Macau and China win at first Asia & GBA Racing Festival

Chan Yu Tsai

Local and mainland Chinese racers won several racing categories over the weekend at the first Asia & Greater Bay Area (GBA) Racing Festival at the Macau International Karting Circuit in Coloane.

The final day of the three-day racing event yesterday saw Macau racers securing victories in two of the four racing categories (KZ and Rok GP Junior), while mainland racers won in the X30 Senior 125 Class (Karts) and the GBA Motorcycle Cup 150cc.

In Sunday’s first race, the KZ karting category, the final win went to Macau’s Cheong Man Hei after fierce competition with local racer Gonçalo Ferreira.

Cheong Man Hei

Ferreira started in pole position and dominated most of the race except for some brief moments when Cheong took the lead.

But in the last lap, Cheong made a decisive move on turn 2 and overtook Ferreira, who could not strike back due to neck pain.

Hong Kong’s Anson Liu came third in the final race.

Among the youngest racers in the Rok GP Junior category, Cheang Wai Cheng won, followed by Chen Cheok Lam and Chan Seong Lai.

This was their first real race after obtaining karting racing licenses. The race followed training at the Coloane Circuit Karting Academy with two local racers, João Carlos Afonso and Cheong Chi On, among others.

Mainland racers dominated the only motorcycle race reserved for Sunday. Other motorcycle categories took place on Saturday.

The GBA Motorcycle Cup 150cc, which runs as a single-make category using CFMOTO NK150 motorcycles, was probably the least interesting race from the program.

Still, the category’s winner was unclear until the very last lap when Liang Yuhua in the moto number 10 overtook Gao Ziang (moto number 3) to see the checkered flag.

The duo made the race an almost one-on-one duel, with the racers following then running with comfortable gaps between one another and keeping their positions until the end without any major challenge.

Another mainland racer, Chen Zekai, finished third in this race.

The first non-mainland racer, Macau’s Álvaro Mourato, finished fifth.

Mourato is a former racer who accepted the Automobile General Association Macao-China’s invitation to don his leathers and helmet and relive golden times.

In the last race of the day, which had the most international participants, China’s Chan Yu Tsai won with a comfortable lead in the X30 Senior 125 Class. Starting at the front of the pack, Chan never relinquished his position.

Finishing second was Singapore’s Luke Armstrong who, after several poor laps, struggled to recover time lost to Chan, having made the best lap of the race in the process.

Hong Kong’s Liao Yan Yik finished third, while the Philippines’ Danzel Waytan came fourth. As with the motorcycles, the best local racer was João Carlos Afonso in fifth place.

The event was sponsored by Galaxy Entertainment Group. It included three other racing events (all on motorcycles) held Saturday and closed the local motorsports season.