Program to keep seven races by adding SAR Establishment Cup

The 71st Macau Grand Prix will continue to feature a seven-race program this year with the inclusion of a special “Macao SAR Establishment Cup” celebrating the 25th anniversary of Macau’s handover, the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee (MGPOC) announced yesterday in a press conference that launched the event.

Similarly to what happened last year when the 70th GP was celebrated, the Macau Roadsport racing category will be split into two different races, with the second one to be given the special title of “Macao SAR Establishment Cup.”

As in previous years, the Macau Roadsport races will be contested using Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ unified specification vehicles. The driver selection for each race will be based on the classification races held previously.

The program has as its main highlights the three races that are sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and that include, for the first time, the FIA Formula Regional (FR) World Cup (replacing the former F3 World Cup), and the return of the FIA GT World Cup and the FIA TCR World Tour event.

TCR World Tour title decider

This year, the TCR World Tour Event of Macau has the particular attraction of being the last event (Rounds 13 and 14) of the season, which means this year’s champion will be crowned in Macau.

For the time being, Norbert Michelisz in a Hyundai Elantra N leads the classification standings with 248 points, followed by Thed Björk in a Lynk & Co 03 with 225 points, and Esteban Guerrieri, driving a Honda Civic Type R FL5 with 221 points.

FR World Cup to continue the legacy

On the debuting of the FIA FR World Cup, the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said in a video message played at the press conference that this race has been a highlight for young drivers for a very long time. He also noted that “the cars will be different but it will keep its spirit on bringing top teams and drivers together,” and added, “With [the participation of racers from the] five FIA Formula Region championships, a new winner will join [this year] the ranks of legends like Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher.”

GT World Cup with a star-studded line-up

As Sulayem also mentioned in his announcement, the GT World Cup for GT3 specification cars “continues to grow, and the FIA’s GT World Cup has an even stronger lineup this year.”

At the top is the return of last year’s winner, Raffaele Marciello, who will try to defend his title at the wheel of a BMW after the successes obtained with Mercedes-AMG.

Also returning is “Mr Macau” Edoardo Mortara, who, once again, hits the Guia Circuit in a different car. This time, he will be at the wheel of one of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2s from SJM VSR Theodore Racing team.

Other previous winners returning this year eager for more laurels are Maro Engel, Augusto Farfus and Laurens Vanthoor.

The GT World Cup will also see the presence of several names who have achieved good results in Macau in other racing categories, such as the F3. Examples are Daniel Juncadella and Antonio Fuoco. Joining these are others such as Chinese GT star Leo Ye, who won the race in 2020, and Ferrari Factory Driver Ye Yifei.

This year, only one local driver will be listed on the three main racing categories of the GP, with the honors going to Tiago Rodrigues, who, as the Times has previously reported, is racing at the FIA FR World Cup with Evans GP.