Press conference of the Suncity Group 65th Macau Grand Prix
The Suncity Group 65th Macau Grand Prix will be held from November 15-18. The programme includes six races, three of which are official FIA World Cups. The Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee (MGPOC) held a press conference today (October 18th) at the Macao Science Center to announce information about the event, including provisional entries for all races and promotional and celebratory activities.
Attending the press conference and meeting with the media were: Mr. Pun Weng Kun, President of the Sports Bureau and Coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee; Mr. Lo Keng Chio, Chairman of the Automobile General Association of Macao-China; Mr. Chong Coc Veng, Coordinator of the Sporting Subcommittee of Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee; Mr. Allen Lau Cho Un and Ms. Christine Lam Lin Kio, Deputy Coordinators of MGPOC; Ms. Gina Lei, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Community Relations of the Suncity Group and other guests including members of MGPOC and its Subcommittees.
For the third consecutive year, the Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix is designated the official FIA World Cup, while for the fourth time the SJM Macau GT Cup is the FIA GT World Cup. The Macau Guia Race will host the official season finale of the newest championship at the pinnacle of international touring car competition, the FIA World Touring Car Cup, which supersedes the former WTCC. The Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 52nd Edition will see the world’s finest road racers compete on the Guia Circuit.
Besides the four main races, the ever-popular FOOD4U Macau Touring Car Cup and the all-new Suncity Group Greater Bay Area Lotus Cup will provide local and regional talent with a high-profile showcase.
Tickets may be purchased in Macao via Kong Seng / Macau Ticketing Service at www.macauticket.com, while a full list of outlets can be found on the official website at www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo. Tickets for the event range from MOP50 per day for all grandstands for the Thursday and Friday practice and qualifying sessions, to MOP900 per race day for a seat in the popular Lisboa Bend Stand.
Promotional Activities
In addition to an on-going, comprehensive programme of educational and experiential activities held throughout the year both in Macao and across the world, a number of unique events to mark the 65th edition of the Grand Prix have also been organized.
These include the BOC Series Charity Event: Celebrating the 65th Macau Grand Prix – Guia Circuit Fun Run. For the first time ever, local residents will be able to experience the thrill of the legendary 6.2km Guia street circuit for themselves when 2,000 runners will take to the track on the morning of Sunday, November 11. The event has been enthusiastically received and was fully subscribed within a day when entries opened. As well as the fun run, an online photo-gathering competition has also been well received by residents, who have entered their motorsport and Grand Prix-themed materials.
A mini-Grand Prix Carnival will be held at Tap Seac Square on the weekend of November 3 and 4. Designed for family fun, the event is free of charge and will feature both entertaining and informative elements to appeal to all ages. The following weekend, the supercar and motorcycle show at Tap Seac Square will mark the official opening of the Suncity Group 65th Macau Grand Prix. There, visitors and residents will be able to get up close to the GT3 and superbikes which will take part in this year’s Grand Prix.
Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix – FIA F3 World Cup
The Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix, designated the official FIA F3 World Cup for the third consecutive year, continues the grand tradition of inviting the brightest and the best in the formula to compete on the challenging Guia street circuit.
The entry for this year includes the champions of both the FIA F3 European Championship Mick Schumacher, whose father Michael won the race in 1990 before going on to become a seven-time F1 world champion, and the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, Sho Tsuboi. Last year’s winner in Macao, Daniel Ticktum of Britain returns to defend his title having finished runner-up to Schumacher in the European series this season. FIA F3 European Championship top rookie in 2018 and third overall, Robert Shvartzman, makes his Macao debut as Schumacher’s team mate. Shvartzman is one of three members of the Ferrari Driver Academy racing at Macao, along with Marcus Armstrong and China’s Guanyu Zhou. The field also includes a female driver, with German Sophia Flörsch making her first appearance in the race.
From Macao comes 17-year-old Leong Hon Chio, winner of both the Asian Formula Renault Series and FIA F4 China Championship titles in 2017, who this year is contesting the new F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA where he currently lies fourth.
SJM Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup
The superb entry for the 11th running of the Macau GT Cup, the official FIA GT World Cup for the fourth year, includes five former winners and the participation of five manufacturers.
“Mr. Macao” Edoardo Mortara, Maro Engel, Augusto Farfus Jr, Darryl O'Young, and Laurens Vanthoor will be joined by 2007 Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix winner Oliver Jarvis, and two-time Le Mans 24 Hours champion and winner of a one-make race on the Guia Circuit in 2013 Earl Bamber. The marques doing battle for the 2018 FIA GT World Cup for Manufacturers are Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan and Porsche.
Nissan factory driver Tsugio Matsuda and Alexandre Imperatori, who has two podiums to his name in the Macau GT Cup, join Jarvis at KCMG. Mercedes returns to defend its title with a three-car assault from Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing for Mortara, bidding for a seventh Guia Circuit win, 2014 winner Maro Engel and Raffaele Marciello, the overall Blancpain GT Series champion in Europe in 2018.
Audi will be represented by two factory-backed teams running three cars between them. Audi Sport Team WRT Speedstar enters DTM driver Robin Frijns and Dries Vanthoor, the younger brother of Laurens and a Macao first-timer.Christopher Haase, a two-time winner of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, drives the solo car entered by Audi Sport Team Rutronik on his Macao debut.An additional Audi is entered by the Zun Motorsport Crew customer team for Hong Kong driver Adderly Fong, no stranger to Macao.
Porsche returns with the full-factory Manthey Racing team who enter Laurens Vanthoor and Bamber, while winner of the inaugural Macau GT Cup in 2008, Darryl O’Young of Hong Kong joins Mathieu Jaminet at Craft Bamboo Racing.
BMW is represented for the second year running by the famed Schnitzer team, a multiple winner of the Macau Guia Race. The BMW M6 GT3 will be driven by Augusto Farfus Jr, a two-time winner of the Macau Guia Race.
Suncity Group Macau Guia Race – FIA WTCR
The biggest names in touring car racing will arrive in Macao for the most exciting recent development in international touring car competition. The Macau Guia Race will this year count as the grand finale of the inaugural WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup season, and the star-studded entry includes title winners from international, regional and domestic ‘tin-top’ championships.
Rob Huff - who holds the overall record for most Macao wins - heads a line-up which includes fellow touring car greats such as two-time Guia Race winner Yvan Muller, current FIA WTCR championship leader Gabriele Tarquini, 2009 Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix runner-up Jean-Karl Vernay, and two-time DTM champion Timo Scheider who makes his Guia Circuit debut.
Six Macao drivers are included amongst the quality line-up. André Couto, winner of the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix in 2000, is joined by Filipe de Souza, Lam Kam San, Rui Valente, Kevin Tse and Lo Kai Fung.
Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 52nd Edition
The 2018 Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 52nd Edition is set to welcome back three former winners who between them have 11 Macao victories to their names. An international entry of 28 of the world’s top road racers brings both a wealth of experience as well as up-and-coming talent eager to prove their racing credentials on the Guia Circuit.
Eight-time winner Michael Rutter leads the charge as the “Two-Wheel King of Macao” vies to break his own record of Macao wins with an incredible ninth victory, 20 years after his first win in 1998. Rutter reunites with Peter Hickman, Macao winner in 2015 and 2016, on the new Aspire-Ho by Bathams Racing team.
Having missed the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix last year due to injury, 2001 Macao champion and 23-time Isle of Man TT race winner John McGuinness makes a welcome return to the SAR. Other returning fan favourites include Martin Jessopp, Portugal’s André Pires and German Didier Grams.
The rest of the 28-strong field features a number of familiar faces from across the international road racing world, as well as a number of talented newcomers who are looking to impress on their Macao debuts.
Amongst those making their first appearance in Macao are Britons Craig Neve, Davey Todd, Dominic Herbertson, Paul Jordan, Rob Hodson, Daley Mathison and Phillip Crowe. Joining them are Andrew Dudgeon from the Isle of Man, Raül Torras of Spain and 27-year-old Finn Erno Kostamo.
Support Programme
Saturday’s FOOD4U Macau Touring Car Cup continues its two-class format for the second year following its successful introduction in 2017. Competing cars are either 1600c Turbo or 1950cc and over. The 36-strong field qualified for the race via the Macao Motorsport Festival held over the summer, and the entry list includes last year’s winners Leong Ian Veng (1950cc and over) and Jeronimo Badaraco (1600cc Turbo), both from Macao. Amongst this year’s entry are drivers from Macao, Hong Kong Chinese Taipei and Japan.
New to the programme this year is the Suncity Group Greater Bay Area Lotus Cup, which aims to further promote motorsport activity and knowledge exchange within the Greater Bay Area. Following preliminary rounds, 21 entrants from across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao will take to the Guia Circuit in identical Lotus Exige V6 Cup R380 cars for the debut edition of this competitive race.
