Macau GP | Racers showcase football skills in lead up to the racing weekend

Lucas di Grassi kicks the ball

A group of racers from four different categories (including GT, WTCC, Motorcycle and F3) met a group of students from Macau Anglican College for a gathering where football was the sport of the day. This meeting is one of the events that was scheduled into the off-track program, which is taking place ahead of the Macau Grand Prix.

On the sidelines of the event, the Times spoke with several of these racers to learn more about their feelings and perspectives regarding the racing weekend.

In his debut year, 18 year-old Sacha Fenestraz is one of the five F3-drivers representing Carlin Motorsports, a team that has a long tradition and has been delivering good results in Macau recently, including last year’s win by Felix da Costa.

Fenestraz is one of the three debutants from Carlin and the team is rounded out by two more experienced racers, including the F3 European Champion Lando Norris. “I hope to pair with my mate Jehan [Daruvala] and try to see if I can be faster than him,” Fenestraz said. “During the season he started far back but he managed to keep up and was even faster than me in Hockenheim all through the weekend,” he added. Fenestraz also noted that he respects Daruvala as a great racer and great friend and expects above all to learn a lot from the upcoming race.

Moving to a much more experienced driver, the Brazilian Augusto Farfus is back to race in Macau and this time Farfus is racing the brand-new BMW M6 GT3 Art-Car. When asked about which sport he feels the most comfortable in, racing or football, Farfus had no doubts; “Definitely behind the wheel. Back in my school days, I remember I was always the last one to be picked [when choosing teams] and usually ended up in the goal [as goalkeeper]”, he recalls laughing.

As for the return to Macau he says, “It’s spectacular! Macau is certainly one of – if not the – most spectacular tracks and this is a very good event [the GT World Cup] because almost no one that is listed for this grid is in fact racing on GTs the whole season so this is almost a ‘get-together’ (logically everyone wants to win) but it’s kind of a friendly approach,” he said, adding, “we are all here in different teams [for what they usually race] so I would say will definitely be a unique weekend.”

Commenting on the chances for the Team BMW, Farfus said: “This is first time that BMW is really in this competition and putting all its efforts, we really want to participate and of course we want to win but let’s wait to see, we know that in GT cars, the outcome is depends on the BOP [Balance of Performance – System that aims to level the different cars by adding different amounts of weight], so let’s see how things run.”

The most successful rider in Macau racing history, Michael Rutter, won eight times at the Guia Circuit. He joked in the past that he would quit racing in Macau after reaching 10 wins. “I doubt that I would ever win 10;  I would love to win another one but it’s getting more and more difficult with a lot of young riders coming in which are very good, we would just keep trying, we never know what could happen,” Rutter said yesterday.

Michael Rutter

Questioned on the experience factor, a factor where he holds a major advantage, the 45 year-old rider said: “Yes, definitely, it’s a long race, it’s a lot of miles and you have to keep your tires and also your concentration around the track. It’s very difficult.”

Replying on what his competitive advantages are compared to other riders, Rutter said, “The heat is also a good point, I don’t mind if it’s really hot, it doesn’t bother me too much, so hotter the better for me while other riders suffer a lot from it,” he said, noting that as far as the race outcome is concerned, “I would be happy with a place in the podium even if I don’t win.”

Returning to Macau after a gap of three years  will be WTCC driver Norbert Michelisz. The Hungarian and the Honda team are boosted by a win in the main race at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan and are currently placed in second position overall in the championship. However, he is not yet worried with the championship table.

“I’m not really thinking about the championship yet, I’m behind [Thed Bjork] so the most important thing is to collect as many points. I think is not good to think about the championship at this point, maybe in Qatar [last round to be raced in December] in the second race if I have the chance to fight for the championship maybe I will think about it, but not right now,” Michelisz said.

Commenting on possibilities for the racing weekend, Michelisz thinks that Citroens are the most likely cars to take advantage of the BOP for the Macau rounds. “With the ballast that we carry in the car, I don’t think we are the favorites this year, I except the Citroens to be much faster but this is a circuit where the driver can make the difference. I will do my best and hope I can compensate [for] the [added weight of the] car.”

GT racer Laurens Vanthoor also hopes to win, an achievement which would be a follow up from last year’s unusual victory, achieved after a major crash at Mandarin’s Bend that left Vanthoor upside-down on the track.

Racing this time for Porsche, Vanthoor is clear, “this is a single event and a world cup so only the win counts and I’m not interested in coming out on second or third,” he said adding that the challenges of the track are to “make no mistakes and to try to use as much track-time as possible.”

Vanthoor laid out the stages of his strategy, saying his success will depend on, “being the first on qualifying as on this track, it is not so easy to overtake, especially with the GT cars.” He went on to note that it is necessary to “be cool” on the first laps to get some adjustment time on track because “if you crash too early on the weekend, you will be a couple of steps back.” Renato Marques