The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) announced yesterday that it had received a total of 10 entries for the teams competing in this year’s FIA Formula Regional (FR) World Cup, one of the main events of the Macau Grand Prix.
According to the statement from the global governing body for motorsport, two new teams, Trident Motorsport (Trident) and Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR), are among the 10 entrants.
Although these teams are new entrants in the FR World Cup, they are not new to Macau’s Grand Prix, having been part of the former F3 events for many years.
Trident will come to Macau after a strong 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship season. Brazilian racer Rafael Camara clinched the title with one event to spare and finished second in the F3 team standings.
The team is also fighting at the front in the FR European Championship by Alpine (FRECA), where they are currently fourth in the standings with three rounds to go.
As for VAR, the Dutch team is currently third in the FRECA standings and finished fifth in FIA Formula 3. VAR has been on the podium in Macau before, so expectations will be high for their return this year.
Although the final lineup of drivers who will take each team’s seats in the Guia event in mid-November has not been announced, teams are expected to select from among their best talents to represent them in this single-event promoted to World Cup stardom.
Returning to defend the coveted Macau crown is R-ace GP, which took victory in 2024 with Ugo Ugochukwu. The French squad has maintained top form, sitting first in the current FRECA standings, with Enzo Deligny in third place overall and Akshay Bohra in fifth after three rounds. Earlier in the year, the team also finished second in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, primarily thanks to points scored by Ugochukwu.
Other strong returning contenders from last year’s Macau GP and runners in previous editions include SJM Theodore Prema Racing, Pinnacle Motorsport, Evans GP, Saintéloc Racing, TOM’S Racing, PHM Racing, and ART Grand Prix.
The Prema team is currently second in the 2025 FRECA championship and is one of the most successful teams in junior motorsport.
Pinnacle Motorsport, which finished third in Macau 2024 and claimed sixth place in the FR Middle East Championship, is sure to challenge for the podium once again.
Australia-based Evans GP returns to Macau after a fourth-place finish last time out, bringing vital experience from international competition.
The iconic Japanese squad TOM’s Racing currently leads the FR Japanese championship. This iconic name from the Macau Grand Prix was among the teams that seized the opportunity in the FR switch last year to return to the event and to battles with their European counterparts, which they had missed since the end of the F3 Intercontinental Cup.
Third-place finishers in the FR Middle East Championship, the ART Grand Prix squad brought Evan Giltaire the FIA FR Drivers’ Championship in 2025 and finished fourth in the 2025 team standings in F3. It will be back racing in Macau to continue its long-standing tradition of nurturing elite talent.
FIA noted that this lineup reinforces the FIA’s commitment to bringing together the world’s leading junior teams and drivers for the FIA FR World Cup, held on one of the world’s most technically demanding and unforgiving street circuits.
The 2025 FIA FR World Cup takes place during Macau Grand Prix week from November 13–16. For the first time, the Macau Grand Prix will also feature an FIA F4 World Cup, making it one of the most prestigious showcases of junior single-seater categories worldwide.
Local racers join field at F4 China eyeing participation in Macau GP
Local karting racers Vernice Lao and Marcus Cheong will compete in the F4 Chinese Championship this weekend, with the goal of potentially competing in this year’s Macau Grand Prix.
This will be 15-year-old Lao’s first time stepping into a formula car. She is a regular karting competitor in Macau and abroad and aims to make the most desired leap for any race driver.
Both racers are listed in the event racing under the Macau banner team, Asia Racing Team (ART).
Lao has been active in karting this year, racing in the local Automobile General Association Macao-China (AAMC) Karting Championship, the China Karting Championship, and the IAME Series China.
This season, she has moved up in the karting category to the Senior level, which she already clinched with a significant point margin.
Cheong is already well-known to the team and has some experience in F4, having raced for Asia Racing Team and Blackjack Racing during selected rounds of the 2023 F4 Chinese Championship and the year-end Macau Grand Prix Formula 4 race, where he finished 12th in his debut at the Guia Circuit.
Both racers will race this weekend at the 3.265 km FIA Grade 2 Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit with the support of the AAMC to contest their first race weekend in the second-generation Mygale F4 chassis, the same car that will be used in the FIA F4 World Cup at the Macau Grand Prix in November.
Both drivers have had the opportunity to test this F4 car at Zhuhai International Circuit before this racing weekend.
On the listing of the two racers, Rodolfo Avila, team manager for ART and Blackjack Racing, said, “We are delighted to welcome Vernice and Marcus to the team for this weekend in Chengdu.”
“For Vernice, it will be a full weekend of learning and gaining experience, while for Marcus, who is already more familiar with single-seater racing, it will be a question of how quickly he can adapt to a new car against a field of more experienced drivers. It is fantastic to see both drivers supported by AAMC, which holds a special significance for me, as I also took my first steps in single-seater racing with their support,” Avila added.
According to the team manager, seeing these young Macau talents follow a similar path is “incredibly rewarding, and their participation is particularly important to me and the team.”
Five years ago, the Times followed Lao’s first steps into the racing world in a report about a new group of Macau racers, ready to prove themselves.
IAME Asia Final in Macau in December
Following last year’s example, the Coloane Karting Track will host the IAME Asia Finals for the Cadet, Junior, Senior, and Master categories in December.
The racing action will take place from December 11 to 14, but organizers are now receiving applications to participate.
Last year, Italy’s Nuvolini Many won the Cadet category, while Thailand’s Porsche Anuchatkul emerged victorious in the Junior class. Spain’s Ruben Moya Lopez dominated the Senior class, while Chen Pengyuan from China excelled in the Master category.
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