I live around Nam Vam lakes and every year, starting from the first days of October and getting more intense as November arrives, something different comes through my open windows. Even as I write this now, late at night, looking out at our glittering city, I can hear it.
Yes, I’m talking about the noise of car engines sounding more aggressive than ever, exhaust pipes shouting fiercely and drivers begging for some high-speed experience they will most likely never get in a city such as Macau…well, to say ‘never’ is maybe too much. There’s always the Macau Grand Prix.
Pay attention and you’ll notice that everywhere in town, before and during the GP, many people get absorbed with the energy coming off the Guia circuit. I wonder if there are more speeding tickets handed out during this time. It wouldn’t be surprising.
When I started to comment about this with friends some years ago, they all gave me the same straight answer: it’s GP syndrome, a kind of harmless pathology that gets inside every motorist’s heart once a year, waking up the race car driver they have inside.
To be honest, it’s hard not to get enthusiastic when it comes to the Macau GP – even if you’re not the greatest motorsports fan; even if you know traffic will get crazy in town for two weeks because of the races; even if you live around the circuit and the F3 training sessions will be your alarm clock for a number of days. Not everything is nice and easy (life has its hard corners), but in the end we must admit: there’s something special about this race.
The fact that all the action happens in the very heart of our city makes it of course very thrilling (and dangerous, we know). Adding to that, this year we’re celebrating the GP’s 60th anniversary. Many renowned drivers of past races are coming back to compete here again, together with some of the great current names like Yvan Muller, Edoardo Mortara, and on the bikes Michael Rutter. There will be some new surprises too – British F3 champion Jordan King, whom we interview in this issue, and rally champion Sebastian Loeb are just two from a very impressive field of international talent.
Local drivers will not miss out on the two-weekend party either. Jerómino Badaraco and Rodolfo Ávila, both interviewed this month, know this circuit like the back of their hands and fans can expect big efforts from them.
November is always a busy month in terms of sports, but this is actually a very particular year, because together with the GP, the city is also hosting another major event, with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao fighting Mexican-American Brandon Rios. In this issue, Pacquiao talks to CLOSER about his preparations for his big comeback bout.
And life goes on away from the sporting arena too. Autumn Salon is again displaying some of the best local artists in town, and major music concerts are hitting the region with festivals here, and in Hong Kong and Foshan.
Read it, and enjoy the ride with us.
