a fourth consecutive title were dashed when he came into the pits at the end of the first lap with accident damage to the front right of his car after colliding with another car. He resumed well down the order once his car had been repaired and finished a lowly 30th - six laps down.

Dirk Muller was also in the wars after he crashed into the barriers at San Francisco Bend on lap seven while trying to hold off eventual fourth placed Jordi Gene.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:56 AM

Stephen Thompson finished best of the Irish hopefuls at the Macau Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Crumlin man was 10th, Dubliner Martin Finnegan was 13th while Enniskillen's Richard Britton was 15th.

The race was won by Michael Rutter on a Honda followed by John McGuinness in second and Stuart Easton in third, both on Monstermob Ducatis.

Callum Ramsay finished top of the 600cc class in the 15-lap race at the Far East circuit.

Thompson and Britton were both riding PJ O'Kane Suzukis while Finnegan competed for the Yamaha RPM Performance team.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:57 AM

France has won at Macau once again with Alexandre Premat bringing his ASM Dallara-Mercedes home at the end of a battle-scarred race which ended after 13 laps with a red flag after a multiple pile-up. Prior to that there had been two Safety Cars. Premat started third on the grid behind Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It was the Finn who took the lead but at the start of lap two both Rosberg and Hamilton went off, fighting for the Lisboa Corner and Premat took the lead but soon afterwards made a mistake and hit a barrier, which allowed Poland's Robert Kubica to close right up. He was lucky however as on the third lap Alvaro Parente had a big crash in the Solitude Esses, which gave Premat the chance to check out the handling of his car and at the restart he was able to hold his lead while Kubica was slow away and Jamie Green overtook him at Lisboa Corner to take second. Green's hopes of victory disappeared soon afterwards with a puncture and so Kubica was able to get ahead again and Lucas di Grassi moved to third despite rear damage after being hit by Fabio Carbone, who was fourth despite a damaged front wing. The order remained unchanged for the next few laps and then there was another Safety Car when Rodolfo Avila and Christian Jones collided in the Solitude Esses. The race restarted at the end of lap 11 and Premat once again held off Kubica. On lap 12 Carbone managed to overtake di Grassi at Lisboa but the race was stopped shortly afterwards because of another multiple accident, this one triggered by Marko Asmer, the results were taken from the lap before the overtaking move. Di Grassi was given third place ahead of Carbone, Franck Perera (Prema Powerteam), Adam Carroll (Menu Motorsport), Robert Austin (Menu Motorsport), Ronnie Quintarelli (Inging), Richard Antinucci (TOM's) and Nelson Piquet Jr (Piquet Sports).

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 06:58 AM

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Chinese race ace Marchy Lee moved from 29th on the grid to 18th to end a bitter sweet Macau Grand Prix weekend.

After an incident packed qualifying session, Lee was forced to start from the back of the grid, but held his cool to avoid the further pile-ups during the race.

After a good start, Lee held his position and navigated his way around the tight Guia street circuit as most cars made it through unscathed. On lap three of fifteen, leader Nico Rosberg and second-placeman Lewis Hamilton skidded into the barriers at Mandarin, probably due to oil on the track, bringing out the safety car for three laps. At the re-start, Danny Watts, ahead of Lee, was heavy on the brakes, forcing Lee to back off, which let Tung Ho-Pin past, pushing Lee into 20th.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had rejoined the race and was making his way back up the field, passing Lee on lap seven. A further incident brought out the safety car again on lap eight until lap eleven and soon after the restart Jamie Green and Hamilton retired in separate incidents, putting Lee in 18th. The race was ended prematurely when the red flags were brought out on lap 13 after an accident, and although Lee managed to avoid the crash, the final results were taken from one complete lap before the red flags, meaning Lee remained in 18th.

"I was very careful to avoid any incidents at the start, and I just held my own,” he said afterwards. “At the first restart, I think Danny [Watts] brake tested me, forcing me to back off and Ho-Pin [Tung] got past me. I continued to push hard but the second safety car prevented me from making a move.

"I was lucky to avoid the final crash of the race, but unfortunately that ended the race too. I think that with better qualifying I could have been much further up, but in Macau things don't always go as planned!"

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 07:07 AM

German Jorg Muller made history in Macao to become the first man to have won both the touring car and Formula 3 Grand Prix on the Macao circuit, when he claimed victory in the final SJM Guia Race/World Touring Cars on Sunday.

The Macau F3 Grand Prix winner in 1993 edged out his BMW Team Germany team-mate Andy Priaulx by just two tenths of a second on Sunday with SEAT's Rickard Rydell ranking third.

Muller, who started the race from pole position after winning 8-lap leg one earlier on Sunday, got away well when the lights went out, and was unchallenged on the long run down to Lisboa. The samecould not be said for Priaulx in the second place who came under an intense pressure from Rydell on the opening lap.

Rydell said after match that he would be glad to come back to Macao next year since the SJM Guia Race has been designated as thefinal round of the inaugural Federation Internationale de L'Auto-mobile (FIA) World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2005.

Carly Motors'Tom Coronel eventually finished fourth on Sunday'sfinal, with Jordi Gene from the Seat Sport Team taking the fifth place.

SeeMacau

November 22nd, 2004, 07:08 AM

German Jorg Muller made history in Macao to become the first man to have won both the touring car andFormula 3 Grand Prix on the Macao circuit, when he claimed victoryin the final SJM Guia Race/World Touring Cars on Sunday.

The Macau F3 Grand Prix winner in 1993 edged out his BMW Team Germany team-mate Andy Priaulx by just two tenths of a second on Sunday with SEAT's Rickard Rydell ranking third.

Muller, who started the race from pole position after winning 8-lap leg one earlier on Sunday, got away well when the lights went out, and was unchallenged on the long run down to Lisboa. The samecould not be said for Priaulx in the second place who came under an intense pressure from Rydell on the opening lap.

Rydell said after match that he would be glad to come back to Macao next year since the SJM Guia Race has been designated as thefinal round of the inaugural Federation Internationale de L'Auto-mobile (FIA) World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2005.

Carly Motors'Tom Coronel eventually finished fourth on Sunday'sfinal, with Jordi Gene from the Seat Sport Team taking the fifth place.

SeeMacau

August 3rd, 2005, 05:37 AM

2005-08-01

Macau – This year’s Macau Grand Prix will boast the best-ever race line-up in its 52 year history. The Far East Classic will be held from November 17 to 20, 2005, on Macau’s legendary Guia street circuit, and will include the FIA Intercontinental Cup of Formula 3, the final round of the all-new FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), the WTCC LG – Guia Race of Macau, and the 39th running of the ever-popular Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna.

In addition to the three prestigious headline events, the action-packed schedule also includes a further six races for touring, saloon, junior single-seater and sports cars.

As motorsport in Asia continues to develop at a rapid pace, the Macau Grand Prix has strengthened its unique position on the international racing calendar. As Mr. João Manuel Costa Antunes, Co-Ordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee explains: “For more than two decades, since Ayrton Senna won the Formula 3 Grand Prix in Macau, the event has been the one race every young single seater driver dreams of winning. When it comes to deciding the best of the best in the unofficial “world cup” in the category each year, the attention of the international motorsport community – as well as the media - is firmly fixed on Macau.

“In addition, for the first time this year, not only will Macau host a round of one of only three official FIA World Championships, the WTCC, it will also be the final – and possibly deciding – event of the most prestigious touring car series on earth.

“The Macau race programme also includes a Motorcycle Grand Prix which has become famous across the globe and is often compared to the Isle of Man TT. The mixture of cars and motorcycles on the same bill is a true rarity and adds to the broad appeal of the event.”

Macau’s Guia street circuit itself, often described as the “Monaco of the Far East”, provides a real test for man and machine as well as a picturesque backdrop for the race weekend, adding to the event’s uniqueness.

Practice and qualifying sessions for the 52nd Macau Grand Prix will be held on Thursday and Friday (November 17 and 18), with the racing getting underway on Saturday morning, with the final chequered flag on Sunday afternoon.

The FIA Intercontinental Cup of Formula 3 – for the most promising Formula 1 aspirants – will once again be held in the new format introduced last year. The 10-lap Qualification Race will be held on Saturday afternoon, with the 15-lap Grand Prix run as the grand finale of the race weekend, and 2005 international Formula 3 season closer, on Sunday.

Following the successful re-scheduling of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix from its traditional early-morning slot last year, the 15-lap race will immediately follow the Formula 3 Qualification Race on Saturday afternoon this year.

The FIA WTCC LG - Guia Race of Macau is scheduled to begin late Sunday morning, and will be held as two separate races of nine laps each with a 15 minute break between races.

Support races include events for international, regional and local competitors and on the programme are the Hotel Fortuna Trophy, the Macau Cup/Asian Touring Car, the 2005 Asian Formula Renault Challenge, the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia, and the Macau Grand Prix Committee Scooters Cup for Macau residents.

In addition, the ever-popular all-Hong Kong race for Group N 2000cc cars, will this year have a brand new title sponsor and be known as the Macau 2007, 2nd Asian Indoor Games Cup. The exciting new games, the second edition of which Macau will host, were created by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for its 45 member National Olympic Committees. The games include a wide variety of disciplines including extreme sports, aerobics, acrobatics and short-course swimming. Confirmation that the games will be staged in Macau, currently gearing up for the 4th East Asian Games later this year, is the latest feather in the cap of a city fast becoming a major regional venue for important sporting events.

New to the regulations for the car races this year will be changes to procedures in the event of a race stoppage in order to keep the racing action flowing throughout the race days. The changes follow the latest Formula 1 rules on which the Sporting Regulations for the Macau Formula 3 event are based.

Should the Clerk of the Course decide the race must be stopped, the red flag will be shown at all points around the circuit indicating to the drivers they must stop racing immediately. Previously, drivers would then proceed to the pits slowly, wait while the track was cleared and for the start procedure to begin again.

The new regulations begin when the red flags are shown. Instead of returning to the pits, drivers will slowly proceed – in the same order as when the red flag was shown – until indicated to stop by race officials at the nearest practicable point. This point is known as the “red flag line”. The cars line up in single file behind the line, and team personnel may then work on the cars and race officials will give ten minutes’ notice of the restart. The race will restart from the “red flag line” behind the Safety Car, which will lead the field for one lap before pulling off allowing racing to resume.

The new procedure will save considerable time, benefiting the teams, television broadcasters and spectators with more on-track action.

Entries for this year’s Macau Grand Prix will be announced at a later date, but motorsport fans can expect to see the full compliment of FIA WTCC touring car stars, the leading drivers from the world's top Formula 3 Championships, and the most daring road racing motorcycle specialists on the planet.

Tickets for the Macau Grand Prix are on sale now, and may be purchased from the Macau Grand Prix Committee at email: macaugp@cgpm.gov.mo Price details can be found on the official website at www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo, and tickets range from US$19 to US$88 for race day seats. Two-day race ticket packages are available, as are concessions for students.

SeeMacau

October 11th, 2005, 03:25 AM

2005-10-11 Beijing Time
REIGNING Formula Three Euroseries champion Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna's nephew will compete in the 52nd Macau Grand Prix on November 17-20, organizers announced yesterday.

ASM Dallara-Mercedes driver Hamilton, who clinched the Euroseries title in August, will be joined by teammate Sebastian Vettel.

The lineup also includes one of motor racing's most famous surnames.

Bruno Senna, nephew of late Brazilian racing great Ayrton Senna, is to represent Raikkonen Robertson Racing.

The elder Senna won the inaugural Macau Grand Prix Formula Three race before moving on to dominate the Formula One circuit. The three-time world champion died at the San Marino Grand Prix in May 1994 when he veered off the track and crashed against a concrete wall.

Bruno Senna, who came in second in the Formula Renault race in Macao last year, aims to beat all other Macao Formula Three first-timers.

"I expect to be competitive there because I know the circuit and it makes a big difference, so I expect to be at the top of the Formula Three rookies," he said.

Also competing are Japanese Formula Three champion Joao Paulo de Oliveira, his Tom's Dallara-Toyota teammate Kazuki Nakajima, and Three Bond's Dallara-Nissan race winner Naoki Yokomizo.

SeeMacau

October 11th, 2005, 03:26 AM

Not content with dominating the F3 Euroseries, Britain's Lewis Hamilton will look to beat all-comers as he starts as favourite for this year's Macau Grand Prix.

The ASM driver heads for the streets of Macau on 17-20 November having enjoyed an overwhelmingly successful 2005 campaign, and is being tipped by almost everyone to round off his season by adding his name on the famous Macau trophy.

Hamilton wrapped up this year's Euroseries championship before August was over, and with two race meetings left to go. While he had the benefit of driving for the best team this year, he has still extracted far more from the ultra-fast package than team-mate Adrian Sutil, and with a minimum of mistakes, as he also added the mid-season Zandvoort Masters title along the way.

One potential challenger in the Macau field will be Sebastian Vettel, who takes over from Sutil at ASM for the race. Vettel has improved throughout the Euroseries this year, recently getting to test a Williams-BMW F1 machine, and will certainly be one to watch, although he has no prior Macau experience, unlike Hamilton.

ASM's nearest challenger in the Euroseries, Manor Motorsport, will also be present in the Far East, with season regulars Lucas di Grassi and Paul di Resta remain with the Mercedes-powered team. Fellow frontrunner Franck Perera (Prema Powerteam) will also be in the line-up, as will Team Rosberg's Kohei Hirate. French team Signature will field Loic Duval and Guillaume Moreau, but James Rossiter looks set to miss the event.

The leading runners in the Japanese championship will all make the trip to Macau, including champion Joao Paulo de Oliveira. The Brazilian's TOM's Dallara-Toyota team-mate Kazuki Nakajima will join him, as will Three Bond's Dallara-Nissan race-winner Naoki Yokomizo.

Crack British team Carlin Motorsport will be out in force, with UK series frontrunners Christian Bakkerud and Charlie Kimball flying the flag, alongside Polish driver Robert Kubica, who steps back from winning the World Series by Renault title for another crack at the crown he narrowly missed out on last year.

The nephew of Macau's first ever F3 winner, Ayrton Senna, will be on the grid this year, as Bruno Senna makes his Macau F3 debut with new British team Raikkonen Robertson Racing. However, unlike several others, it won't be the Brazilian's first experience of the track as he finished second in the Formula Renault race last year.

“Macau really means a lot because it's the most important F3 race," Senna said, "It's really nice to have the opportunity of going there and driving the fantastic circuit that they have. I expect to be competitive there because I know the circuit and it makes a big difference – I expect to be top of the F3 rookies.”

Not all the cars in the field will be Dallaras, as Steven Kane will drive a Lola for Promatecme, having already won in Britain this season, and Brazilian Fabio Carbone will drive the developing SLC chassis entered by Signature in the Euroseries.

Danny Watts, who has had several F3 outings this year, but has been unable to secure backing for a full season, returns to Macau for the third time thanks to backing by Noble Group, while local fans will have several home-grown drivers to cheer on. Rodolfo Avila has been a frontrunner in the Asian F3 series this year, but will race with Austrian HBR Motorsport team and has been testing in Europe as preparation.

“My main target is to finish the race," the 18-year old admitted, "At the same time, however, I want to be the best amongst the local drivers.”

Joining Avila in representing Macau will be Jo Merszei, Lou Meng Cheong, Lei Kit Meng and Michael Ho.

SeeMacau

October 11th, 2005, 03:26 AM

Franz Engstler, who is comfortably leading the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), will take part in the FIA WTCC final meeting in Macau. The first of the two races on the Guia track will also count as the ATCC final round.
At the wheel of an Engstler Motorsport BMW 320i, the 41 year old German has claimed 8 victories out of the 10 ATCC rounds held so far, which gave him a solid 55-point lead ahead of Malaysian driver Farique Hairuman, with 60 still to be awarded. ATCC last-but-one meeting will take place in Zhuhai, China, on October 23.
Engstler and his team will enter three BMW cars in the WTCC Race of Macau, with Ratanaul Prutirat from Thailand and Paul Poon from Hong Kong alongside their team principal.
On the next weekend, Engstler will also take part in the FIA European Touring Car Cup in Vallelunga, before flying back to the Far East, where he will participate in the final round of the ATCC, at Zhuhai, China, on October 23.

SeeMacau

October 11th, 2005, 03:28 AM

Three drivers will head to the streets of Macau next month with a chance of claiming the inaugural FIA World Touring Car Championship, with just five points splitting Dirk Müller, Andy Priaulx and Fabrizio Giovanardi heading into the final round of the season.

BMW Team UK driver Priaulx, the reigning FIA European Touring Car Championship title winner headed the championship table by one point going into the penultimate race at Valencia but saw himself leave the Spanish circuit just a point behind BMW Team Deutschland driver Müller. Factory Alfa Romeo driver Giovanardi lies a further four points off the pace as the trio head into the Guia Race of Macau which will decide which one of the three is crowned champion.

Müller lost out to Priaulx in a thrilling ETCC finale twelve months ago, despite taking what seemed to be a healthy lead into the weekend. This time around he said he was determined to make amends.

"I'm happy to be back in the lead of the championship," he said. "Last year I went to the last round twelve points ahead and lost it, this time I am only one point ahead, but I am going to make it. The title could depend on which wall is eating which driver. I'm hoping the walls aren't hungry when I come along."

Priaulx will be racing at Macau for the sixth time and while the Brit heads into the November meeting behind his rival, he is well aware of what he needs to do on the tricky street circuit.

"I may be behind, but I don't feel any pressure," he said. "I've already won a championship. This is the time of year that the aggressive and determined Andy Priaulx has to come out to play. I think I proved that in my battle with Dirk for third position in Valencia."

Giovanardi will be racing at Macau for the first time since 1988, but he remains hopeful of taking the challenge to the BMW pair in the final two races of the year.

"It was really hard to keep second place in race two at Valencia, but I didn't have any choice if I wanted to stay in with a chance of the title," he said. "If Andy and Dirk had passed me it would have been all over. I'm really happy to be in the fight to the end and I hope it doesn't take me too long to remember which way the track at Macau goes."

The Michelin Independents' Trophy for privateer teams also remains wide open. Double points are up for grabs in the two races that make up the Macau event, meaning no fewer than five drivers are in with a mathematical chance of taking the title.

German Marc Hennerici, in the Wiechers-Sport BMW, has a healthy 15-point lead over Proteam driver Giuseppe Ciro, with Tom Coronel a further two points behind in third place in the GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra. BMW drivers Carl Rosenblad and Stefano D'Aste are a further seven and nine points behind in fourth and fifth places and hopeful of making a late charge for the title.

SeeMacau

October 11th, 2005, 03:29 AM

MACAO, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The 52nd Macao Grand Prix, an annual racing event, is to gear up on November 17, organizers said here on Monday.

Manuel Costa Antunes, head of the organizers, told a press conference that the event, slated from Nov. 17 to 20, will include nine races this year.

The headline race will be the final round of the World Touring Car Championship, which draws many international aces as Dirk Muller, Andy Priaulx and Fabrizio Giovanardi.

The Macao Grand Prix is the only international motorsport fixture with single seater, touring car, sportscar and saloon carsas well as motorcycles.

ryanr

October 11th, 2005, 06:37 AM

Michael Schumacher took victory in 1990, but only after losing the first of the race’s two heats to future Formula One adversary Mika Hakkinen, and then controversially colliding with the Finn in the second. Second place went to future Ferrari and Toyota star Mika Salo, while Schumacher’s future team mate Eddie Irvine was third.

So this is Schumacher?
http://img91.exs.cx/img91/821/28410406.jpg

SeeMacau

October 14th, 2005, 03:01 AM

^^^
i only know that Schumacher had been to the Macau Grand Prix before and came first, not too sure about if the person inside the car is him or not.

SeeMacau

October 14th, 2005, 03:02 AM

North American Team Set for 52nd Macau GP*

Two riders from the United States and 1 from Canada have been selected to compete in this year's 52nd Macau GP.

Jeremy Toye, San Diego, California on the Lee's Cycles sponsored Honda 1000 returns for his third trip to Macau after placing 7th last year and 9th in '03.

Mark Miller, Long Beach, California is one of the few Americans to ever finish on the podium in Macau and will compete on the Superbikelife.com Suzuki 1000. Miller finished 3rd in 2000, 4th in '99 and 4th in '98.

Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC Canada will be making his first trip to Macau on the Diablo Racing Honda 1000. Crevier is the 2005 Canadian 600 Supersport Champion, 7 time Canadian Superbike Champion and 1998 AMA 600 Supersport Champion.

The team leaves for Hong Kong on November 12th. The 60-mile through the streets event will be run on Saturday November 19th.

After the race, the team will travel to Pattaya, Thailand for an 8-night vacation.

SeeMacau

October 14th, 2005, 03:03 AM

Asian F3 Series frontrunner Ananda Mikola has been forced to relinquish an offer to contest the annual Macau Grand Prix with Team Midland Euroseries as the A1 Grand Prix event at Sepang takes place over the same weekend.

With Macau entries closing before the final AF3 round at Batangas on 6 November, the points leader at deadline time was awarded the series' nomination. Mikola currently leads the championship by 27 points, but the former F3000 racer has been the mainstay of the Indonesian national team since the country entered A1GP, and will again be required when the series reaches Malaysia in November.

A spokesman for AF3 said that the series hoped that, in future, the organisers of international events would not schedule them on the same weekend as Macau.

“We hope that, next year, we can again support our championship-leading driver in the Macau F3 Grand Prix,” the spokesman said.

The AF3 series will still be represented in Macau, however, with Dado Pena and Tyson Sy scheduled to race in the Formula Renault event in order to learn the tricky street circuit before taking part in the F3 event in 2006.

SeeMacau

October 14th, 2005, 03:04 AM

Three drivers are heading for the streets of Macau with a chance of claiming the inaugural FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) on November 20. Dirk Müller, Andy Priaulx and Fabrizio Giovanardi will arrive in South-East Asia for the Macau Guia tin-top classic separated by just five points, with a total of 20 up for grabs over the two races that make the series finale.

As the new FIA WTCC heads towards a thrilling climax on the 3.8-mile Guia circuit in Macau, the lead of the championship has again changed hands. BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx, who carries the number 1 by virtue of winning last year's FIA European Touring Car Championship (FIA ETCC), headed the championship table by one point going into the penultimate race at Valencia on October 2. The Briton claimed a third and a fourth in the two Spanish races, but arch-rival Dirk Müller, who drives for the Schnitzer-run BMW Team Deutschland, outscored him by two points.

Fabrizio Giovanardi, who drives for the factory Alfa Romeo Racing Team, kept his hopes alive with second place in race two, to go with a sixth in race one. The multiple touring car champion will now arrive in Macau five points behind Müller.

Dirk Müller, who lost out to Priaulx in a thrilling FIA ETCC finale 12 months ago, said: "I'm happy to be back in the lead of the championship. Last year I went to the last round 12 points ahead and lost it, this time I am only one point ahead, but I am going to make it. The title could depend on which wall is eating which driver. I'm hoping the walls aren't hungry when I come along."

Andy Priaulx, who will be racing at Macau for the sixth time, said: "I may be behind, but I don't feel any pressure. I've already won a championship. This is the time of year that the aggressive and determined Andy Priaulx has to come out to play. I think I proved that in my battle with Dirk for third position in Valencia."

Fabrizio Giovanardi, who will be racing at Macau for the first time since 1988, said: "It was really hard to keep second place in race two at Valencia, but I didn't have any choice if I wanted to stay in with a chance of the title. If Andy and Dirk had passed me it would have been all over. I'm really happy to be in the fight to the end and I hope it doesn't take me too long to remember which way the track at Macau goes."

The battle for honours in the prestigious FIA WTCC LG-Guia Race of Macau - Presented by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. isn't only about BMW and Alfa Romeo. SEAT, winners of race one last time out at Valencia with its new León model, Chevrolet, Ford and Honda are all doing battle in the FIA WTCC this year.

The Michelin Independents' Trophy for privateer teams also remains wide open. Double points are up for grabs in the two races that make up the Macau event. That means no fewer than five drivers are in with a mathematical chance of taking the title.

German Marc Hennerici, who races a BMW for the Wiechers-Sport team, has a healthy 15-point lead over Giuseppe Ciro. The Proteam BMW driver jumped three places in the championship table at Valencia with a pair of second places. A further two points behind in third place comes Macau regular Tom Coronel, who is driving a SEAT Toledo Cupra R for the British-based GR Asia team. BMW drivers Carl Rosenblad and Stefano D'Aste are, respectively, a further seven and nine points behind in fourth and fifth places.

The stage is set for a truly memorable FIA WTCC grand finale and Macau debut!

SeeMacau

October 14th, 2005, 03:05 AM

As it approaches its landmark 40th birthday next year, Macau's two-wheel headline event will boast a sterling line-up of motorcycle experts from the four corners of the globe.

Coming to the Far East Classic and determined to equal the legendary Ron Haslam's record of six victories comes Macau favourite Michael Rutter on the 1000cc Red Bull Honda. A front-runner again this year in the British Superbike Championship, this will be the Briton's 11th visit to Macau.

Arch rival and fellow Briton John McGuinness, who led for much of last year's Grand Prix and finished second to Rutter by just half a second, will be looking to grab his second Macau career victory. McGuinness is also competing in the British Superbike Championship this year, and holds the absolute lap record at the Isle of Man TT. He will be on one of a pair of 1000cc Stobart Hondas, the other ridden by another well-known Macau regular and fellow countryman, 22-year-old Stuart Easton who finished third last year.

In addition to Rutter, McGuinness and Easton, the entry includes a strong British contingent in a field which boasts entries from 13 nations. Ian Lougher (1000cc Slingshot Racing Honda) making a 6th visit after missing the event last year, the British Superbike Championship's Steve Plater (1000cc Hydrex Honda), and Stephen Thompson on a MSS Discovery Racing Kawasaki will all line up for Saturday afternoon's 15-lap race.

From the BMW Motorrad PowerCup series come Thomas Hinterreiter of Austria on a 1000cc Austria Racing Team Yamaha, and Belgian Stephane Mertens on 1000cc DMR Suzuki.

Winner of the FIM 600cc Supersport Class last year on a Valmoto Triumph, 30- year-old Scotsman Callum Ramsay returns this year on a Klaffi Honda. Also entered in the Class are 2004 second and third-placed riders Cameron Donald of Australia and Chris Palmer. Fourth in the Class in his first ever ride in the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix last year, Hong Kong's Cheung Wai On returns after an eventful year which saw him win a wildcard entry in the Malaysian round of the 125cc MotoGP. New to Macau this year is Steve Crevier of Canada on a 1000cc Diablo Racing Honda. Crevier boasts the most race wins in Canadian history, and was runner up in the 2003 Canadian National Superbike Championship.

Also making their debuts on the daunting Guia Circuit will be: Briton Guy Martin on a BTS Racing Suzuki; Pere Riba of Spain on one of a pair of MSS Discovery Racing Kawasaki's in the 600cc Supersport Class, the other of which will be ridden by Scot Steve Allan; and Keith Stewart on a McKinstry Skip Hire Racing Yamaha.

From Portugal come three Guia Circuit rookies; Tiago Magalhaes on a Moto Marcelino Honda; Nuno Silva aboard the Kawasaki Portugal/Albufeira entry; and Antonio Moreira on the AG-Racing Aprilia.

Joao Fernandes, now living and working in Macau, will be competing for the 6th time, this year on a 600cc Macau Bikes Racing Team Yamaha.

Another rider making his debut this year will be Jason Broome. Although racing as a Hong Kong rider, Broome actually lives and works in Macau.

Heading the list of Macau entries is Sou Se Hong on a 1000cc Suzuki entered by a home-grown outfit, Ao's Racing Team owned by local touring car ace Ao Chi Hong. Sou's team mate will be Leong Lok Choi, also on a Suzuki, while Wong Man Kwong will be on a privately-entered 750cc Suzuki.

And keeping the Grand Prix crowds up-to-date on the action this year for the first time ever will be former Macau competitor and World Championship rider, Steve Parrish. Parrish became a professional rider in 1976, joining Barry Sheen in the Suzuki Grand Prix team in 1977 and finishing fifth in the 500cc World Championship. In 1978, he won the British GT Championship, before claiming the British Superbike Championship in 1981. In Macau, he finished 2nd on no fewer than three occasions - in 1978, 79 and 80.

He retired from motorcycle racing in 1986, but has spent the last 13 years truck racing, earning five European titles. Having finally retired from all kinds of competitive racing, he has been concentrating on his commentary role.

ryanr

October 14th, 2005, 03:12 AM

^^^
i only know that Schumacher had been to the Macau Grand Prix before and came first, not too sure about if the person inside the car is him or not.

I researched it...and no its not Schumacher in that Nissan Skyline GTR. He won in the 1990 Macau F3 Grand Prix, not in the touring car GP. That makes sense because i found it hard to believe its Schumacher in that Nissan.

Upfront

October 15th, 2005, 04:37 PM

SeeMacau

October 19th, 2005, 11:28 AM

By blue2bikes - October 18 2005

Although having lost his ride with HM Plant Honda, alongside Ryuichi Kiyonari for next year, Michael Rutter will be returning to the Macau circuit yet again to defend his title and possibly become the most successful British rider since Ron Haslam by equalising Ron’s past wins.

The race takes place on 19th November 2005, and he will defend his title aboard a Red Bull Honda FireBlade, making his eleventh appearance at the event.

One of his main competitors last year, John McGuinness, will also attend and was Michael’s main 2004 challenger when he finished just 0.5 seconds behind in a thrilling race - leading for most of the race and Michael just pipping him to the finish line.

John’s team-mate from last year, Stuart Easton, will also partner John again this time aboard the Stobart Honda. Stuart was third in the race last year, and will be looking to better that result this year.

Also attending will be Michael’s main rival at the North West 200 race this year. Steve Plater aboard the Hydrex Honda took a thrilling third place at the last British Superbike meeting, held at Brands Hatch two weekends ago. Steve rode an excellent race, and will be on a high after his first podium finish since he won at his home circuit of Cadwell Park in 2003 in the BSB series.

Ian Lougher will also be in attendance, with the new up and coming road racer Guy Martin - definitely a man to watch - and Stephen Thompson.

It’s looking like Michael will have his work cut out at this year’s event, and he will be wanting to prove HM Plant made a mistake when they released him from their team this year.

SeeMacau

October 20th, 2005, 01:12 PM

2005-10-19

Macau – Macau’s Andre Couto, the only local winner so far of the prestigious Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 2000, is confirmed as the fifth driver in the Alfa Romeo 156 works team for the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Macau on November 17-20.

Couto will join fellow Alfa Romeo drivers Briton James Thompson, Brazil’s Augusto Farfus Jr, and the Italian duo of Gabriele Tarquini and Championship contender Fabrizio Giovanardi, in the FIA WTCC LG-Guia Race of Macau – Presented by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. S.A.

No stranger to Macau’s demanding 6.2km street circuit, Couto has competed both in single seaters and, in recent years, in the region’s premier touring car race. Neither is he a stranger to Alfa Romeo, racing in Macau in 2003 in a 147 in the SJM Guia Race, taking pole position for Leg One.

Said the 29-year-old: “It is a tremendous honour for me to be flying the flag for Macau amongst the best touring car drivers in the world. I am certainly relishing the prospect of competing in the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship next month in front of my fellow Macau residents who are always so supportive of my racing career.”

Having started racing in karts, Couto competed in the Formula Opel Euro Series in 1995, before graduating to Formula 3 the following year. In 1998, he made the step up to International F3000. In 2001, he competed in the Japan GT Championship and Formula Nippon, and joined the Formula Nissan World Series in 2002. He contested the FIA European Touring Car Championship in 2003, before competing in the Japan GT Championship – this year re-named the Super GT Series – for the last two years.

Macau has produced a number of “home grown” drivers and riders, many of whom are now competing at a regional level such as single seater young-gun Rodolfo Avila for whom Couto has been an inspiration and mentor.

The FIA WTCC LG-Guia Race of Macau – Presented by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. S.A. will be held on Sunday, November 20, beginning at 11:40am.

SeeMacau

October 20th, 2005, 01:13 PM

After originally saying he didn't want to compete at Macau, Dan Clarke will now compete in the famous GP event after agreeing a one-off deal with leading F3 Euroseries outfit Prema Powerteam.

Clarke's earlier decision not to go to Macau led to his Raikkonen Robertson team bringing in someone else to partner Bruno Senna for the end of year event, but an offer to cover the costs of his drive from a Thai-based investor means the 21-year-old will now take his place on the grid.

"I have to hold my hands up!" Clarke admitted. "My original decision to not race at Macau was wrong. I always go out to win, and I'd been thinking about the Honda versus Mercedes issue, rather than what a great education it could be for me. Drivers, what do we know?!

"I'm very lucky that both Prema Power Team and my new pals in Thailand have stepped in to save the day. Boyo [team boss Anthony Hieatt] at Double R Racing sold my seat to a local driver from Macau after I said I wouldn't be driving, so I'm really pleased to have been offered a second chance.

"It'll be great fun, and Prema are one of the best teams from the Euroseries, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot from them.

SeeMacau

October 20th, 2005, 01:14 PM

Alfa Romeo has announced that it will enter a fifth works car in the final rounds of the World Touring Car Championship in Macau.

Local driver Andre Couto will join title chaser Fabrizio Giovanardi, James Thompson, Gabriele Tarquni and Augusto Farfus for the event, with the 29-year-old aiming to emulate his success during the 2000 Macau Formula Three Grand Prix, when he became the only local winner of the prestigious event.

Couto has also competed at Macau in touring cars ? racing in a Super Production-spec Alfa Romeo 147 in the 2003 SJM Guia Race and taking pole position for Leg One.

"It is a tremendous honour for me to be flying the flag for Macau amongst the best touring car drivers in the world," he said. "I am certainly relishing the prospect of competing in the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship next month in front of my fellow Macau residents who are always so supportive of my racing career."

SeeMacau

October 24th, 2005, 08:06 AM

23 October 2005
ADRIAN Archibald, who rode for the first time on his new Yamaha at Bishopscourt, will be riding at the Macau Grand Prix next month.

This will be Archibald's second appearance at the Far East track. He was there in 2001. Martin Finnegan and Stephen Thompson are also expected to be there.

Archibald told me: "I was just getting used to the new bike at Bishopscourt and I'm pleased the way things have gone. I intend to ride at Daytona next March and this will be my first appearance there. I'm really looking forward to it."

As for Macau, Ryan Farquhar is also expected to be there and of course the big two will be Michael Rutter and John McGuinness.

Brilliant Lee won

RICHHILL rider Lee Wilson clinched the Supersport 400 Irish Championship in style in a brilliant Bishopscourt finale to the series last weekend.

The Co. Armagh ace achieved his feat on the back of three Mondello wins the weekend before.

He arrived at Bishopscourt leading the championship with a slim 25 point advantage over nearest rival Alan Pagan.

Needing to win the first race, he finished second to Pagan which sent the championship destination down to the wire.

Angus Poston led the first seven laps of the 9-lap deciding race with Lee always on his tail.

Lee then seized his chance and roared through to take the race and title by 45 points from te unfortunate Pagan, forced to retire with engine problems.

SeeMacau

October 24th, 2005, 08:07 AM

Having begun the year with the driver partnership of Thomas Jäger and Thomas Klenke, Ford Hotfiel Sport will end the year with a revised line-up after Patrick Bernhardt was drafted in to replace Klenke for the final round of the season at Macau.

Although no reason has been given as to why Klenke has been ousted from the team, Bernhardt brings significant experience to the team, having tested the Focus throughout this year alongside Klenke and Michael Funke, the latter German remaining in the car for the street race in November.

Bernhardt has competed mainly in the German Super Production Championship for the Hotfiel squad, with a best season finish of second place in 2003. The 34 year-old German will be hoping to give Ford reason to cheer in the final round of a difficult year for the brand new Focus, while he will also be wanting to make a pledge for a full time drive next year after Ford's announcement that they will be entering again next year.

As of yet, Ford have not scored any points this year, with a pair of tenth places currently their best finish at Oschersleben earlier in the season.

SeeMacau

October 24th, 2005, 08:08 AM

FIA WTCC NIGHT - LIVE FROM MACAU ON EUROSPORT

"Eurosport, host broadcaster of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, will put in an strong effort to give the best possible exposure to the championship's finale in Macau," revealed Executive Producer Eric Lazayres.

Eurosport will air a special "FIA WTCC Night": more than 9 consecutive hours of broadcast, from 0.45 to 10.00 on Sunday, November 20th.

Programming will begin with live coverage of the warm-up, from 0.45 to 1.15. Immediately afterwards Eurosport will air repeats of the championship's latest three meetings: Oschersleben, Istanbul and Valencia, from 1.15 to 4.45.

Live broadcast of the two FIA WTCC races in Macau will start at 4.45, and continue until 7.00. This will be followed from 7.00 to 8.30 by repeats of both races and, from 8.30 to 10.00 by live broadcast of the 52nd Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix.

Eurosport coverage from Macau on the same day will include highlights of the FIA WTCC from 12.00 to 13.30 and the Motorsport Weekend Magazine from 21.00 to 21.30.

LAUNCH OF THE 52ND MACAU GRAND PRIX

The 52nd Macau Grand Prix has been launched at a crowded press conference; the event will include the final rounds of the 2005 FIA World Touring Car Championship. "The prestige afforded to Macau in holding motorsport events will, without doubt, be significantly increased. This achievement means that the Macau Grand Prix, with its distinguished history of over half a Century, this year begins a whole new era," stated Dr Chui Sai On - Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macau Special Administrative Region.

Engineer João Manuel Costa Antunes - Co-ordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, added: "Macau is proud to host the final round of the FIA's newest world championship. We are also delighted to welcome Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. as the presenting sponsor of the FIA WTCC races. Having the final round of the FIA WTCC in Macau brings with it a great deal of additional prestige to both our event and our city, but even more exciting still is the fact that the very first championship will be decided right here on the Guia Circuit."

According to Macau Grand Prix Committee's official figures, ticket sales have increased 36% over the same period last year."

TWO MACANESE DRIVERS TO JOIN FIA WTCC FINALE

Two Macanese drivers have entered in the FIA World Touring Car Championship's final meeting. With the addition of Chi Hong Ao and Chong Seng Lei to the four competitors of the Asian Touring Car Championship Franz Engstler, Ratanakul Prutirat, Paul Poon and Jody Coseteng who will also race in Macau, the FIA WTCC field has topped 30 cars.

Ao is another regular competitor in the Asian Touring Car Championship, in which he was placed third in 2004, and is lying fourth in the current season.45-years old and considered one of the best drivers from Macau, Ao will drive a BMW 320i run by his own Ao's Racing Team. Chong Seng Lei, a front runner in the Hong Kong and Macau Touring Car Championships, will be at the wheel of a Honda Civic Type-R. During last year's Macau Guia Race, Lei obtained two top-ten results 9th in Race 1 and 10th in Race 2 emerging as the best of the Asian drivers.

MAN OF THE WEEK: DIRK MÜLLER

After Valencia, Dirk Müller regained his championship lead by a single point and is in confident spirits for Macau. With the final round a month away, we asked the BMW Team Deutschland man what he is getting up to.

What are you doing this month? "i am doing a small amount of testing and have some sponsorship events to attend; there is one in Paris this weekend actually. As well as this I am continuing to work with the young Formula BMW drivers, which means travelling to Valencia. And of course, preparing for Macau."

How exactly are you preparing for Macau? "Having been there last year I have some experience of the track. What I have to do now is study the information from last year and learn what I need to change. It is also great for me that the team has been to Macau a few times and their knowledge is very valuable."

What has changed for you since the birth of your daughter? "The only thing is that I try and stay at home as much as possible to help my wife Daniela with our daughter who was born on 31st August. I do have lots of work but I still have plenty of time at home and everything is working well. It's great."

FLASH NEWS

FIA ETC CUP: Two FIA WTCC regulars Alessandro Zanardi and Tom Coronel take part on Sunday in the first edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup on the Italian track of Vallelunga. Zanardi and Coronel are facing 24 other drivers coming from ten different countries, including Jason Plato, Tomas Engtsröm, Salvatore Tavano and Alessandro Balzan who also took part in some FIA WTCC rounds during the current season.

THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK

MSV boss Jonathan Palmer, owner of Snetterton, Brands Hatch and Oulton Park: "We have big plans for Snetterton. I've always been very keen that all MSV circuits should be fantastic places to drive at. Part of the development is to bring the track up to FIA Grade 2 specification and that would mean we could hold races for anything from the World Touring Car Championship."

SeeMacau

October 24th, 2005, 08:08 AM

MACAU'S COUTO CONFIRMED FOR FIA WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINALE

Macau, October 20, 2005 -- Macau's Andre Couto, the only local winner so far of the prestigious Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 2000, is confirmed as the fifth driver in the Alfa Romeo 156 works team for the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Macau on November 17-20.

Couto will join fellow Alfa Romeo drivers Briton James Thompson, Brazil's Augusto Farfus Jr, and the Italian duo of Gabriele Tarquini and Championship contender Fabrizio Giovanardi, in the FIA WTCC LG-Guia Race of Macau -- Presented by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. S.A.

No stranger to Macau's demanding 6.2km street circuit, Couto has competed both in single seaters and, in recent years, in the region's premier touring car race. Neither is he a stranger to Alfa Romeo, racing in Macau in 2003 in a 147 in the SJM Guia Race, taking pole position for Leg One.

Said the 29-year-old: "It is a tremendous honour for me to be flying the flag for Macau amongst the best touring car drivers in the world. I am certainly relishing the prospect of competing in the final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship next month in front of my fellow Macau residents who are always so supportive of my racing career."

Having started racing in karts, Couto competed in the Formula Opel Euro Series in 1995, before graduating to Formula 3 the following year. In 1998, he made the step up to International F3000. In 2001, he competed in the Japan GT Championship and Formula Nippon, and joined the Formula Nissan World Series in 2002. He contested the FIA European Touring Car Championship in 2003, before competing in the Japan GT Championship -- this year re-named the Super GT Series -- for the last two years.

Macau has produced a number of "home grown" drivers and riders, many of whom are now competing at a regional level such as single seater young-gun Rodolfo Avila for whom Couto has been an inspiration and mentor.

The FIA WTCC LG-Guia Race of Macau -- Presented by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. S.A. will be held on Sunday, November 20, beginning at 11:40am.

SeeMacau

October 24th, 2005, 09:26 AM

MAXIMUM HANDICAP FOR THE TITLE CONTENDERS

The three drivers still in contention to claim the first FIA WTCC crown will be on equal footing at Macau. Dirk Müller, Andy Priaulx and Fabrizio Giovanardi, will carry the maximum 60 kg handicap weight. Jörg Müller, victorious in the second race at Valencia, will also have 60 extra kilos on board, while James Thompson and Alessandro Zanardi will carry 45 and 35 respectively. Fourteen drivers in total will have ballast, which is set to considerably influence performances on the Guia track's uphill section, from the San Francisco Hill bend to the Melco hairpin.

BERNHARDT REPLACES KLENKE AT FORD HOTFIEL

Patrick Bernhardt will replace Thomas Klenke at the wheel of one of Hotfiel Sport's Ford Focus cars for the final meeting in Macau.

Since the beginning of the season Bernhardt * 34 years old from Wetzlar, Germany * was one of the drivers who worked with the team to develop the Focus in Super 2000 specs, alongside Klenke and Michael Funke, who will be Bernhardt's team-mate in Macau.

During his already long career, Bernhardt emerged as a race winner in different categories: Formula Ford, Formula 3 and Touring Cars. His best season was 2003, when he was classified second in the German Touring Car Challenge at the wheel of a Ford Focus ST170 run by Hotfiel Sport.

GÖRANSSON: THE WTCC AFTER THE ETC CUP?

Last weekend Rickard Göransson became the first ever FIA European Touring Car Cup champion. The 27 year old has won the Swedish Touring Car Championship for two consecutive years with West Coast Racing's BMW cars.

How does it feel to be European Champion? "Great. I didn't expect it so it was a big bonus. It was actually one of the best weekends of the season and the whole team was happy, a great way to finish the racing year. It was extra special because we were like underdogs competing against some of the FIA WTCC teams, and we won. You could say it was a David versus Goliath victory."

Have you taken any interest in the FIA WTCC this year? "Yes definitely. I have tried to watch as many races as possible. I think it is a good championship with an excellent standard of drivers. Very entertaining."

What are your plans for next year? "I feel after three years in the Swedish Touring Car Championship it would be a natural progression to move to the FIA WTCC but nothing is arranged yet. It is certainly one of my future goals. For the moment I am looking forward to what the winter brings."

THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Jonathan Ashman, President of the FIA Touring Car Commission, commenting on the ballast system in an interview to Autosport: "In qualifying at Oschersleben we had 13 drivers and cars from five different manufacturers within the same second. Then I'm thinking that there's not a lot wrong with it. I don't see any reason to change it next season."

SeeMacau

October 24th, 2005, 09:28 AM

CLARKE TO WOW MACAU WITH PREMA POWER

British F3 driver Dan Clarke confirmed today that he will be driving in next month's world famous Macau Grand Prix, after agreeing a one-off deal to drive for top Italian F3 outfit, Prema Power Team. Clarke, who had originally decided to miss this year's Macau GP, had a change of heart after a last minute approach from Prema Power Team, and an offer from his new Thai-based investor to fully cover the cost of the drive.

The confident 21 year old refreshingly admitted that he may have got it wrong -- not something you hear every day from a racing driver, "I have to hold my hands up! My original decision to not race at Macau was wrong. I always go out to win, and I'd been thinking about the Honda vs Mercedes issue, rather than what a great education it could be for me. Drivers eh!! -- what do we know??"

Clarke, who was tight-lipped about his new Bangkok backers, added, "I'm very lucky that both Prema Power Team and my new pals in Thailand have stepped in to save the day. Boyo (team boss Anthony Hieatt) at Double R Racing (Raikkonen Robertson Racing) sold my seat to a local driver from Macau after I said I wouldn't be driving, so I'm really pleased to have been offered a second chance. It'll be great fun, and Prema are one of the best teams from the Euroseries, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot from them."

This will be Clarke's first ever drive in the highly prestigious Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix - one of the biggest F3 races of the season. The best drivers from around the globe descend on Macau's Guia Circuit at the end of their respective seasons, providing Dan with a great opportunity to test himself against the best, and further enhance his racing credentials.

SeeMacau

October 26th, 2005, 02:57 AM

24 October 2005

Adrian Archibald intends to race at Daytona next year for the first time.

Ballymoney's Archibald (pictured), who has moved to a new Yamaha team told me: "I've never been to Daytona and I am really looking forward to it.

"The meeting will take place at the end of February and I will be riding in the Superbike classes.

"I am also heading to Macau next month and I am hopeful of making a name for myself for my present backers."

Archibald has only had one outing on the new machine and that was at Bishopscourt just over a week ago.

SeeMacau

October 27th, 2005, 10:08 AM

Les Shand from Mosstodloch in Northern Scotland, is about to trade the winter chill of Scotland for the sweltering heat of China, as he prepares to take part in the thirty ninth Macau GP, on board his AIM Racing Yamaha.

The Macau GP is held on the 6.2 Kilometre Guia street circuit, which for the bike racers it is one of the scariest circuits to race at, as Shand explains:

"It is the chance to race on one of the most dangerous circuits in the world as there are nothing but walls around the circuit and you are doing one hundred miles an hour plus and only about two inches from touching them. Everyone has sent he pictures of rider's shoulders touching the walls." He then goes on to make the understatement of the year: "It's a wee bit exciting!"

Last year was the first time Shand took part in the annual event, and he admits: "I didn't know much about Macau until Iain Duffus and Brian Morrison offered me the opportunity to go last year. I'd heard about it, but now I've been out there, it is THE way to end the season."

Last year Morrison and Duffus supplied Shand with a GSX-R 1000 that had been breathed upon to make it suitable, and he performed well coming home in eleventh plus he was faster than anyone else into the famous Lisboa bend. This year he is on board a fully fledged Superbike and hoping to upset some of the regulars, including his newly signed team-mate and road racing specialist, Adrian Archibald.

This year Shand has the advantage of knowing the track, "It's difficult to learn the circuit as when it isn't race time it is a busy China street. So it's not like you can go and learn it in the day," he said "I hired a taxi last year and went round the circuit in that about a dozen times to try and get it into my head!"

Different but sensible approach to what could be a potentially very dangerous race. "It is stressed by the organisers that they want a safe and happy event, and although when the lights go green everyone is out there to win, you have to remember where you are and what you could hit," explained Shand. "The closest circuit that I can compare it to is the Monaco GP circuit, it is a full blown street circuit with a mass start like at the North West 200."

For a one off event that doesn't have any bearing on any championship why take the risk?

"It is a bit like the Isle of Man, there are no championship points to gain at the Island, it is just something different to do. Macau is fun as there is less pressure on you than at a BSB meeting. You spend all year chasing half a second and thousandths of seconds at BSB so there is an element of relaxation."

Macau is known for show casing new and up and coming talent, all the big names have raced there in the past, like Ron Haslam and Carl Fogarty. And still today, Macau pulls in all the top riders, like Michael Rutter, and John McGuinness, it is a good place to get noticed.

With the temperature in Macau being way beyond what we are used to in the UK, how will Shand cope with the heat? "I love the heat! Living in Scotland and spending nine months of the year blue, it's great to go somewhere and get a bit of a tan! Just got to make sure you drink plenty and it isn't a problem!"

Something or rather someone else who Shand doesn't seem to see as a problem, is his team-mate Adrian Archibald. Archibald is know for his success in Irish road racing and of course on the Isle of Man, however he has only raced at the Macau GP once before in 2001 and didn't finish the race. He is also new to the Yamaha having been racing a Suzuki up until now. The general rule of thumb is you have to beat your team-mate, but Shand wouldn't be drawn on the subject!

The Macau GP takes place on the weekend of 17th – 20th November.

SeeMacau

October 27th, 2005, 10:09 AM

BMW has confirmed that is has added Duncan Huisman to its driver line-up for the final round of the World Touring Car Championship at Macau.

With the team looking to secure both the Manufacturers' and Drivers' titles, the three time Macau Guia Race winner will drive a BMW Team Holland car run by RBM alongside the BMW Team UK car of title hopeful Andy Priaulx and with no ballast on board, the Dutchman said he was hopeful of aiding Priaulx and Dirk Muller as they fight Alfa Romeo driver Fabrizio Giovanardi for the WTCC title.

"[Alfa Romeo driver] André Couto will not carry ballast too," he said. "He's good and drives a competitive car. My problem is that I haven't driven many miles in the WTCC car. On the other hand, BMW has always been competitive in Macau since fifteen years. Therefore, I should be in a position of being competitive and helping Dirk and Andy in their chase for the title."

Twice a winner of the Dutch Touring Car Championship, Huisman was a race winner in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, taking second in the 2001 Super Production Championship and claiming the Michelin Independents' Trophy in 2003. This season he finished as a runner-up in the Dutch Porsche Cup, but also won the Nürburgring 24 Hours sharing a BMW Motorsport M3 GTR with Priaulx, Boris Said and Pedro Lamy.

"That was one peak point of my career," he said. "Now I'm really much looking forward to Macau, because I want to make up from last year, when we did not manage to be competitive and this brought a halt to my winning streak there."

SeeMacau

October 29th, 2005, 01:02 AM

Gearing up for next month's Macau Grand Prix, 18-year old Macanese driver Rodolfo Avila has recently concluded two private test sessions with the HBR Motorsport team that will run him in the end-of-season event.

he two outings - the first at Most in the Czech Republic and the second at Eurospeedway Lausitz - were conducted in a Mercedes Benz-powered Dallara F305 which, although unfamiliar, Avila compared favourably to the F304 he has been driving in the Asian F3 Series.

“The results of both tests were encouraging, to say the least," the teenager remarked, "The relationship and development that ensued with the expertise of my engineer Knud Rieser and team manager Siggi Muller is quite invaluable, and the overall package simply adds more confidence.

“The F305 is a bit more physical, but a lot more fun, to drive compared to the F304 that I'm quite accustomed to, but I expect the extra effort to pay off. The Mercedes Benz engine is incredibly powerful and, overall, it simply is a more competitive combination.”

The high level of competition intrinsic to every Macau GP is keeping Avila focused on his goals, stressing that, to finish first, he had first to finish - which remains the main objective following a previous attempt that ended unceremoniously.

“This is definitely going to be a team effort and while, conservatively, I expect to finish the race, realistically, it may very well be on top of the rest of the local drivers,” Avila concluded.

SeeMacau

October 29th, 2005, 01:03 AM

John Haner will replace Jeremy Toye on the Roadracingworld.com/Lee's Cycles Honda CBR1000RR in the Macau Grand Prix, an annual through-the-streets race scheduled for Saturday, November 19th. Macau is a former Portugese colony now ruled by China.

Toye separated a shoulder when he crashed his motocross bike while training last Friday.

Other riders on the North American team include Steve Crevier on a Honda on Pirellis and Mark Miller on a Suzuki on Dunlops. Haner will compete on Pirelli tires.

SeeMacau

October 29th, 2005, 01:03 AM

FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER
28th October 2005

FIA AND KSO SIGN WTCC RIGHTS AGREEMENT

The success of the first year of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) is set to continue after the FIA signed a commercial rights contract with championship promoter KSO in an agreement which lasts until 2009.

The contract was finalised in Rome today at a signing ceremony between FIA President Max Mosley and Eurosport President Angelo Codignoni. The ceremony was also attended by FIA Deputy President Marco Piccinini and KSO President Jacques Behar.

Eurosport, parent company of KSO, will continue to be the host broadcaster for the WTCC. It broadcasts live coverage of every race plus highlights and feature programmes.

The FIA's decision to sign this agreement follows the growing success of the WTCC, which was launched at the start of this year. So far it has seen seven manufacturers competing at ten events held on three continents around the world. With this new agreement the championship is set for continued success in 2006 and beyond.

FIA President Max Mosley said: "We warmly welcome this agreement, which will guarantee the continued growth of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. KSO and Eurosport have done an excellent job promoting the championship in its first year and we look forward to increasing success in the future."

Eurosport President Angelo Codignoni said: "We greatly appreciate the value of this agreement with the FIA and the recognition of the work done by KSO and Eurosport. This is a strong motivation for us to make an even greater effort to promote the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the highest level in motorsport."

THE WAY TO MACAU WTCC'S LAST VOYAGE

The WTCC's last voyage of the season has begun. Spare parts and tyres are already on their way to Macau, split among twelve containers on board of five different cargo ships that sailed from Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Genoa, Valencia and Barcelona. They are due to dock in Hong Kong between November 8th and 10th, with delivery at the track on November 12th.

The 27 racing cars will be airfreighted on board two Boeing 747 cargo planes from Luxembourg; the first one leaving on November 7th and the second on November 9th. Cars will be delivered at the paddock on the day following each departure. Another 20 tons of spare parts will be also airfreighted in the beginning of November.

HUISMAN REINFORCES THE BMW ARMADA

BMW's force will be stronger than ever in Macau with the addition of Duncan Huisman. The 33-year old Dutchman will drive a BMW Team Holland car, run by RBM alongside their regular; Andy Priaulx's BMW Team UK car. Huisman, three times a winner in the Macau Guia Race for BMW 2001, 2002 and 2003 might help the German Manufacturer to clinch both the FIA WTCC Manufacturers' and Drivers' titles. He will be one of the few top drivers with no ballast on board.

"André Couto will not carry ballast either. He's good and drives a competitive car (a works Alfa Romeo). My problem is that I haven't driven many miles in the WTCC car. On the other hand, BMW has always been competitive in Macau for fifteen years. Therefore, I should be in a position to be competitive and help Dirk and Andy in their chase for the title," he said.

Over ten years Huisman has emerged as one of the most successful BMW drivers. Twice a winner of the Dutch Touring Car Championship (1997 and 2000), he was a race winner in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, being classified 2nd in the 2001 Super Production Championship and claiming the Michelin Independents' Trophy in 2003. In the current season he finished as a runner-up in the Dutch Porsche Cup, but he also won the Nürburgring 24 Hours sharing a BMW Motorsport M3 GTR with Priaulx, Boris Said and Pedro Lamy.

"That was one peak point of my career. Now I'm very much looking forward to Macau, because I want to make up for last year, when we did not manage to be competitive and this put a halt to my winning streak there."

FLASH NEWS

WEATHER: The latest service offered from the Macau Grand Prix Committee is a special area within their official website to know everything about the weather. By visiting the www.smg.gov.mo/GP/index.php webpage, it will be possible to know in real time air temperature, wind direction and speed, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, as well as an accurate 4-day weather forecast.

BTCC: The British Touring Car Championship will be contested by cars complying with the FIA Super 2000 regulations from 2007 onwards. Currently, Super 2000 cars race alongside the series' own BTC Touring cars, but from 2007, new cars will have to comply with the FIA Super 2000 regulations. The BTTC is the eighth premier national championship in Europe to embrace the FIA technical regulations.

MENU: This weekend Alain Menu will be racing for Chevrolet in the 200 Miles of Buenos Aires, counting towards the Argentine TC2000 championship. Like last year, Menu will share a Chevrolet Astra with reigning champion Christian Ledesma; they were classified second in 2004.

THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK

BTCC series director Alan Gow commenting on the change of regulations: "This is the obvious way forward for the BTCC as most touring car championships throughout Europe will also run to S2000 regulations, as will the World Touring Car Championship.

SeeMacau

November 3rd, 2005, 02:10 AM

The route to Macau

The last round of FIA WTCC 2005 is going to be held the 20th of November in Macau, the city circuit located in China. All the teams are waiting this big event full of history and with one of the highest on-site attendences of the whole World Championship.

JAS Motorsport put all its effort and dedication in these days to be back racing with the two Honda Accord Super 2000, one driven by Adriano "Ado" De Micheli from Scuderia Niosi (USA) who will be joined by Simon Harrison (UK). In this occasion the cars will have the new livery of the Noble Group who will be the sponsor of JAS for the Guia race.

There are big expectations for JAS Motorsport in consideration of the excellent performance of Ado in the last race of Valencia, where he was comfortably fighting for the 5th position before being unceremoniously pushed out by a SEAT. Also Simon Harrison is expected to be highly competitive in Macau thanks to his familiarity with the city-track and the excellent test session in Valencia.

"We'll settle for nothing but the best in Macau" said Alessandro Mariani, team manager of JAS "The cars are in great conditions and the last results achieved in the championship are the proof. The experience and the potential of Harrison will be very helpful to be competitive, we are ready to be fighting among work drivers."

"Qualifying is the key" Ado said "because passing is very hard in Macau and starting from a good position will be important."

During the RPMe event which will take part in the circuit of Monza the 3rd to the 6th November JAS Motorport will make a shakedown of the two cars also to allow to improve the confidence of the British driver with the Accord S2000 and the new tires, and right afterwards both cars will be flying to the Guia race.

During the whole week the Team will continue the deevlopmentng of their Accord Euro R Super 2000 ENDURANCE, an evolution version of the WTCC which has already raced at the prestigious Nurburgring 24 hours and that is now available to all endurance-racing enthusiasts.

SeeMacau

November 3rd, 2005, 11:57 AM

Title Decider on the Unforgiving Streets of Macau

The 2005 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia title will be decided on Macau's legendary Guia street circuit on November 20, in what promises to be one of the most thrilling races ever.

Just 17 points separate the top four drivers on the leaderboard, and with 20 up for grabs for the win, the title could go to any one of them. Even more intriguingly, of the four, only championship leader and reigning British GT Champion Jonathan Cocker has no previous experience of the demanding -- and unforgiving -- Guia Circuit. In fact, it will be the first time he has ever raced on a street circuit. Cocker is well aware of the challenge facing him but he has shown throughout his first season in the series that he can quickly get to grips with any new circuit, however demanding.

Thailand's Charoensukhawatana Nattavude trails Cocker by a mere five points having led the championship from round two right up until the race in Shanghai last month. Nattavude has a wealth of experience at Macau having competed there for many years in touring cars and, more recently the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia. Racing for Chinese outfit, SCC Racing, clinching the title on their home ground in Macau would be a fitting finale to a superb debut season for the team.

However, another man on a charge in Macau will be Team Jebsen's Darryl O'Young. The 25-year-old Hong Kong driver has notched up an impressive six podiums so far this season -- including two memorable wins in Beijing mid-season -- but will put any thought of titles and points behind him for the final round, concentrating only on victory in the race.

Defending champion A-Ha Racing's Matthew Marsh is another driver with considerable experience of the Guia Circuit, having competed there in single seater and saloon cars, as well as the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Marsh began the year in dominant form with a win in the opening round, and comes to the final race of the season with a run of two podiums under his belt. He is still in the frame to take the title for a second time despite being 17 points adrift of Cocker, particularly when the nature of the Guia Circuit can be relied upon to produce plenty of unexpected additional drama!

Other series regulars who, although out of contention for the title, will have their sights firmly set on capturing the prestigious end-of-season win include Team Thailand's Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak who sadly had to miss two rounds in the summer which, so crucial is each and every point, was enough to take him out of championship contention despite a superbly impressive season. Sri Lanka's Dilantha Malagamuwa, currently sixth on the leaderboard, will line up in Macau as will Briton Nigel Albon, despite his massive shunt in practice in Shanghai last month. The talented Eurokars Racing driver, who last contested a full season in 2003 missing out on the title by just four points to Hong Kong racing legend Charles Kwan, will be looking to put the bad luck with which he has been plagued all season firmly behind him with a good result in Macau.

Class B, for non-professional racers, has provided plenty of thrills and spills all year and ensured the action continued throughout the field. Alain Li, who returned to racing at the start of the season after a break of several years and who had never before competed in a Porsche, has been the star of the Class all year. However, fellow Hong Kong driver William "Chip" Connor could still put pay to Li's title aspirations. Eleven points separate the two but, as all drivers are required to "drop" one score, Connor could still wrestle the championship title from Li.

Also lining up in Macau will be the ever-popular Philip Ma of Hong Kong, and Vutthikorn's Team Thailand team mate Sontaya Kunplome, competing in his first full season.

And if the field of skilled Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia drivers, each fighting for all-important points and victory were not enough to guarantee a truly memorable season climax, the addition of a fascinating line-up of guest drivers is sure to add even more to the tension on the grid.

Porsche Motorsport Sweden is fielding Nichlas Karlsson of Sweden who impressed in Shanghai last month, qualifying second fastest behind Cocker, and Jorma Vahanen of Finland.

GR Asia has a strong three-car line-up for Macau, including touring car specialist Richard Meins who made his Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia debut last month in Shanghai, but was hampered by a serious bout of food poisoning. Despite this, Meins still finished the race, and his considerable experience of the Macau street circuit will make him one to watch. Joining Meins is New Zealander Rob Wilson. As well as a varied and successful single seater and sportscar racing career, UK-based Wilson has earned a reputation as one of the world's premier driver coaches.

Also in the GR Asia squad is Hong Kong driver Nick Thomas. Thomas also brings a long and successful racing career to the team, most recently in this year's Merdeka Millenium 12 Hour race in Malaysia where he and fellow drivers Clive Bates and Joe Sevack were 3rd overall and 2nd in class in a Porsche 996. He was also the Open Class winner in this year's Classic Car Club of Hong Kong Club Championship, also in Malaysia, winning every race he finished bar one.

The 2005 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia season began in March, where the opening round was a support race to the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Malaysia. The series then returned to Sepang International Circuit for a further two rounds in May, and on to Thailand's Bira Circuit in June. July saw the series attract more than 20,000 spectators to Beijing's Goldenport Circuit, before moving to South Korea and the Taebaek track in August. The penultimate round was the second supporting event to a round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, this time in Shanghai.

Since its inception at the start of 2003, the series has earned a substantial and enthusiastic fan and media following which continues to grow rapidly. Television coverage of the series is also impressive with pan-Asian broadcasts provided by leading satellite station StarSports, while more than 7,500 minutes of racing action from the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS), under which the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia runs, are being shown in 504 broadcasts across China this year, bringing the total global television audience for AFOS to 750 million homes.

Supporting the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognised names in international motorsport, Mobil1 and Michelin. Mobil and Porsche have been partners since 1996. Close co-operation in research and development has led to every new Porsche engine being filled with Mobil1 high-performance lubricant. Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia drivers also have the advantage of racing on cutting-edge tyres supplied by series partner Michelin. The consistent performance and leading technology of Michelin tyres constantly improve the performance of many teams in international motorsport. The partnership between Michelin and the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia has emerged from a worldwide agreement signed between Porsche AG and the Michelin group

The Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia runs as part of the Asian Festival of Speed, organised by Malaysian-based Motorsport Asia Limited.

SeeMacau

November 6th, 2005, 03:01 AM

Alfa Romeo have confirmed that they will be bowing out of the World Touring Car Championship following next weekend's final race in Macau, albeit with a potential view to entering again in 2007.

The news comes as the Italian team gear up for a final push for the drivers title with Fabrizio Giovanardi in a tense battle with BMW rivals Andy Priaulx and Dirk Muller to become world champion.

Rumours that Alfa Romeo will not renew its participation with the championship surfaced some time ago when the manufacturer claimed that they were unsure they wanted the replacement for the 156, the 159, to race. However, it was thought they would develop the smaller 147 and downsize to a two-car team.

Nonetheless, the delaying of Alfa Romeos commitment means that the team will be unable to develop any car before the beginning of next year and so have decided to take a sabbatical.

"Racing keeps being part of the Alfa culture, but we are taking one year off in order to decide how to race in the future and with what car," brand manager Antonio Baravalle said to Gazzetta dello Sport.

By returning in 2007, it is likely that Alfa Romeo may move down to the forthcoming 149 which is due to be unveiled by the end of next year, although the team claim that they may still plough their resources into a privateer team next year so as to maintain a presence in the championship.

However, the announcement late in the season leaves Giovanardi, Gabriele Tarquini, Augusto Farfus and James Thompson without a drive for next year and with several teams having confirmed their line-ups for next year, all four could find themselves out in the cold in 2006.

Alfa Romeo have a very successful motorsport heritage, winning titles in Britain, Italy and the DTM in the 1990s, while they also have three European titles to their name. However, while they are still in the running for this year's first World title, arch-rivals BMW hold a significant lead in the manufacturers' championship.

SeeMacau

November 10th, 2005, 03:26 AM

09 November 2005

A 2006 team switch for Rutter - no news as yet on Byrne, Laconi, or Phil Read joining in a BSB team next year...

The Phil Read bit was a joke by the way. Here's the PR from Stobart Honda;

RUTTER SIGNS FOR STOBART MOTORSPORT

Paul Bird Motorsport is pleased to announce that double British Superbike Championship runner up Michael Rutter will ride for the Stobart Motorsport team in the 2006 British Superbike Championship (BSB).

Rutter, who has both 500cc Grand Prix and World Superbike Championship points under his belt in addition to many years’ BSB experience, will join existing teamster Michael Laverty in a two man team for the former double BSB champions, whereby Rutter will also contest the 2006 International North West 200 and the 2006 Macau Grand Prix for the team.

“I’m very pleased to be joining the Stobart Motorsport team as they made it very clear that they really wanted me from the start” said Rutter. “I was in the fortunate position of having a number of lucrative offers for 2006 but I have chosen to go with Birdy as I think that’s where I have the best chance of winning. The team is well up for it and so am I and I can’t wait to start testing” said the 32 year old eleven times North West 200 winner, one time TT winner and five times Macau GP winner.

Both Rutter and Laverty will ride Honda Fireblades for The Mob, Vent-Axia and VK Vodka Kick backed team and team owner Paul Bird is delighted to have secured the services of a rider he has admired for many seasons:

“This is fantastic news for us as we’ve tried many times before to sign Michael and for various reasons, it has never happened.

We’ve never looked forward to working with anyone so much before and we know Michael will do a good job for us. These are exciting times for Stobart Motorsport and signing Michael is the icing on the cake.” declared the Cumbrian businessman who last month celebrated winning the National Rally Championship himself to round off a clean sweep of British Championships for the Stobart Rally Team.

Rutter started racing in 1989 aboard an RGV 250 Suzuki before progressing to British Championship level in the 1991 Superteen series. Barring one year (1999) when he contested a full season in 500cc GPs, Rutter has been ever-present in the British Superbike Championship, racking up 25 wins and 65 podium finishes, as well as 16 pole positions from his 229 BSB starts.

SeeMacau

November 10th, 2005, 11:56 PM

Note to computer racing games programmers: remember to include Macau. That's what Chevrolet World Touring Car Championship driver Rob Huff is thinking after being unable to find the fabulous street course on a game for him to practice ahead of next weekend's finale of the WTCC.

It's not only the longest street course in the world, but also one that will give teams and drivers plenty to think about with both high speeds and a narrow track combining for what is certain to be plenty of action.

For the RML squad running the works Chevrolets in the WTCC, particular attention has been paid to the Melco hairpin. "We got hold of the exact measurements of the Melco hairpin," Huff explains, "and laid out a hairpin just like it. The idea was to see what we could do if we run wide, or – if something else happens – how quickly we can get ourselves out of different worse case scenarios.

"It's a strange corner, being 14 metres wide on the way in and just seven metres wide on the way out. But all in all I'm very much looking forward to going to Macau.

"Unfortunately I couldn't find the track on any computer game, so I watched the videos from previous races a lot. It will be a huge learning process, but then again I have nothing to prove there, so I won't take any unnecessary risks. I think this year I have done what I needed to do to prove that I earned my place in the team, so there is no point in going to Macau and trying to equal my qualifying position from Valencia. I'm not going to put any pressure on myself and just learn as much as I can for 2006."

Of the three Chevrolet drivers, only Nicola Larini has ever been to Macau, finishing a close second on his first time out there in 2002. "It's a wonderful track, a bit like a long version of Monaco," Larini said. "If you look at the map of the track you think it's boring with just three long straights and then a slow twisty section, but actually it's very fast everywhere. It's very enjoyable to drive, especially in the fast uphill and downhill sequences.

"Being a street course with limited overtaking possibilities, it is of course very important to start from the first three rows on the grid. Any further back and you have no chance to score points or make it to the podium."

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:23 AM

FIA WTCC FINALE READY TO GET UNDERWAY

The last preparations for the FIA WTCC finale in Macau are over. Expectations are high, as the whole season will be decided on the streets of the former Portuguese protectorate.

Everything is still at stake. The Drivers' Championship, in which two BMW men Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx are leading the classification separated by just one point and closely chased by Alfa Romeo's Fabrizio Giovanardi who is five points behind Dirk. The Manufacturers' Championship, with BMW leading Alfa Romeo by 25 points with 36 still to be awarded. And the Independents' Trophy, awarding double points in Macau, led by Marc Hennerici from Giuseppe Cirò and Tom Coronel.

Action will begin tomorrow at the Guia street circuit, with a 30-minute testing session at 15.40 local time.

FIA WTCC DRIVERS WIN MACAU JIGSAW GAME

This afternoon, at the Macau's Senado Square, an FIA WTCC team formed by Coronel, Couto, Farfus, Harrison, Hennerici and Larini defeated two other teams, formed by the F3 Grand Prix drivers and the Motorcycle Grand Prix riders respectively, in "The Historic Centre of Macau Jigsaw Game". A special promotional event to celebrate Macau's inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

Each team was asked to complete jigsaw puzzles of three different Macau landmarks which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Following the prize-giving ceremony, an autograph session was held with drivers and riders meeting the fans.

NEW GARAGES BUILT FOR THE FIA WTCC CARS

The Macau Grand Prix Committee put in great efforts to accomodate the FIA WTCC teams in the best possible way, including the construction of 34 temporary garages inside the paddock area, whereas until last year Guia Race cars were sheltered under canopies.

The garages are fully metallic structures with sizes varying between 16 x 4.6 and 8.9 x 4.6 m; the inner height is 2.5 m. Their cover is made of deformed zinc plate, supported by galvanized hollow section pipes fixed on concrete beams covered with galvanized steel sheets. The inner partition walls are of steel with zinc plate skin, supported by a steel frame. Each garage has false ceiling and steel roller shutter and fitted with water pipes, power sockets, television signal, air compressor and Internet access.

SEAT TO ENTER DREAM TEAM IN THE 2006 FIA WTCC

Last Saturday, in Barcelona, SEAT Sport unveiled their aim to fight for both the 2006 FIA WTCC Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles. To achieve this goal they have put together one of the strongest line ups ever seen in motor sport: six top-rated aces who come from six different countries and boast impressive CVs in Touring Car racing will drive the SEAT León cars in the 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Current SEAT Sport drivers, Rickard Rydell, Jordi Gené and Peter Terting will be joined by Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini and James Thompson.

Jaime Puig, Director of SEAT Sport, said: "The introduction of Muller, Tarquini and Thompson will permit us to form a team at the same level as our main competitors.

Their experience will be an important strengthening and makes us very optimistic that 2006 should see SEAT fighting for the title."

FLASH NEWS

GR ASIA: A last minute change to the FIA WTCC entry list occurred when James Kaye pulled out. He has been replaced at the wheel of the second GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra car by Hong Kong driver Lo Ka Fai.29-years old, the youngest of three brothers all racing drivers Lo Ka Fai competed in the Asian Touring Car Championship's Division 2.

CHEVROLET: After a successful experiment from Istanbul, Chevrolet is again hosting live internet press conferences at Macau. Chevrolet drivers, Menu, Larini and Huff will answer questions from the media and racing fans on Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 12.30 pm CET (8.30 pm Macau time).

PROTEAM: Proteam Motorsport was the first independent team to unveil their plans for next year. They will continue campaigning with two BMWs in the FIA WTCC and have already signed their first driver: Luca Rangoni a competitor in the 2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship who had already joined Proteam for the FIA ETC Cup. ATCC: The FIA WTCC first race in Macau will also count as 13th and final round of the Asian Touring Car Championship. Four ATCC drivers Ao Chi Hong, Paul Poon, Peter Scharmach and Hironori Takeuchi will fight for Division 1 points. Seven other ATCC competitors will race in Saturday's CTM Macau Cup, aiming for Division 2 points.

THEY SAID: QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Chevrolet driver Robert Huff: "Macau is a special track that requires special preparation. For that reason we went to Millbrook with plans and a tape measure to reproduce the Melco hairpin. The idea was to see what we could do if we run wide, or how quickly we can get ourselves out of different worse case scenarios."

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:24 AM

As always, the trip to Macau will provide the highlight of many a Formula Three season, even if, for the 52nd running of the FIA Intercontinental Cup will not feature either the British or Euroseries champions.

Instead, the street classic gets the World Series by Renault champion, plus a smattering of leading runners from the UK, to complement the more heavily-represented Japanese and Euro series - plus the usual Macanese also-rans back for another crack at their home event.

With Alvaro Parente already committed to the A1 Grand Prix series in Malaysia, McLaren's decision to advise Euroseries champion Lewis Hamilton not to travel to the Far East robbed the Macau showpiece of its two pre-race favourites but, conversely, may have provided the most open event for some years.

The only current F3 champion on show will be All-Japan title-winner Joao Paulo de Oliveira, running with the works TOM's team alongside Kazuki Nakajima, son of former F1 midfielder Satoru, back for his second appearance at the event. Britain is best represented by its series runner-up - the American Charlie Kimball - while the Euroseries can boast its two leading rookies - Sebastien Vettel and Guillaume Moreau - in the absence of either of the ASM drivers that dominated the championship.

With two seats to fill, ASM opted for Loic Duval to partner rising star Vettel, while the Euroseries can also boast a 2005 racewinner in the form of Lucas di Grassi. Franck Perera, polewinner a year ago in Bahrain, returns with Prema, while veteran Fabio Carbone, Euro-domiciled Japanese Kohei Hirate and rookie Filip Salaquarda complete the series' runners. Past form bodes well for the list, however, as, a year ago, di Grassi, Carbone and Perera finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.

“I’m looking forward to both Macau and my inaugural race for Team ASM," Vettel said, "So far, I’ve seen the circuit only on videos, but it seems to have a little bit of everything.

"First of all, you seem to need a lot of courage to be fast there, but street circuits suit me rather well. I will wait and see what happens during the course of the weekend, but it’s my definite goal to win the race - even if you always need a dose of luck to do so in Macau.”

Kimball is joined by Carlin team-mate Christian Bakkerud, Fortec-turned-Manor Motorsport driver Mike Conway, the out-going FRenault champion having landed a plum ride with the Euroseries team and its Mercedes engines, Dan Clarke - now with Euroseries team Prema rather than the Double R set-up that ran him throughout 2005 - the Briton's erstwhile team-mate Bruno Senna, Steven Kane and Stephen Jelley, while Danny Watts, who has run in both Europe and the UK this year, adds vital Macau experience to the group.

Aussie Karl Reindler made sporadic appearances in the UK this season, and heads to Macau with the experienced Alan Docking Racing squad, where he will be up against no fewer than six leading runners from the Japanese series - including Naoki Yokomizo, Paolo Montin, Daisuke Ikeda and Taku Bamba - as well as local favourites. Lei Kit Meng, Lou Meng Cheong, Jo Merszei and Michael Ho. Macau, however, also has a more potent threat in the form of Rodolfo Avila, who has run well in the Asian F3 series this year and could be a surprise package on home soil.

Perhaps the biggest name to grace the race this year, however, is World Series champion Robert Kubica, who has secured himself Parente's seat at Carlin Motorsport for a second stab at the event which yielded only runners-up honours in 2004. Kubica heads to Macau ahead of his F1 test with Renault and on the crest of a wave after clinching the inaugural World Series crown before the final round, and will be hard to beat once he gets his eye in.

Last year, the Euroseries recorded a one-two with Frenchman Alex PrÃ©mat beating Kubica across the line, with di Grassi completing the podium, the Brazilian having run in the UK to that point.

Free practice and qualifying takes place on both Thursday and Friday, with Saturday offering a rare rest day before the two-leg Grand Prix on Sunday.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:25 AM

Macanese star driver Rodolfo Avila is all geared to take on the challenge in what is considered one of the most popular racing events of the year - the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup, at the 52nd Macau Grand Prix. Young drivers from all over the world are expected to battle it out in the highly-demanding streets of Macau, famous for its fast, narrow and twisting corners and its high rate of attrition.

The Macau GP being Avila's favourite event, he is fully aware of the enormity of the challenge and he maintains his objectives to be clear. "My primary aim is to finish the race; it is the one thing that has been dodging me in the past and yet in my favourite race. It's certainly not going to be easy but I will give it my best shot. At the same time, I want to be the best among the local drivers. It's a great opportunity to measure myself against the top of F3 drivers in the world. The Asian F3 series has provided me with invaluable experience which I'm hopeful to be able to put to good use", explains the young driver who stands as ambassador of the ARTM - Association of Macau drug abuser's rehabilitation.

The last good results of the season were quite important to gain access to the otherwise restricted group of drivers with Mercedes-Benz Motorsport-powered engines tuned by HWA and Avila will be using an evolution of the last years' winning engine. Driving a Dallara F305, Avila has full backing of F3 Euroseries Austrian team, HBR Motorsport. Although HBR Motorsport will be debuting at this year Macau GP, Avila's experience at Macau, coupled with close communication between driver and team. will play a crucial role.

"I have full confidence in HBR and they have proven to be quite a professionally-organized team with management and technical personnel who possess vast experience and in-depth knowledge. Car set-up is fundamental and I hope to help them with my track acknowledge. As a driver, I hope I'm able to deliver my part", say Avila.

In conclusion, Avila quipped, "Racing in front of my local fellowmen offers inspiration but not without the enormous pressure. I am keen on using this to my advantage and hopefully, my efforts in this 4th attempt at this elusive Macau GP will come down in history books quite well".

Avila maintains full support from his valuable sponsors with Chubb and Zung Fu Company Ltd, exclusive Mercedes-Benz retailer of Macau and Hong Kong, joining to Macau Government, Hotel Fortuna, Macau-Slot.com, 2nd Asian Indoor Games 2007, CESL-Asia, Sands Macau, Tong Lei, BNU, CTM, ProFabril Asia Consult, Gain Well Group, San Chong Hong, RP Macau and PT Asia supporting Avila in his 2nd F3 attempt in premier Macau GP.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:25 AM

http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/121649.jpg

Local driver Rodolfo Avila will hoping to impress on his home circuit as Macau prepares for the 52nd running of the Macau Grand Prix this weekend.

Avila, who moved to Macau at the age of three, rates the difficult street circuit among his favourites and said he was hoping to secure a good result in the Grand Prix having competed in the Asian F3 series this season.

"My primary aim is to finish the race; it is the one thing that has been dodging me in the past and yet in my favourite race," he said. "It's certainly not going to be easy but I will give it my best shot. At the same time, I want to be the best among the local drivers. It's a great opportunity to measure myself against the top of F3 drivers in the world.

"The Asian F3 series has provided me with invaluable experience which I'm hopeful to be able to put to good use."

For the Macau event, Avila will drive a Dallara F305 for F3 Euroseries team HBR Motorsport – who will be debuting in the event – with the youngster benefiting from using an evolution of the Mercedes-Benz engine that won last season.

"I have full confidence in HBR and they have proven to be quite a professionally-organised team with management and technical personnel who possess vast experience and in-depth knowledge," Avila said. "Car set-up is fundamental and I hope to help them with my track acknowledge. As a driver, I hope I'm able to deliver my part.

"Racing in front of my local fellowmen offers inspiration but not without the enormous pressure. I am keen on using this to my advantage and hopefully, my efforts in this fourth attempt at this elusive Macau GP will come down in history books quite well."

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:26 AM

Steven Kane suffered a frustrating first day of practice and qualifying in Macau today, hampered by an oil leak when the provisional grid was set.

Driving a Mugen-engined Promatecme Lola, the Irishman completed just one timed lap for qualification purposes in the all important first session, leaving him 29th overall among the 30 entrants. It was a sad conclusion to the day for Kane, who had started brightly during his first ever laps of the 3.8 mile Guia track, placing 19th fastest in free practice and growing increasingly confident of a top ten grid position before the oil problem struck.

"Learning the track wasnâ€™t too difficult, but losing that amount of time is going to hurt us big time over the course of the weekend," said a clearly disappointed Kane, "The car felt really good in the free practice session, and I was getting quicker with every lap. We have another session tomorrow and I will just have to push from the word go."

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:28 AM

Andy Priaulx drew first blood in the battle to claim the World Touring Car Championship crown as the Brit set the pace in the opening free practice session for the season finale in Macau.

Priaulx, one of three drivers hoping to leave the challenging street circuit as champion, set a quickest time of 2min 34.492secs with his final lap of the 30 minute session to move ahead of current championship leader Jörg Müller and leading Independent runner Tom Coronel who finished a fine third in the GR Asia SEAT Toledo.

Local driver, André Couto was fourth quickest in the leading Alfa Romeo ahead of the SEAT Leon of Jordi Gene, while Fabrizio Giovanardi – the final person fighting for the championship – was sixth quickest, despite crashing at the Dona Maria bend.

Nicola Larini finished seventh ahead of Rickard Rydell, with Dirk Muller and Gabriele Tarquini completing the top ten.

Michael Funke was the leading Ford driver in 14th place, while Peter Scharmach was the quickest of the Asian Touring Car Championship runners in 19th.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:29 AM

World Touring Car Championship title will be decided in Macau.

Munich, 14th November 2005. The FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) is revving up for the final of its exciting season. The Guia Circuit in Macau will decide which of the drivers takes the first World Championship title in touring car racing since 1987. BMW has two red-hot irons in the fire for races 19 and 20. Dirk Muller (GER) of BMW Team Deutschland will be heading for China as the championship leader with 86 points. Just one point adrift of him is BMW Team UK driver Andy Priaulx (GBR) who, after winning last year's European Touring Car Championship, is keen to tuck the WTCC title under his belt as well.

In the Manufacturers' Championship, BMW has a lead of 25 points over Alfa Romeo and every chance of ending the season in the top slot - as it did in the last two seasons of the European Championship. In total, there are another 36 points up for grabs in this contest. The season final will have private entrants on their best mettle as any points won in Macau will count double towards the overall score. BMW privateer Marc Hennerici (GER) can justifiably entertain serious hopes of winning the Independents Trophy by virtue of being in the lead with a gap of 15 points to his fellow-BMW driver Giuseppe Ciro (ITA).

The legendary "Macau Grand Prix" takes place for the 52nd time in 2005, but it is a first for races in an FIA-sanctioned championship. The 6.2-kilometre city circuit holds a unique fascination: drivers clock the highest speeds of the season here while at the same time having to negotiate the slowest turn in the entire WTCC race calendar - a tight hairpin bend where overtaking is prohibited. It is a distinction to which this Asian metropolis lays sole claim.

Last year Dirk Muller appeared on the Macau circuit for the first time, but was forced to retire from the race after an accident. That leaves Priaulx with a slight edge on the championship leader as far as circuit experience goes. He is familiar with the challenging maze of turns from numerous races in the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup. In 2004 he drove a BMW 320i for BMW Team Germany - and instantly took second place.

Only one driver proved faster than him last year: Jorg Muller (GER) of BMW Team Deutschland. After winning the famous Formula 3 race in 1993, the 36-year-old achieved the feat of being the first driver to win a touring car race in Macau as well. It was also the tenth win for Schnitzer Motorsport since 1980 in this classic event. "I just love this circuit," says the seasoned driver. Being fourth in the drivers' rankings puts him out of contention for the title, though he intends to provide cover for his fellow-BMW drivers Dirk Muller and Priaulx.

The same goes for Duncan Huisman (NLD), the 34-year-old driver who will be representing BMW Team Holland on the circuit in the former Portuguese colony. His BMW 320i is being fielded by the Priaulx's RBM Team. Huisman, who was a member of the winning BMW team in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, has made history in Macau. In 2003 he climbed to the top of the podium for the third time in succession. No other driver can claim as many wins in this event. A total of 33 drivers will line up on the grid in Macau. Among them will be the winner of the Asian Touring Car Championship, Franz Engstler (GER), in a BMW 320i.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:29 AM

The 52nd Macau Grand Prix will be held on Nov. 20th at the famous Guia circuit. As the most important race of Macau Grand Prix this year, Asia Formula Renault Championship goes to the final round of the year. Many formula masters from all over the world will come here to fight for the title.

We have mentioned some famous formula experts in the entry list. Team FRD driver No.62 Marco Frezza and No.63 Luca Persiani are two of them. The two Italian drivers are in the top three positions of the driver's championship of the Italian Formula Renault Championship. Luca Persiani, is his second time to race in Macau but he retired after a crash last year. Hope he can show more speed and reliability this year in the Guia circuit.

We can see Japanese drivers in the Asia Formula Renault Championship this year. Including the Formula Toyota contract driver No.52 Hyroyuki Matsumura,No.53 Motohiko Isozaki,No.56 Yuhi Sekiguchi,and No.57 Kazuya Oshima. They have a very good formula racing gift and the developing plan of Toyota helps these young drivers show their ability. On the other hand, these Japanese drivers are not familiar with the track, but this is a very good chance for them to be known all over the world, so we are waiting for their show. Champion of 2003 Nakao Hideaki will not race this year. He is a training teacher of team FRD.

Besides the new entry drivers, some key men in the championship this year are in need of focus. The first Redbull Jr. team driver Jim Kato has plenty of oversea race experience. He got the pole last year and has raced at the Guia circuit for five years. It means that he has the ability to win this year's trophy in Macau. This year's Asia Formula Renault Championship champion Hanss Lin will be the main rival of Jim Kato. The two young guys have competed in the race for many times, so it will be a shining point in Macau.

The mega race will be held on Nov. 20th in Guia circuit Macau. Top event Macau Formula Renault Championship and the Asia Formula Renault Championship are organized by FRD—— The Asia motorsports pioneer.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:30 AM

Porsche Asia Pacific has confirmed that Hong Kong racing star Marchy Lee will compete in the final round of the 2005 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia at the Macau Grand Prix on November 20. Also backed by PUMA and IDA Hair Care Collection, Lee is an exciting addition to the already-stellar line-up for the championship decider on Macau’s notorious Guia street circuit.

Lee’s first outing in the series - and first ever in a Porsche - came in 2003, when he beat Hong Kong racing legend Charles Kwan to take a convincing win in Johor. He was last at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in Macau that same year when he finished fifth.

Preparing for his Macau return Lee said: “I’m absolutely thrilled at the prospect of racing a Porsche at Macau again! The Macau Grand Prix is very much my “home” event, and the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is really great car to race there. I know the circuit well, which can be an advantage, but I’ll be competing against drivers who have been racing the whole season so are much more familiar with the car. I know the championship will be decided at Macau, but I’ll be right in there fighting for a win. It’s a highly competitive field full of quick drivers – but so am I!”

As Lee throws down the gauntlet to the region’s leading sportscar pilots, his inclusion on the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia grid is guaranteed to further stir the highly-charged atmosphere as British GT Champion, 18-year-old Jonathan Cocker, Thailand’s Charoensukhawatana Nattavude, Team Jebsen’s Darryl O’Young, and reigning champion Matthew Marsh, prepare for the Class A championship decider.

“I’m grateful to Porsche Asia Pacific, PUMA and IDA Hair Care Collection for giving me the opportunity to race at Macau,” continued Lee. “The Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup is an impressive series and I’m looking forward to what I am sure will be a tremendous race.”

Commented Porsche Asia Pacific’s Project Manager Motorsport, Michael Dreiser: “We’re delighted to have arguably Hong Kong’s most popular racing driver at the wheel of a Porsche for what will be one of the most fiercely-contested and, I have no doubt, memorable races the series has ever seen. Marchy is very well known throughout Asia, and he makes an exciting addition to our impressive field. I’m sure all his Hong Kong fans will be cheering him on come race day.”

Lee began his racing career in karts at the age of 13, before moving up through the single seater categories and attending the famous La Filiere racing school in France. Although best known for single seater racing, he has proved he is just as competitive in sports and touring cars and, as his extraordinary victory over Kwan proved, adapts quickly.

The final round of the 2005 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia will be run over 10 laps of the Macau Guia Circuit, with the race scheduled to start at 10:10am on Sunday, November 20.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:31 AM

Robert Kubica put set-up dramas and a problem with his seat behind him to take provisional pole position for the Macau Grand Prix on his first outing with British champions Carlin Motorsport.

The Polish driver had to come into the pits early in the session to make radical alterations to the set-up of his car after going the wrong way following the morning's free practice session, while the team also needed to make modifications to his seat after it started coming lose in the cockpit of the Dallara-Mugen.

However, despite the dramas, Kubica steadily moved up the timesheets during the 45-minute session, and grabbed top spot with just over a minute of qualifying remaining. He eventually edged out Brazilian Lucas di Grassi and Frenchman Loic Duval to claim provisional pole ahead of Friday's second qualifying session.

?We had to change the set-up completely, and I had to stop to make sure we were back in the right direction,? Kubica said afterwards, ?The car was better, but we can still improve. And, although the team tried to fix my seat, it was still moving around a bit in the car, so we will have to sort that too. I'm happy - but it's more important to be on pole position tomorrow.?

di Grassi, who had been on the pole spot for ten minutes before being pipped by Kubica, was unable to respond to his rival's effort after complaining of traffic. However, the Brazilian was still pleased with the feel of his Manor Motorsport car.

?There was far too much traffic,? said Euroseries frontrunner, ?I could not match the best potential from my tyres with getting a clean lap, but I am pretty pleased to have done two laps very close together in the 2min 13secs range. That makes me confident for tomorrow.?

Duval had been the early pacesetter, but slipped down to third, while Fabio Carbone put in a late effort to take a provisional fourth place in the unique Signature-built SLC chassis ? one slot ahead of leading Japanese runner Naoki Yokomizo. Danny Watts was sixth, with All-Japan champion Joao Paulo de Oliveira seventh and fellow Briton Mike Conway eighth.

Sebastian Vettel, who had been a sensational third fastest in the morning practice session, was baffled about his lack of pace in qualifying as he ended up twelfth, while morning pacesetter Paolo Montin was a lowly 14th after stopping with mechanical problems. Cheong Lou Meng damaged the front of his car after crashing out early in the session.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:32 AM

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British racer, Michael Rutter topped the first of two qualifying sessions for Saturday's 39th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – Hotel Fortuna after putting in a quick lap of 2 minutes 30.595 seconds in the closing stages of the one hour session.

Rutter, on board the Red Bull Honda, had been second fastest in the morning's free practice period behind arch rival John McGuinness, by just over a tenth of a second.

But Rutter chopped almost five seconds off that time with his final lap in the qualifying session late in the afternoon to head Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter by almost a full second.

McGuinness was third best over 1.6 seconds slower than Rutter.

Callum Ramsay, the 30-year-old Scot was quickest of the Supersport 600 machines in an impressive fourth place overall with a lap of 2m 33.839s just under two fifths of a second quicker than fellow countryman Steve Allan, who was seventh overall.

Another Scotsman Les Shand, racing a 1000cc AIM Racing Yamaha Superbike, improved from 13th quickest in the morning to be fifth fastest in the qualifying session, but over 3.5 seconds slower than Rutter.

German Franky Heidger was sixth best, just six hundredths of a second slower than Shand.

Rutter, winner of five Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix in the past seven years could equal fellow Briton Ron Haslam's tally of six victories in Saturday's 15-lap race.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:33 AM

... and revives rivalry between Senna and Nakajima
Those wanting a guide to Formula One stars of the future could do worse than check out this weekend’s Macau Grand Prix, which brings together some of the world’s finest Formula Three talent.

Among those on the entry list for the prestigious event at the challenging Guia street circuit are Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, Poland’s Robert Kubica and German Sebastian Vettel, all of whom have established Formula One connections.

As a member of Renault’s driver development programme, Di Grassi, third in last year’s event, already has some Formula One experience, having made his test debut with the team earlier this year at Jerez. Renault are also scheduled to give Kubica, winner of this year’s World Series by Renault championship, his first Formula One outing in early December. He finished second in Macau last season and will be hoping to go one better this year ahead of his Barcelona test.

For Vettel, the 2004 Formula BMW champion, Sunday will mark his first Macau Grand Prix appearance. He has spent the 2005 season competing in the Formula 3 Euro series. In September, aged just 18, he made his Formula One test debut with Williams at Jerez in Spain.

The race will also feature some familiar Formula One names. Satoru Nakajima and Ayrton Senna were once Lotus team mates. This weekend, Kazuki and Bruno, their son and nephew respectively, will revive their rivalry. The former finished 13th here last season, while the latter makes his Macau F3 debut this year, having competed in the supporting Asian Formula Renault Challenge in 2004.

The annual Macau event, now in its 52nd year, hosted its first F3 race in 1983, when the winner was a young Ayrton Senna. Since then it has become recognised as something as a proving ground for up-and-coming motorsport talent, gathering the best drivers from the world’s premier F3 competitions.

Michael Schumacher took victory in 1990, but only after losing the first of the race’s two heats to future Formula One adversary Mika Hakkinen, and then controversially colliding with the Finn in the second. Second place went to future Ferrari and Toyota star Mika Salo, while Schumacher’s future team mate Eddie Irvine was third.

David Coulthard was victorious the following year, while the 1992 race saw Jacques Villeneuve finish third. In 1995 all three podium spots were again filled by future Grand Prix stars, with Ralf Schumacher winning from Jarno Trulli and Pedro de la Rosa. One-time Jordan driver Ralph Firman crossed the line first in 1996, seeing off the likes of Trulli, who came home third, Nick Heidfeld and Juan Pablo Montoya. Jenson Button was runner-up in 1999, while his former BAR team mate, Takuma Sato, won in 2001.

Notably, the 2004 Macau Grand Prix line-up featured two young drivers who, a year on, have safely secured their Formula One futures - Germany's Nico Rosberg will race for Williams next season alongside Mark Webber, while American Scott Speed has a seat with Red Bull’s Squadra Toro Rosso team.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:34 AM

Michael Rutter the 32-year-old British racer topped the first of two qualifying sessions for Saturday's 39th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix * Hotel Fortuna after putting in a quick lap of 2:30.595 seconds in the closing stages of the one hour session.

Rutter, on board the Red Bull Honda, had been second fastest in the morning's free practice period behind arch rival John McGuinness (Stobart Honda), by just over a tenth of a second.

But Rutter chopped almost five seconds off that time with his final lap in the qualifying session late in the afternoon to head Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter (Yamaha Austria Racing Team) by almost a full second.

McGuinness was third best over 1.6 seconds slower than Rutter.

Callum Ramsay (Klaffi Honda), the 30-year-old Scot was quickest of the Supersport 600 machines in an impressive fourth place overall with a lap of 2:33.839 seconds just under two fifths of a second quicker than fellow countryman Steve Allan (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) who was seventh overall.

Another Scotsman Les Shand, racing a 1000cc AIM Racing Yamaha Superbike, improved from 13th quickest in the morning to be fifth fastest in the qualifying session, but over 3.5 seconds slower than Rutter.

German Franky Heidger (1000cc Betandwin.de Team Suzuki) was sixth best, just six hundredths of a second slower than Shand.

Rutter, winner of five Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix in the past seven years could equal fellow Briton Ron Haslam's tally of six victories in Saturday's 15-lap race.

Free practice one
John MCGUINNESS Honda - Stobart Honda 2:35.334 (141.83mph)
Michael RUTTER Honda - Red Bull Honda 2:35.454 (141.72mph)
Ian LOUGHER Honda - Slingshot Racing 2:36.405 (140.86mph)
Steve ALLAN Kawasaki - MSS Discovery 2:37.056 (140.28mph)
Callum RAMSAY Honda - Klaffi Honda 2:37.166 (140.18mph)

First qualifying
Michael RUTTER Honda - Red Bull Honda 2:30.595 (146.30mph)
Thomas HINTERREITER Yamaha Austria Racing Team 2:31.517 (145.40mph)
John MCGUINNESS Honda - Stobart Honda 2:32.241 (144.71mph)
Callum RAMSAY Honda - Klaffi Honda 2:33.839 (143.21mph)
Les SHAND Yamaha - A.I.M Racing 2:34.132 (142.94mph)

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:41 AM

This afternoon, at the Macau’s Senado Square, an FIA WTCC team – formed by Tom Coronel, André Couto, Augusto Farfus, Simon Harrison, Marc Hennerici and Nicola Larini – defeated two other teams, formed by the Formula 3 Grand Prix drivers and Motorcycle Grand Prix riders respectively, in “The Historic Centre of Macau Jigsaw Game”. A special promotional event to celebrate Macau’s inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

Each team was asked to complete jigsaw puzzles of three different Macau landmarks which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

It was a heated competition that the FIA WTCC team won despite a piece of their jigsaw being stolen by the Formula 3 drivers…

Following the prize-giving ceremony, a crowded autograph session was held with drivers and riders meeting the fans.

SeeMacau

November 18th, 2005, 05:42 AM

2005-11-16

This afternoon, at the Macau’s Senado Square, an FIA WTCC team – formed by Coronel, Couto, Farfus, Harrison, Hennerici and Larini – defeated two other teams, formed by the F3 Grand Prix drivers and the Motorcycle Grand Prix riders respectively, in “The Historic
Centre of Macau Jigsaw Game”. A special promotional event to celebrate Macau’s inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

Each team was asked to complete jigsaw puzzles of three different Macau landmarks which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Following the prize-giving ceremony, an autograph session was held with drivers and riders meeting the fans.

Portugues

April 7th, 2006, 12:11 PM

http://gp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/mgpc/public_html/en/news/images/11441412851.jpg The 53rd Macau Grand Prix will be held from November 16th to 19th 2006, and preparations by the Macau Grand Prix Committee for ticketing, promotions, and logistical works are already well under way.

Tickets are now on sale priced from MOP50.00 for a seat at the notorious Lisboa Bend during practice, to MOP750.00 for a two-day Grand Stand race package. Tickets can be purchased from the Macau Grand Prix Committee at macaugp@cgpm.gov.mo (full details and prices at www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo).

The Committee has already received an unprecedented number of sponsorship enquiries this year. Title sponsorship of the races will be confirmed shortly, as well as reservations for all hospitality areas.

In 2005, the Grand Prix added another string to its already-impressive bow, with the inclusion of the final two rounds of the inaugural FIA World Touring Car Championship in the line up which also included the prestigious FIA Intercontinental Cup, the unofficial world cup of the category, and the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.

In March this year the Macau Grand Prix was included in UK-based leading motorsport magazine Autosport’s list of “Twenty of the top motorsport events you really shouldn’t miss in 2006”, describing the event as “legendary”.

With two official FIA events, plus a motorcycle Grand Prix on the same programme, the 52nd Macau Grand Prix exceeded all expectations, and organisers are working hard to once again stage the three headline show-stoppers plus a wide variety of high-quality support races.

Mr. João Manuel Costa Antunes, Co-Ordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee emphasised that the success of the event depends on the efforts of the Committee in proactively working with every sector of Macau society to ensure each year is an improvement on the last. Mr. Antunes added that because international motorsport is a global sport which is developing quickly, every effort is made to ensure that the Macau Grand Prix keeps pace with this development, and that Macau continues to be promoted as a vibrant tourist destination across the globe through the sport.

This year Macau will celebrate the 40th running of its Motorcycle Grand Prix, and a programme of exciting activities is planned.

Marshal training is crucial on a street circuit such as Macau’s Guia, and a comprehensive programme which includes theory and practical instruction plus written tests, will be held from April to June by the China-Macau Autosports Club (ACMC) and the Macau Grand Prix Committee. The training is for Observers, Flag, Track, Pit, Paddock and Paddle Marshals, and Track Clearers.

The Macau Grand Prix has earned a well-deserved reputation for being the ultimate testing ground for drivers, particularly those on their way to the pinnacle of international motorsport - Formula One. Motor racing “royalty” who have raced on the Guia Circuit include 18 of the 22 current
Formula 1 drivers, plus 10 of the 16 F1 test drivers waiting in the wings. With its history of more than half a Century, Macau is now playing host to the next generation of famous names and the grid has recently seen the likes of exciting F1 debutante Nico Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Junior, and Christian Jones, all of whom competed in the 50th Macau Grand Prix, following in the footsteps of their famous fathers before them. Bruno Senna, nephew of the late, great Ayrton winner of the first ever Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 1983, competed in the same event last year.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship embarked upon its second season last weekend, and 20 rounds are on the calendar for 2006, with Macau again hosting the grand finale as part of the Grand Prix weekend.

Over the four-day 53rd Macau Grand Prix, practice and qualifying sessions will take place on November 16th and 17th (Thursday and Friday), with the races on November 18th and 19th (Saturday and Sunday).

ggaaxx

August 22nd, 2007, 05:34 AM

Here it comes!
http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/mgpc/public_html/gp54/en/
http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/mgpc/public_html/gp54/images/firstPage.jpg

null

August 23rd, 2007, 04:25 AM

Grand Prix=格蘭披治？oh...

ggaaxx

October 14th, 2007, 06:03 PM

This year marks the Silver Anniversary of the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix. Over the years the event has nurtured numerous world class racing drivers, focusing the attention of the international media on Macau and its Grand Prix. Today the Macau Grand Prix continues to develop with the Formula 3 Grand Prix, the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the Motorcycle Grand Prix and other races bringing fans of the different motorsport categories to Macau to see the races, as well as attracting television viewers across the globe. The Grand Prix of Macau is from 15-18 November 2007.

The 54th Macau Grand Prix was launched today at Macau; the event will include the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s final meeting as well as the 25th edition of the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup and the 41st Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.

During a crowded press conference held at the Fisherman’s Warf Convention Centre, Dr Fernando Chui San Oi, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, stated: “As one of the major sports tourism attractions, over the last 54 years the Macau Grand Prix has been an essential tool with which to boost the development of the city’s tourism, enhancing the promotion of the non-gaming entertainment sector, while playing an important role in promoting Macau’s image as a tourism city worldwide.”

Engineer Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, commented on the third appearance of the FIA WTCC in Macau: “Since its inception, the FIA WTCC has been decided at Macau. We are thrilled that this year we will once again host the title decider and we are also very pleased to announce that long-time Macau Grand Prix supporter, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), will be again the title sponsor for the FIA WTCC Guia Race of Macau.”

According to the Macau Grand Prix Committee, ticket pre-sales for the event have increased by five per cent compared to last year.

Source (http://macaudailyblog.com/macau-events/54th-grand-prix-of-macau-all-ready-to-go/)

ggaaxx

November 11th, 2007, 08:23 PM

Macanese racing driver Rodolfo Avila is ready to challenge his highlight of the season, the 54th Macau Grand Prix - FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup.

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“I am obviously very excited to be back in a car for my hometown race. Driving through the streets of my town supported by our Macanese motorsport fans is an extraordinary feeling. This year I hope to enjoy the Guia Circuit as much as I can, and improve my driving on every session leading up to the big race. In the race I want to give my best and will try to get a middle table or even better result as this one of the strongest editions of the race history”, says Avila.

During 2007 season Rodolfo Avila experienced the brand new International Formula Master, and competed in two F3 meetings – Oulton Park British F3 Round 1 and the prestigious “Zandvoort Masters of F3 at Zolder”. But the 20 years old racing driver doesn’t fear the lack of F3 miles. “Of course the cars are different. The IFM car requires a completely different driving style to an F3 car. Anyway the IFM season gave me more miles and valorous racing experience”

“I want to be the best of the local drivers and I am sure I can do it easily. But I wish to fight with some of the overseas drivers. My single advantage is to know the circuit quite well as I never completed a top-class F3 season in my life. I look forward to working together with some guys that I have in the past. Our motivation is high and we have nothing to loose”, explains the driver proudly supported by Macau Government, Macau-slot.com, BNU, CESLAsia, PAL AsiaConsult, TsingTao, Fat Siu Lau Restaurant, Sujika Crafts and PT Asia.

Through the European season Avila was a racing driver, and an ambassador of Macau in motor sport world. Before the most important race of the year Macau SAR official driver wants to express his thankfulness: “Macau Grand Prix one of the most exciting and important events in the motor sport calendar and I am proud to be part of it. I want to show my gratitude to every single Macanese who will be supporting me during the weekend, and send a special ‘thank you’ to my sponsors who believed in this project since the beginning”.

Practice and qualifying sessions for the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix will be held on November 15 and 16 (Thursday and Friday), with the 10-lap Qualification Race scheduled on Saturday. The Macau Grand Prix grand final is planned for Sunday on the 18th November.

http://macaudailyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/rodolfo-avila-macau.jpg
澳門車壇新秀艾明達已預備好挑戰澳門格蘭披治三程方程式洲際杯大賽-他的主場賽事. 澳門大賽固然為他最喜愛的賽事,

他亦已在這重大挑戰中定下了清晰目標.

為了備戰澳門的賽事,他曾到東歐捷克的Brno賽道與HBR Motorsport車隊進行兩天的測試, 艾明達對此表示:

‘測試大致上良好而車輛狀況都不錯,其實我真的很希望能夠為澳門帶來美好的回憶, 可是現時難以預測自己會得到甚麼名次.

今年的參賽車手實力比去年更強, 但在澳門這種賽道中愈是加快自己速度你便愈容易遇上意外.

故此你要得到平衡點,這裡完全沒空間犯錯.’

艾明達知道自己可以比其他幾位本地車手更快,可是他更希望能真正跟海外的頂尖兒作正面交鋒.

‘我當然希望能夠成為最好成績的澳門車手,可是我的目標

是與一眾歐洲車手作較量.無論如何我衷心希望其他四位車手:何漢強,李傑明馬成及張路明在比賽中一切順利.’

保益亞洲顧問有限公司, 青島啤酒, 達澳知識產權服務有限公司, 佛笑樓餐廳, 葡萄牙亞洲電訊及Sujika手工藝品給予贊助支持.

Courtesy: Rodolfo Avila

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

ggaaxx

November 11th, 2007, 08:24 PM

As the excitement has started to build up for the Grand Prix of Macau news through the rumour mill, and thus not confirmed, on the paddock that the new 2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen may be attending the Macau Grand Prix!

http://macaudailyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/kimi-raikkonen.jpg
This may really not be surprising as his Raikkonen/Robertson Racing(also known as Double R Racing) team will be fielding four Formula Three Dallara/ Mercedes-HWA cars with promising Formula One hopefuls. He has visited the team during races in the British Formala Three season.

And promising they are, with the likes of Stephen Jelley, Sebastien Buemi, Bruno Senna and Jonathan Kennard behind the wheels!

Credit: Kimi Raikkonen

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

ggaaxx

November 16th, 2007, 03:00 AM

Drivers from the Polytec Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix, the FIA World Touring Car Championship – Guia Race of Macau – Presented by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A., and riders from the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 41st Edition, took part in the annual Macau Grand Prix photo opportunity event at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf Boulevard this afternoon. Competing in what was initially an elimination competition soon became a time trial for the fastest team on a local Macanese pedicab.

http://macaudailyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/macau-gp-in-pedicab-event.jpg
Taking part from the touring car camp was two-time Champion Andy Priaulx teamed up with Gabriele Tarquini and Alain Menu to relay with fellow drivers Augusto Farfus, Macau veteran Tom Coronel and Nicola Larini. From the Formula 3 camp was Bruno Senna, Marko Asmer and Kazuya Oshima on the first relay, team with Rodolfo Avila, Brendon Hartley and Nicolas Hulkenberg on the second relay. Rounding out the event entry was six-time Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix winner Michael Rutter, with fellow riders Les Shand and 2003 winner John McGuinness. The second team consisted of Conor Cummins, Joao Fernandes and Supersport class racer Cameron Donald.

It was the touring car driver’s team of Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini and Robert Huff who proved too strong for their competition as they won the time trial, completing the 200-meter course in 1 minute and 13 seconds. The Formula 3 team consisting of Romain Grosjean, Oliver Jarvis and Yelmer Buurman came in second with a time of 1 minute and 22 seconds, and the motorcycle team of John Haner, Jeremy Toye and Mark Miller finished third, clocking in 1 minute and 24 seconds.

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

ggaaxx

November 16th, 2007, 03:02 AM

This year marks the 25th running of the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix, where the world’s best Formula 3 drivers assemble at Macau to do battle for the coveted title, and step in to the fast lane to the FIA Formula One World Championship.

The Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix is the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup, the only race in the category to hold the title, and the reason why it is perceived as the world cup of Formula 3.

Because the race is the focus of the international motorsport community, Formula 3 drivers across the globe are keen to have a seat on the grid, hoping to show their talent, draw the attention of a Formula One team, and realize the dream of racing at the pinnacle of the sport.

The Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix has long been the stepping stone for young racing drivers to Formula One. Many drivers have successfully drawn the attention of the Formula One fraternity following a strong performance at Macau, such as the winner of the inaugural Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix Ayrton Senna, seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. All of these drivers made their names after competing at Macau.

Many of the current generation of Formula One drivers are also graduates of Macau, including Lewis Hamilton, who made his debut in Formula 1 this year and almost won the title, Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel and Takuma Sato.

The status of the Macau race and its importance to a drivers’ career mean it attracts the best racers from the top national and regional championships. This year sees an extremely strong field with the champions and leading drivers from the British, European, Japanese and German series. With the possible realization of the dream of reaching Formula 1, the drivers will be going all out for the title this weekend, meaning an exciting battle is on the cars for motorsport fans!

Source: Macau Grand Prix Committee

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

ggaaxx

November 16th, 2007, 03:03 AM

Bruno Senna wants to turn this weekend’s 25th Macau Formula Three Grand Prix into a special celebration for his family - by repeating the famous victory of his uncle in 1983.

Ayrton Senna triumphed in that first F3 race on the Guia circuit and Bruno has made no secret of the fact that he is returning to the category to stage a repeat at the anniversary event.

“I think it would be very interesting to have the name of the family written twice in the books here,” Senna told autosport.com at Macau. “If it can happen that would be very nice.”

Senna finished second in an Asian Formula Renault race at Macau in 2004, and failed to finish during his only previous outing in the F3 Grand Prix in 2005. Last year he was forced to miss the event because of budget reasons, but has decided to make the step down from GP2 for a final chance of victory.

“I wanted to race here last year and I couldn’t because I didn’t have enough cash,” he explained. “This year the deal was done with the Macau government and Galaxy StarWorld Hotels, so I am here.

“For me, the Guia circuit is the best circuit in the world. It is my favourite track of all and it is a real privilege to come here and be able to race. I am taking maybe my last opportunity to race here.”

Having only had one day of testing at Pembrey prior to the event, Senna has vowed to take things easy in tomorrow’s first practice sessions.

“It is not too hard to dial back into the car. Obviously I will spend the first session dialling back into the circuit and the car, but there is no rush.

“The circuit will be slower on the first day anyway, so I will keep everything for second qualifying and then hope that it doesn’t rain – although I don’t think it will. It should be good.”

When asked whether or not he considered himself one of the favourites for victory, with his Raikkonen-Robertson Racing team having won last year with Mike Conway, Senna said: “It is hard to say because obviously I am out of the car for a year and I am competing against people who have been driving this car for two years maybe.

“So it is going to be a tough challenge but I think the GP2 championship has given me good experience and good racecraft. I think I am racing better than ever and I hope it is enough to win this race.”

Courtesy: AutoSport.com

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

ggaaxx

November 20th, 2007, 07:01 AM

Under the watchful eyes of BMW motorsport director Dr Mario Theissen, Andy Priaulx clinched his third consecutive FIA World Touring Car Championship title in great style with victory in the second race at Macau on Sunday.

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Priaulx got away well from pole position, but it was title rival James Thompson who made the best start from third as he stormed his way past Nicola Larini and moved up to second.

Thompson showed he meant business as he pushed Priaulx hard in the early stages, even nudging into the back of the lead BMW at the Melco hairpin on the first lap.

http://macaudailyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/grand-prix-of-macau-2007-crowd.jpg
But Priaulx was steadily able to extend his advantage and he went on to take an unchallenged victory – having seen his title chances boosted by the race one retirement of closest title rival Yvan Muller.

“To be first, first you have to finish,” said a tearful Priaulx afterwards. “The car was reliable and that made the difference. I am speechless. I didn’t know what to expect coming into the weekend but knew something special could happen if we kept it on the road.”

Behind Priaulx, Thompson found himself as the man under pressure. On lap five, Larini had a look at Lisboa and the pair appeared to make light contact on the exit of the corner. Their battling allowed the SEAT of Tiago Monteiro to close in and the three were soon fighting it out bumper-to-bumper for position.

Larini made his decisive move to second at the start of lap seven when he got a good slipstream down the main straight and dived inside Thompson at Lisboa – before immediately pulling clear. He eventually finished 0.842 seconds behind Priaulx.

Thompson then faced intense pressure from Monteiro, but was able to hold onto the third place despite a big attempt by his Portuguese rival around the outside at Lisboa on lap eight.

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

ggaaxx

November 20th, 2007, 07:03 AM

Oliver Jarvis dominated the Polytec Macau Formula Three Grand Prix on Sunday – leading every lap and keeping his cool during a safety car period to take victory in the Silver Jubilee Event.

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Macau Grand Prix F3 Drivers line-up with Pansy Ho

Afterwards, the Briton was in no doubt about how special the result was for him. “It is the biggest race win of my career,” he said. “I’ve won some big races and also the McLaren/Autosport Award, but this tops them all I think.”

Jarvis made a perfect getaway from pole position to lead into Lisboa Bend and, despite nearly hitting the wall at the first corner, he instantly opened up an advantage to control things from the front.

Fellow front row starter Marko Asmer had managed to draw alongside Jarvis’s TOM’S car away from the line, but he lost ground on the straight and dropped behind Kazuya Oshima and then also Sam Bird on the run down to the first turn.

Asmer managed to recover third position at the start of lap two when he slipstreamed Sam Bird down the main straight and moved ahead under braking for Lisboa. He then started closing in on second placed Oshima, before a safety car was called out on lap seven when Frenchman Frank Mailleux crashed heavily at Moorish Hill.

Jarvis timed the restart on lap 11 perfectly, opening up a one-second lead over Oshima, while behind him Asmer lost third place to Kodai Tsukakoshi on the run down to Mandarin Bend.

Tsukakoshi got another position on the run to Lisboa on lap 13 when he went around the outside of Oshima – but he did not have enough speed to do anything about Jarvis.

Oshima finished third, with Asmer taking fourth place. Brazilian Roberto Streit was fifth, with Sam Bird sixth, James Jakes seventh and Romain Grosjean recovering from his dramas in race one to claim eighth at the flag.

Courtesy: Macau Grand Prix Committee

http://www.macaudailyblog.com/

Gwo Loo Waan

April 21st, 2009, 08:50 AM

Avila raises Macau's flag in Chinese Formula One Grand Prix

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Monday, 20 April 2009

Rodolfo Avila unfolded the Macau flag in the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix finishing the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia twice in the third position and taking the Pole Position for the 12-lap opening round this season.
At the Shanghai International Circuit, Avila would finish his first ever Porsche race in 3rd after leading until lap 9. But two mistakes took from him the victory with three laps to go.

It was the first time ever that Macau’s flag was placed on a podium ceremony of a Formula One event.
“This means a lot to me and to the people who have been supporting me. This result goes to my sponsors, because without their magnificent support I couldn’t have race today”, said the 22-year-old Macau racer who doesn’t know for how long he will be around.
Last Saturday, Avila - the Asia Racing Team driver - set the fastest lap, a scorching 2:10.380, during the 30-minute session ahead of Tim Sugden of England and Christian Menzel of Germany.
Sugden grabbed provisional pole early on in the session, but Menzel was keeping him firmly in his sights. Avila, however, stayed right up with the pair, out-pacing first Menzel and then Sugden.

Yesterday's race saw the Macau driver, who had had to overcome a bout of food poisoning, finishing in 3rd again.
A heavy shower hit the circuit a few minutes after the start of the race. Avila lost one position in the start but the Macau driver would get back his position quickly.
Without taking unnecessary risks, due to with the very difficult grip conditions allied to poor visibility, the Asian supercar champion decided to play safe and drove to an ease 3rd.
Avila, racing a Porsche for the first time in his career, has zero experience of handling the 997 GT3 Cup car in the wet, so his podium finish was even more impressive.

“I was trying to feel the car - see what it was capable of in the rain. I lost a bit of time to the two at the front when I took a while to get back the 3rd position I lost at the start. With the rain coming hard, my car was under-steering a lot so I decided to slow down and get a safe podium," he said.
"It was a shame that no one from Macau came to celebrate this good result with us. This is not just about me, this is a Macau’s success indeed”, he added.

The region’s premier sportscar series will continue next month at Beijing’s Goldenport Circuit in the inaugural Porsche Weekend, the highlight of which will be Rounds 3 and 4 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.

in Macau Daily Times

Sometimes is good to remember that Macau can be a little bit more than just gambling. Our soccer national team sucks but Macau has very good racing drivers (Andre Couto and Rodolfo Avila), an Asian Rolley Hockey team and a fair good Rugby team.