Race preview | Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition – ‘Gold Rush’ for Golden Jubilee

Stuart Easton

Peter Hickman

Celebrating its Golden Jubilee, the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix will feature a strong lineup of 28 riders and their machines.

At the head are the “three musketeers,” the 2015 Champion Peter Hickman, the eight-time winner and record holder Michael Rutter and the fastest ever on track and four-time winner Stuart Easton all riding Bathams/SMT Racing BMW’s, the bike that proved to be unbeatable in the Guia Circuit last year.

Also riding a BMW is the fourth member of this frontrunner squad, the 2013 winner Ian Hutchinson and he is no less of a candidate for the final checkered-flag than any of the first three. Hutchinson has already proved to be impressively fast and steady in Macau.

If any of these four clear candidates are out for the final victory, there are many more who are willing to make that achievement a difficult one; the competitors will include first runner-up last year and frequent podium stander Martin Jessop, the “king of the island” John McGuinness, Conor Cummins and Gary Johnson, among others.

With so many great riders racing top-of-the-line bikes, the competition looks to be fierce and they are expected to put on an awesome show for the crowd.

If the battle for the top position will be a heated one, then expect no less for the positions on the first half of the leaderboard. There are some riders that have been gaining experience over the years trying their best to keep down a good lineup of newcomers.

Included in this group of experienced riders are four-time racer Allan-Jon Venter from local team CF Racing Team 32 racing a Yamaha and the Portuguese rider André Pires on his third attempt in Macau racing a Bimota from Bimota UK team.

Michael Rutter

Penz13.com always presents strong contenders and this year their team will include rookie Danny Webb riding alongside Gary Johnson.

The question of who is going to win is a hard one to divine an answer to; we will have to wait until the last minute of the race on Saturday.

As part of the celebration of this grand 50th anniversary, the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee (MGPOC) also invited four former champions from the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s and early 2000’s of the Grand Prix. Sadeo Asami, Mick Grant, Phillip McCallen and Steve Plater are already confirmed to be joining the celebrations on this special occasion.

A number of activities have been planned to mark the Golden Jubilee, including a display of competing and classic motorcycles and a classic motorcycle parade on the Guia Circuit on Saturday (November 19th).