GP64 – WTCC Returns to Guia

SUPPLEMENT TUE 14.11.2017 RETURNS TO GUIA RETURNS TO GUIA Renato Marques HE FIA World Tou- ring Car Cham- pionship (WTCC) is retuning to the twis- Tty turns and wide-open strai- ght roads of the Guia Circuit in Macau, two years since the series was replaced by the TCR racing series. Though the WTCC has now returned back to Guia, the se- Tiago Monteiro Esteban Guerrieri Tom Coronel ries has not developed much in the past two years, with several manufacturers aban- doning the series (at least as factory teams) and others paying little attention to ma- jor developments due to scar- city of competition and other reasons. After two years away, the WTCC promises to return to Macau to “restore the famous Thed Björk Norbert Michelisz Robert Huff Guia Race to its former glory,” although it seems there is not much glory left in the se- PREVIEW ries itself, and it only gained a new life with the introduc- tion of the new Volvo Poles- tar team that has “put a little WTCC returns to Guia after 2 years of absence salt on a barely warm soup.” Previously hosting the lona on September 6, where Similar to the Japanese rou- maximum of 120 points up cky place to race and small “Grand Finale” and the clo- he was leading the cham- nd of the WTCC, the team has for grabs, Michelisz trails Po- mistakes can result in big sing event of the WTCC sea- pionship at the time. already announced that Mon- lestar Cyan Racing’s Björk by damage, which means that son, Macau will now hold the Monteiro had to be extrac- teiro will be replaced by Ar- 16.5 points and Catsburg is anything is possible and the penultimate weekend of the ted from the car, and after gentinian race driver Esteban just 2.5 points behind Miche- races are expected to be con- campaign, which will close observation by several spe- Guerrieri. lisz. tested to the last tenth of se- in the hot sands of Qatar in a cialists in the hospital, he Monteiro has lost the cham- Theoretically speaking, the cond. race under the moonlight. was advised to skip the Chi- pionship lead, due to not ra- chances of winning the cham- Another point of interest in Interestingly enough, the na and Japan rounds until he cing because of his injury, pionship are still wide-open the return of the WTCC se- Championship this year had achieves full recovery. and fell to the fourth posi- and possible for the first nine ries is the possibility of well- an unexpected twist when Although he has accepted tion behind new leader Thed classified, although success known racer Rob Huff possi- Portugal’s Tiago Monteiro the physicians’ recommen- Björk from Volvo, Honda is more likely for the first bly extending his own record from the Castrol Honda Wor- dations and started his re- teammate Norbert Michelisz six, adding Tom Chilton and of wins in Macau to nine. ld Touring Car Team suffered covery, Monteiro has been and Volvo’s Nicky Catsburg. Mehdi Bennani, respectively, Huff will be driving a Ci- a high speed accident during ruled out of the Macau round With four races left (2 in Ma- to the list behind Monteiro. troën C-Elysée from ALL- a routine test run in Barce- as well. cau and 2 in Qatar) and a Macau itself can be a tri- INKL.COM Münnich Motors- PREVIEW CTM Cup and Chinese Racing Cup add local and regional DNA Renato Marques ESIDES the four main races in the B MARQUES RENATO 64th Macau Grand Prix, local and regional drivers will have other opportunities to show- case their skills on the 6.2km-long Guia Circuit. The CTM Macau Touring Car Cup is one such race, and the majority of the racers are indeed from Macau and HK. For them, this is the final step of a racing season that started in early spring, with several rounds of the compe- Billy Lo - 2.0T Filipe de Souza - 1.6T Alexander Fung - 1.6T tition to select the year’s best competitors for a two previous competi- cifications, ranging be- led some Grand Prix re- To minimize such po- lected for the final race. final race as a prize for tions – the Macau Tou- tween 1.6- and 2.0-liter gulars to pull out from tential issues, the orga- In a racing season that their efforts. ring Car Cup and Macau turbocharged engines. this year’s competition. nizing committee has featured four races in two This year’s Touring Car Road Sport Challenge – Despite including both Some drivers even cited established a system in weekend events, the entry Cup, previously known into a single race local and regional ra- fears of problems that which the qualifying ses- lists for both groups have for featuring small cars of : the CTM Macau Tou- cers, the CTM Macau might occur on the track, sions of both categories already been narrowed similar competitive abi- ring Car Cup. It will in- Touring Car Cup has due to the greater number will be held separately, down to 25 per group, lity, will undergo a shift. clude a combination of not been well received of cars and differences in with the best 18 racers who will go out to the It will shorten and merge cars with different spe- by drivers, and has even vehicle performance. in each group being se- Guia track starting No- II tue 14.11.2017 Tom Coronel Esteban Guerrieri Robert Huff Tom Chilton PREVIEW WTCC returns to Guia after 2 years of absence port. Souza. However, due to the Another Macau expert that regulations that prevent dri- will be returning to the WTCC vers from taking part in two field is veteran racer Tom Co- different events during the ronel, who is definitely able Macau Grand Prix weekend, to put his track experien- de Souza’s focus for 2017 is ce to use and attain a good the CTM Macau Touring Car result on the street circuit. Cup. Participating out of the cham- As for Hong Kong, Po Wah pionship results will be a few Wong and Clerebold Chan local racers. Macau’s Mak Ka will be aboard two Chevrolet Lok is one of them and he will Cruzes and will be the repre- be driving a third Lada Vesta sentatives of Hong Kong in from RC Motorsport, an entry this race. They will both be that was initially supposed to racing under Campos Racing be used by Macau’s Filipe de Team colors. PREVIEW CTM Cup and Chinese Racing Cup add local and regional DNA Chinese Cup ‘evolves’ OMPLETING the program for der to pick a winner this year, though Cthe Macau Grand Prix is the Chine- last year’s winner David Zhu and last se Racing Cup, a standalone race and year’s second runner-up Jason Zhang former one-brand series that aims to are in good positions – both are cer- bring together drivers from mainland tainly skilled and experienced enough China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan – to attack the podium. Also in the mix in a “Greater China Racing Com- are Hélder Assunção and Deng Bao petition,” as it was initially known. Wei, other strong performers from last This competition has adopted the TCR year. (Touring Car Series) specifications for Notably, some very experienced dri- this edition, allowing the inclusion vers will participate this year – inclu- of several new Volkswagen Golf GTI, ding Hong Kong’s Kenneth Lau, Ken- Audi RS3 LMS and one Seat Leon, neth Look, Sunny Wong and Michael along with the Baic Senova D50 cars. Choi – which will make this race much This is a significant evolution from the more interesting. previously used Senova D70. The race has also abandoned the idea of a “Chinese-only” competition, instead opting for a more diverse list that includes in total 36 drivers. One is Alexander Fung - 1.6T Paul Poon - 1.6T from South Korea, a first for the race. Another big difference is that this vember 16. along with Samson Fung favorite, heading a group race, unlike before, is now part of a As for the favorites to (Peugeot RCZ), Leong Chi that also includes Leong championship that is held across four win, last year’s podium fi- Kin and Célio Dias, both Ian Veng and Yam Chi rounds and seven races. The Macau nishers in the 1.6T group driving the Mini Cooper Yuen, as well as last year’s race is only the second event of the ra- Paul Poon (Peugeot RCZ), S. second runner-up Ng Kin cing program and not a “Season Fina- Filipe de Souza (Chevro- As for the 2.0T cars, Veng. Except for Lo, all le” as in previous editions. let Cruze) and Alexan- last year’s winner Billy team members are dri- Due to these changes, it may be har- der Fung (Peugeot RCZ) Lo (Mitsubishi Lancer ving the Mitsubishi Lan- are definitely in the mix, Evolution 7) remains the cer Evolution 9. III tue 14.11.2017 Renato Marques Q&A GLENN IRWIN ICKNAMED “Turbo Rab- MOTORCYCLE RIDER Nbit,” Glenn Irwin was a rela- tively unknown until his Macau debut last year, when he fought for a spot on the Macau Grand ‘I feel like I can win the race’ Prix podium after clocking third quickest in the qualifying session. The rider – who hails from Car- rickfergus in Northern Ireland – stunned competitors and au- dience members alike when he took his Ducati to seventh place in the first qualifying session.

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