Practice canceled due to rain

The 71st edition of the Macau Grand Prix got off to a challenging start as the Motorcycle GP, which was scheduled to kick off the event, was called off due to rain.

Weather forecasts proved accurate, as the rain that fell in Macau overnight and in the early hours of yesterday morning made it impossible for the motorcycles to inaugurate this year’s edition of the local GP.

The race organizers canceled the free practice session at the start time (7:45 a.m.) and announced that adjustments could be made for today, too.

The rules of the motorcycle GP clearly state that there are to be no “Wet Race” sessions for two-wheeled vehicles and no allocation for wet tires.

The weather played a very relevant factor not only in this race but in all the sessions of the day, which proceeded, even if in precarious conditions, despite the fact that Typhoon Signal 3 remained hoisted for the whole day.

If all goes as initially planned, the motorcycles will go out on track at 7:45 a.m. this morning, although, at this point, it is not clear if this session will be the Qualifying 1 that was originally planned for Friday morning or for the Free Practice session that was canceled yesterday.

According to what the Times could ascertain, today’s morning session is likely to serve as the Free Practice session from yesterday, while the originally assigned Qualifying 2 session (scheduled to take place at 4:15 p.m.) today will be the only Qualifying session for the motorcycles.

Either way, this session is once again dependent on weather conditions, as Tropical Storm Toraji is expected to bring additional rain throughout a significant part of today.