Last year’s winner of Macau Grand Prix’s (GP) first-ever Formula 4 (F4) race, Charles Leong Hon Chio, is set to race once again and repeat last year’s accomplishment under the Macau flag.
Aiming to arrive in good form to the local GP, Leong started the delayed season of the FIA F4 China well, winning all four races held over the weekend at Zhuhai’s International Circuit.
As the most experienced of the whole paddock in this year’s shortened season, Leong didn’t face many difficulties in beating the opposition, taking his Mygale-Geely F4 to the checkered flag and the highest step of the podium.
Leong, who took a year’s break and is racing for the first time since winning the Macau GP last year, showed dominance right from the practice and qualifying sessions on Friday, and into Saturday’s races.
During the first race of the weekend, Ryan Liu Zexuan in car number 6 gave Leong some strong competition. Liu won at the flag but was later demoted to the third position after facing a five-second penalty for a racing-related incident.
Over the weekend, three drivers stood out. Andy Chang Wing Chung, another Macau racer who led the course of the races, joined Leong and Liu and had a podium finish in all races except Race 2 on Saturday. Li Si Cheng, who also competed in last year’s Macau GP, took the second position in front of Chang in Race 2. Liu did not finish that race, as he retired at the start after completing only one lap.
Preparations seemed to go well for Leong and Chang, who came in first and second, respectively, during last year’s GP.
Although more racing action from the F4 China championship is expected to happen from November 5 to 7 when the paddock moves to Ningbo, sources familiar with the organization of the event say this round may be postponed to an undisclosed date in December.
This is due to a new Covid-19 outbreak occurring in some of the Mainland’s central and northern provinces.
If the announcement of the race in Ningbo’s postponement is made, the drivers will be out on track for the Macau GP next.
GT4 seats on sale on social media
Renowned Chinese racing team – Phantom Pro Racing – is selling a seat on an AMG-Mercedes GT4 for the 68th Macau Grand Prix.
Like many others, the team is struggling to find racers willing to support the costs of racing in Macau in a season that had little competition.
According to their announcement on Instagram, along with other social media platforms, the team is now calling for a last-minute driver that can fill the spot for the local racing event.
Last year, the team, sponsored by MGM Macau, debuted with 2019 China GT champion Chris Chia and Wang Hao. Wang did not manage to lap a time to qualify for the race, and Chia was disqualified mid-race after having qualified for the race with the best time of the GT4 machinery.
GBA 3×3 basketball to move forward to late November
Initially planned to take place in October, the FIBA 3×3 Macao Masters – Wynn Cup Greater Bay Area (GBA) Qualifying Tournament has been postponed until the end of November this year.
The basketball event, one of the major sports events on the local calendar this year, has been postponed from early this month as a result of the Covid-19 cases found in the community which led to the interruption and canceling of many activities and events.
According to information from the Sports Bureau (ID), the event sponsored by Wynn will now take place from November 24 to 28.
The ID also informed that since the tournament’s dates have been changed, the organizers will carry out a new draw on the groups on November 1.
On November 5, the updated schedule will be released on the event’s official website: www.macao3x3basketball.com.
The organizers also informed that registered teams will be allowed to rearrange the team, if necessary, due to the changes that occurred with the event dates. Teams making a change should contact the organizing committee via WeChat.
Planned to be hosted in four different outdoor venues across the city, the number of venues will now be reduced to three due to the cancelation of the venues in the area of the Nam Van Nautical Center and Tap Seac Square. A new venue at the Ruins of Saint Paul’s has been added.
The venues of A-Ma Temple square and the lawn area outside of the Wynn Palace resort in Cotai will remain unchanged. RM
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