From November 15 to 18 this year, the city’s streets will once again come alive with the roar of engines for the Suncity Group 65th Macau Grand Prix, as it attracts some of the very best drivers in the world, both on four and two wheels, competiting in a range of thrilling events including the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix – FIA F3 World Cup, the Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup, the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, the Macau Guia Race and the Macau Touring Car Cup.
The Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee will also stage a number of celebrations on the side lines to encourage participation by the wider community, including the creative “65” racing-themed photo and ‘Grand Prix’-themed short video collection campaigns. The organizers will upload the best entries to the Macau Grand Prix and Macau Sports Events websites. Across social media platforms, the ten entries which garner the most “likes” or votes during the month of October will win paddock access passes and tickets to this year’s Grand Prix, as well as special souvenirs.
From November 3 to 4, a ‘Grand Prix Family Carnival’ will be held at Tap Seac Square, with interactive games suitable for the whole family. At the same location on November 10 and 11, the ‘65th Macau Grand Prix Opening Ceremony and Auto Show’ will showcase the participating Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup and Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix racing vehicles, allowing residents and visitors to get a close-up look at these amazing cars and motorcycles.
And on November 11, the ‘65th Macau Grand Prix Celebration – Guia Circuit Fun Run’ will be held, with the start and finishing points at the Macau Grand Prix Building. A lap of the Guia Circuit will allow participants to experience the unique nature of the race track for themselves. The total length of the event is approximately 6.2 kilometers, and participants are required to complete the event within one hour and 15 minutes. Participants who complete the event will receive commemorative medals and towels, while the top ten finishers in the men’s and women’s groups will receive a trophy.
Record Wins
By Mark Phillips
Translation by Stacey Qiao
Despite a heavy downpour of rain right before the event, making the already challenging Guia Circuit even more treachorous than usual, British driver Rob Huff stormed to a record-breaking ninth Macau Guia Race victory at last year’s event, making him the most successful competitor in the 64-year history of the Macau Grand Prix, beating the previous record of eight wins, held by Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix rider Michael Rutter. Huff added the 2017 win in the Suncity Group Macau Guia Race – FIA WTCC Main Race to his unprecedented tally of victories, the first of which he took in 2008.
“Macau is obviously THE street circuit and I’ve been very blessed in Macau with winning nine times now,” says Huff speaking with Macau CLOSER just before heading to China for the final few races of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup 2018 season.
“Macau is something special and I’ve managed to unlock a few key elements of the track that not many other people have managed to find. I have a very special relationship with Macau and I’m very excited to be going back there again,” he adds.
This year, Huff will return to Macau, along with teammate Mehdi Bennani, racing for the Sebastion Loeb Racing Team in his new VW Golf. The event will be the first under the new WTCR rules, in place for the first time in 2018.
“It’s effectively still the same championship, but the cars evolve over the years,” explains Huff. “Since I started racing in World Touring Cars in 2005, we’ve gone through four or five specifications of cars, and this year was probably the biggest change we’ve seen.
“There’s no manufacturer representation now, so basically what you’ve got is 12 private teams running two cars each. Some of them are racing on behalf of the manufacturer, but there’s no manufacturer presence,” he notes.
The new name, WTCR, has been introduced to reflect the switch from TC1 to the TCR technical regulations. Meanwhile, the change of status from world championship to world cup signals the start of a new era for international touring car racing, with the hope that the more affordable technical regulations will increase competitor interest.
The new TCR cars will replace the old WTCC TC1 vehicles, ensuring a greater variety of brands. Seven manufacturers are represented in the 2018 WTCR season, with all cars being front-wheel drive and powered by a 350-bhp turbo engine.
“Last year the cars were TC1, 1.6 litre turbo with quite a lot of aerodynamics and ground effects, very light, lots of carbon fibre, but very expensive to run,” says Huff. “This year, we’ve changed to a different category of car, which is much cheaper to run, so effectively you can run two cars this year for the budget of one car last year.”
In another change to the existing WTCC race weekend format, each event now consists of three races – an increase from the previous two. One qualifying session and one race will take place on the opening day, with the final day in keeping with the traditional WTCC set-up: two races with the second race utilising a reverse grid.
On his new team and car, Rob says: “Sebastion Loeb is very renowned in rally driving world, nine times the world champion. And we’re representing VW with the wonderful Golf. The car is strong everywhere, fantastic in the wet, and especially well suited to street circuits.”
Huff is heading to China hoping for a strong finish to the season, after a few disappointing results and a massive crash at the Portugal meet in June. Starting from pole position, he and team mate Bennani went into the first corner side by side, but the two collided resulting in Huff totalling his car and bringing the race to a standstill in a massive pile up.
“What should have been an amazing weekend in Portugal with pole position, turned into a disaster,” recalls Huff. “It was a horrible crash to be involved in and I received some injuries, but the fact that there were 27 cars in the crash, 11 completely destroyed and everyone walked away, is testament to how strong and safe the cars are.
“After 15 years of bouncing off concrete walls, its just part of the job for me. It didn’t impact my confidence. You can’t allow things like that to get to you, because if you do, there’s no point getting back in a race car again.”
Confidence is certainly something the Brit will bring with him to Macau, and he’s hoping his experience here will serve him well.
“Confidence is key when racing cars, and Macau is a track that can kill your confidence in no time at all. It’s really about understanding the track, respecting it, knowing where all the little bumps are, knowing where you can get on the power, and where you can’t.
“Many people have gone there thinking they’re going to do well and then destroyed their car in the first session, not to be seen again for the weekend. It’s a track that can build you or break you in no time at all.”
And after many years of racing on the Guia Circuit, there is still one corner that really gets the experienced driver’s heart racing.
“The world famous Mandarin corner is probably the most scary corner of the track. Every time you approach it, you hold your breath a little bit longer,” he notes. “You arrive at about 250km/h, then drop to about 235 going in. You’ve got concrete walls on the entrance and exit so there’s no room for error. But you need to carry that speed through the corner for the next kilometre down to Lisboa.
“Even with nine wins, you just don’t know if you’ve got it right or wrong until you come out the other side of it. Macau is always full of surprises, and in Macau, on track and off track, anything can happen.”
