How Macau’s long awaited return is shaping up to thrill

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For single-seater and GT racing aficionados, a painful four-year wait ends this week with the return of the FIA Formulation 3 and GT World Cups to their rightful place on the Macau Grand Prix.

Whereas the occasion continued to run with native F4 and GT races even throughout the darkish days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be truthful to explain it as a mere shadow of its former self. Now, with border closures and quarantine protocols however a distant reminiscence, the entry lists are stacked with worldwide expertise able to put the whole lot on the road searching for success within the ‘Las Vegas of the East’.

In F3, there’s a powerful crop of younger expertise, most of whom have by no means skilled the streets of Macau owing to the pandemic, which ought to make the competition huge open. Against this, the GT entry listing is rife with veterans desirous to take advantage of a uncommon probability to neglect about sharing a automotive with team-mates and go all-out in pursuit of particular person glory.

A kind of drivers is Daniel Juncadella, whose first journey to Macau was all the best way again in 2010 with the Prema F3 staff. A couple of of the drivers he raced in opposition to that yr – Edoardo Mortara, Laurens Vanthoor and Adderly Fong – are additionally on the GT entry listing 13 years later, together with many others to have made their names on the well-known Guia Circuit.

Juncadella gained the Macau GP in 2011, and made three extra outings in F3 equipment earlier than his Macau GT debut in 2017. This yr is his first outing since then, as he joins Raffaele Marciello, Maro Engel and Jules Gounon in defending Mercedes honour.

“After I heard Macau was coming again, there was no means I used to be going to overlook it!” beams Juncadella. “The ambiance round Macau is so thrilling. You’ve this packed metropolis stuffed with skyscrapers and shiny lights, gamblers, there’s numerous motion happening… You get there and you may really feel the vibe.

“And the observe structure itself is exclusive. For the final couple of years there hasn’t been a correct World Cup, however this yr we’ve got all the highest GT drivers on the planet once more. That makes it very particular.”

Juncadella, the 2011 Macau GP winner, is glad the event has recovered from its recent COVID-enforced slumber

Picture by: Drew Gibson / Motorsport Images

Juncadella, the 2011 Macau GP winner, is glad the occasion has recovered from its latest COVID-enforced slumber

Though he’s now a manufacturing unit Mercedes GT driver – he’ll change into a Corvette Racing racer subsequent yr – along with his single-seater days lengthy behind him, 32-year-old Juncadella admits: “If you happen to requested me which automotive I might select to drive, I might nonetheless select the F3 automotive to be sincere. Truly, I requested one staff in the event that they had been interested by having a driver with expertise. I believed there was no hurt in asking. However then I used to be requested how a lot finances I had, so the dialog ended fairly rapidly!”

Topping the F3 entry listing is 2019 Macau winner Richard Verschoor, who’s one in all a number of F2 drivers to step down a rung of the ladder for Macau, alongside along with his Trident team-mate Roman Stanek and Pink Bull junior pair Isack Hadjar (Hitech) and Zane Maloney (Rodin Carlin). Moreover Verschoor, solely three others on the entry listing have Macau F3 expertise.

Two-time winner Dan Ticktum, who now races in Formulation E, is again with Rodin Carlin as he goals to change into the primary three-time winner of the occasion in F3 equipment. The others are IndyCar rookie star Marcus Armstrong (MP Motorsport) and present F3 racer Sophia Florsch (Van Amersfoort Racing).

Not all the 2023 FIA F3 subject shall be in motion at Macau, with champion Gabriel Bortoleto and runner-up Zak O’Sullivan two notable absentees. However race winners Paul Aron and Gabriele Mini (each Prema), Franco Colapinto (MP), plus Pepe Marti and Oliver Goethe (each Campos Racing) will all be current, together with a few intriguing additions reminiscent of Euroformula Open champion Noel Leon (VAR) and McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu (Trident), who steps up as an F4 title winner.

“We’re used to sharing the whole lot, however that is like being again to the single-seater guys the place your team-mate is your predominant rival. It’s going to be super-tough” Dani Juncadella

Juncadella says he’s “personally cheering on the Spanish guys – Mari Boya [another F3 regular, driving for MP] and Marti. I’m mates with each of them and I’ve executed a number of laps with them on the simulator.” However, on the subject of selecting a winner, he provides: “The fellows with expertise shall be sooner to stand up to hurry. Verschoor and Ticktum would be the benchmarks.”

And what in regards to the GT World Cup entry listing? Whereas it will take a courageous individual to wager in opposition to the star-studded Mercedes line-up, which options two former occasion winners in Marciello and Engel, BMW, Audi, Porsche and even Ferrari all have manufacturing unit aces lined up of their bid to knock the Three-Pointed Star from its perch.

Porsche is one of the best represented marque with seven 911 GT3-Rs, and an equally spectacular line-up of expertise. The marque’s WEC Hypercar stars Laurens Vanthoor (who famously gained the 2016 occasion on his roof) and Kevin Estre are joined by Earl Bamber, newly topped DTM champion Thomas Preining, Alessio Picariello and Matteo Cairoli.

Engel and Marciello contested the GT Cup race at Macau last year when most stayed away, but the Mercedes duo will have strong opposition from inside their own camp and beyond

Picture by: Mercedes AMG

Engel and Marciello contested the GT Cup race at Macau final yr when most stayed away, however the Mercedes duo can have sturdy opposition from inside their very own camp and past

BMW has M4 GT3s entered for 2018 winner Augusto Farfus and Sheldon van der Linde, whereas Audi can depend on ‘Mr Macau’ himself: Mortara, a two-time F3 winner in 2009-10 and a four-time victor in a GT automotive, to place the R8 LMS GT3 within the combine. Including additional glamour is a sole Ferrari 296 GT3 entered for Brazilian Daniel Serra.

For Juncadella and his rivals, the GT World Cup is a uncommon probability to shine as a person. And the Spaniard is assured of a robust displaying on his Macau return off the again of his latest success within the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in GT World Problem and IMSA.

“That is actually a one-off, racing for your self, you don’t need to depend on others and you may show your pace,” he asserts. “Not that many of the drivers must show something, nevertheless it’s good to your ego! We’re used to sharing the whole lot, however that is like being again to the single-seater guys the place your team-mate is your predominant rival.

“It’s going to be super-tough. However after two very sturdy years for me personally, I additionally really feel that it’s good timing for me to come back again to Macau. I’m feeling very assured.”