Felix Rosenqvist celebrates the 2014 victory. He will return to the F3 race this year
Last year’s Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix champion, Felix Rosenqvist, is slated to return to the Guia circuit this November to defend his title when the starting flag is waved for Macau’s 62nd race.
The newly-crowned FIA F3 European winner will be among the 28 racing drivers to be lining the grid on November 22 for the 15-lap race. The Swedish driver will be in his number-one racer representing Italian-based SJM Theodore Racing by Prema Powerteam, ready to catch up to Edoardo Mortara, the only two-win record-holder in 32 years.
Joining him on the track will be Britain’s Jake Dennis and Canada’s Lance Stroll on their maiden visits to the territory. The former is a multiple race winner in European F3 this season while Stroll, from Ferrari Driver Academy, is a rising star who is under the spotlight for his breathtaking speed.
Another highlighted race, the Guia Race 2.0T (TCR International Series), will see seven-time WTCC winner Rob Huff from England and three-time champion Alain Menu speeding around the circuit with other newcomers, competing for the trophy. Other celebrated racers include Swiss driver Stefano Comini and Italy’s Gianni Morbidelli.
Up to 31 racers will compete in the 49-year-old Motorcycle
Grand Prix with the focus possibly falling on Stuart Easton, Ian Hutchinson, Michael Rutter and John McGuinness – all common champions in the race.
The schedule for the four-day event also includes four other supporting races. The CTM Macau Touring Car Cup welcomes 34 drivers from Macau, Hong Kong and the mainland, with the 1,600cc fleet to be unveiled, ranging from Chevrolet and Ford, to Peugeot and Mini. The defending champion from Hong Kong, Andy Yan, will be in his Peugeot RCZ ready to break his own record of 2.087 seconds over his closest challenger last year.
For the Road Sport Challenge, which is entering its eighth year, the previous winner Wong Wan Long, a local, will compete against Leong Ian Veng, who was the first to have crossed the line in the four-
round qualifying stage earlier.
In addition, Hong Kong and Taiwan’s show biz entertainers Chrissie Chau, Shawn Yue, Alex Fong, Christine Kuo and Wu Chun will compete in the Celebrity Cup Race, a new addition to the race program.
Returning to the race program for the second year, the Chinese Racing Cup continues to serve as a platform for 21 racing drivers from the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau to gauge each other’s capabilities while promoting sportsmanship.
Costa Antunes supervises last GP
João Manuel Costa Antunes, coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, has told media that this would be his last time assisting with the annual car-racing event, saying he would now be able to spare more time for his family and his favorite sport, golf. The Portuguese engineer started serving the commission in 1988. The committee will be managed by the Sport Development Board by the end of the year, after an administrative reshuffle.
As the Times reported earlier, Mr Antunes will serve as an adviser to the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam.
He will be providing advisory services for two of his Secretariat’s main projects: the Hotel Estoril and the new public hospital.
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