After a year’s absence, recovering from a serious injury sustained on the Zhuhai circuit, André Couto is returning to the Guia Circuit where he will represent the MacPro Racing Team in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCR). The Portuguese Macau-based driver feels ready to compete on a circuit he knows better than most, hoping to gain pace during the practice rounds to be in a good position at the races. Couto prefers not to get too excited about the final classifications, but guarantees that in Macau "everything is possible".
André knows the Guia Circuit better than most, having been competing in Macau since the 1990s. An accident on the Zhuhai circuit last year left the Portuguese driver off the track for a year, but the results achieved in recent months show that he is fit to compete in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCR). He does not expect an easy race, however, because there will be other renowned drivers such as Robert Huff, Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, who the Portuguese driver points out as favourites in Guia. The unpredictability of the circuit, though, leaves everything open, says André Couto, who claims to be 100% ready for another edition of the Macau Grand Prix.
What are your expectations for this Macau Grand Prix?
The expectations are always to do the best I can at the time. I’m not competing in this championship, I'm not from the WTCR, so that’s an instant disadvantage compared to those who are, but in Macau everything is possible. It's not the first time I’m racing, I know what it takes to lead, so I will try to do everything right to achieve the best result for the MacPro team, who are a Macau team, and who are for the first time competing on an international stage of this calibre with a professional driver, me, so the mission is to try to achieve the best possible result for the team and for everyone. In Macau anything is possible, and as there are three races I might even be lucky in one of them. One never knows what can happen, sometimes when least expected we get a good result. I will try to take it easy, to find my rhythm in the free practice sessions, to understand the car and to try to understand the set-up to try to be in a good position in the qualifier and races, that is my main objective. Position wise, I cannot say because I don’t know, Honda is not a car that has proven much. My car will carry 50 kilos, and another 20 kilos for being a ‘wild card’, so that there already compromises a good result. But Macau is Macau, the mission is to try to stay on track and take advantage of all the opportunities that lie ahead.
But is it possible to get to the podium in one of the races?
Anything is possible. There was a year in the WTCC where only four cars finished in the last race; a driver from Hong Kong with little experience came in fourth. Anyything is possible, I have this awareness. I would not be surprised if I got a podium position, but I know it's very difficult. It’s a matter of seizing the opportunities that arise.
In 2012 you participated in the WTCC event, which has since changed to WTCR. Would it therefore be a return to this category, albeit a bit different?
I think it's a very cool category. This year I had the opportunity to see a race in China and they are very cool races, the drivers overtake each other, in great competition, they are races with a lot of emotion. I think it's a category that was born and is going very well. I see a good future in this category, and in this regard I'm glad to race again.
And how has your preparation been?
I have not prepared much because I've been in different races. At the weekend I was racing in an Audi, in Japan, the previous weekend I was racing in China, in a Kia, and before in a Bentley, and before that in a Volkswagen. I once raced in this Honda, in this [MacPro] team also, in China; I was invited and won in China TCR, which is the Chinese TCR championship. It was the first and only opportunity I had to try the car.
Is it complicated manage this situation, often competing in different cars and models?
It's complicated, a person has to change the 'chip' so suddenly, sometimes it's complicated to adjust the brakes, the cars are different. This is the biggest disadvantage. If I drove two cars and jumped from one to the other, no problem. The only problem is that I only had one race, there are few kilometres. However, after that race I've been in several different cars, so the memory goes a little bit. In this aspect it is always a disadvantage, but it is always better to have raced in China, in Ningbo, than not to have raced at all.
Who are your favourites for this race in Macau?
There are several favourites because there are good brands, Tarquini is one of them, I also think Yvan Muller will do very well in Macau.
And Robert Huff, another very experienced driver?
Of course, and he has a good car, he has a good structure around him. There are several that can race well, and they already know the track, it will be a very interesting race.
Personally I wouldn’t mind if Tarquini won for the simple fact that he is over 50 and is running against kids aged 20 and still gives them a run for their money, this gives me great pleasure to see and is an inspiration for us.
The year practically stopped for you due to the accident. What can we expect from you this year on the Guia Circuit?
I am 100%.
Given the seriousness of the injury, did you ever consider that you might not race again?
Of course, it was very serious. I thought about all that when I was in the hospital, but I managed to recover and come back, and this year I even had a very good season.
With victories in Shanghai and in Ningbo, for example. Is it motivating and proof of an André Couto in top form?
Yes, I think I superseded what I thought. Theoretically I should calm down and this year I had more things than in all the other years. I had the opportunity to race in Japan in an endurance championship, they are five-hour races, everything I should not do, I did.
So you're ready to attack the Guia Circuit?
I think so.
Does being one of the most successful local drivers in Macau puts more pressure on you to try to get a good results?
Not really, I put the pressure on myself, I decide what I will do.
Those who follow the history of André Couto at the Macau Grand Prix certainly remember the famous victory in the Formula 3 race in 2000. What memories do you have of that race?
I have great memories; it is the race of my life. Everything I did that day I remember perfectly, and it's what I try to copy whenever I come to Macau. I know what it takes to win and I know that one must always do everything right until that day of the final. All drivers try to have those memories of the weekends that go well and try to do the same on the weekends that follow.
With that celebrated victory, was there also a feeling that you could have been propelled into a career in other domains, such as the Formula 1?
At the time, yes, I wanted to go, but there was not enough support and I couldn’t go. But I had the opportunity to go to Japan which was also quite good, in the GT500, which is not bad, so I can’t complain too much.
You have already competed on several circuits, how would you compare the Macau Circuit with the rest?
They are all different, it's seven kilometres, the others always have three or four. Macau breaks the rules because it is a city circuit, it has a mountain, it has all kinds of curves; a normal circuit has none of that, so Macau remains special.
Do you have a favourite circuit?
Suzuka is the best circuit in the world, after Macau. You can’t compete with Macau, those who race everywhere arrive in Macau and get a shock, it's on another level.
This year we will only have one driver from Portugal, André Pires, who will compete in the motorcycle race. Do you feel that there are fewer and fewer Portuguese people competing in Macau?
I think it is just a circumstance; there is currently no Portuguese driver in Formula 3, if there were they would also come to Macau. Before that came César Campaniço, Álvaro Parente, Felix da Costa, Tiago Monteiro … all those well-known Portuguese drivers also came to Macau because at that time they also had Formula 3. It's just a matter of timing, at this time there is no new kid in Formula 3, but when there is, I believe they will also come to Macau.
There are sometimes questions about the safety of the Macau circuit. Are there reasons for this or is it a circuit like many others in this sense?
The Macau circuit is not safe because it is a city circuit, there are no safe city circuits. Now the level of safety they can put on a city circuit is at the top of the list in the world, there is no better than Macau. At the level of track commissioners, little flags, the way they take the cars and place yellow flags are things that are being innovated year by year.
What about the bikes?
I'm not a motorcycle rider, but I think it's a nightmare, it's a very dangerous circuit, but there are also others, such as the Isle of Man, it is a crazy circuit, every year people die there. The riders who come here have to like this a lot, otherwise they would not come.
How did this passion for racing begin?
It had a lot to do with seeing the Grand Prix as a kid, I liked it a lot, I always came home full of stickers. There was some fascination there, and later, when I was about 13, I was able to train in a kart of a friend of mine here in Macau and I liked it right from the start.
What are your favourite memories of the competition?
I have good memories of seeing Mika Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher, and Emanuele Pirro racing in touring cars and Formula 3. I became friends with him later, I was a kid and when he saw me later, when I was a driver, he asked me "are you are that kid who always watched me", and I said "yes, it's me", and nowadays we're friends, it's a funny thing. And Pedro Lamy was also an inspiration to me.
How do you see the evolution of the Macau Grand Prix over the years?
I think the level of competition greatness remains the same, it has not changed much. The safety level has not evolved much because there is not much more to evolve. 20 years ago it was different, but those who were there have the same greatness as those who are here, they are different times.
And which driver who inspired you the most throughout your career?
Ayrton Senna.
Who also won in Macau in 1983.
Yes, it was the first time I saw it [Macau Grand Prix].
