Musings from the Macau Grand Prix

Macau – I can’t believe it’s been almost three decades since I last set foot on this beautiful and historic Eurasian city. I was a high school sophomore back then, and my beloved father took me and my younger brother to our very first Grand Prix.

It was 1982 (if memory serves me right) and while I can’t remember who won the Formula 3 feature race that year, I can never forget the sight of the pole-sitting car in the SuperCar Cup race. It was a Koenig-modified quad-turbo wide-body 12-cylinder Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer 512, the predecessor of the Testarossa. Next to it on the front row was the ultimate poster car of every high-octane-blooded teenager in the ‘80s, the incredible Lamborghini Countach.

At a time when a Toyota Celica was already one of the most head-turning cars in Metro Manila and BMWs weren’t even available locally, the sight of so many Italian and British exotics (Maseratis, Aston Martins, Jaguars and Lotuses were aplenty in that Macau grid) left an indelible impression on me.

Fast forward to 2009. Macau is now a mix of the old world/old rich charm of Monaco and the high stakes gambling appeal of Las Vegas. Old world European architecture on one side of Macau sits in stark contrast to the side from which now sprouts modern Vegas-originated hotels like The Venetian (where we stayed), Sands, MGM Grand, Riviera, Wynn, etc.

The feature event is still the Formula 3 race, often referred to as “the race that decides the champion of champions,” as top-ranked drivers from the respective F3 series in Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan race each other. F3 is considered a stepping stone to F1, previous Macau GP F3 winners being no less than Ayrton Senna in 1983, Michael Schumacher in 1990 (after his infamous coming together with Mika Hakkinen) and David Coulthard in 1991.

The other highlight is the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) race, which truly demonstrated the tight racing between chief rivals Chevrolet, BMW and Seat in this hard-fought series where all cars ride on Yokohama tires.

Yokohama/Advan has been exclusively supplying high-performance tires for the Macau GP’s F3 races since 1983. In addition, the final round of the WTCC – the one held in Macau – has also been using Yokohama tires exclusively since 2006. This arrangement was extended last August to include the years 2010 to 2012, making Yokohama the Macau GP WTCC control tire for seven straight years.

Augusto Farfus took victory for BMW in the shortened final round of the WTCC last Sunday, as SEAT driver Gabriele Tarquini clinched the drivers’ crown.

Farfus led away cleanly from pole position, and held an advantage throughout the early stages of the race from BMW teammate Jorg Muller, who himself was fighting off the SEAT duo of Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro.

Their battle was interrupted by a safety car period on lap three, when Tom Boardman crashed in the Solitude Esses, and then the race was red flagged at the end of lap eight when there was a spectacular crash at the R Bend final corner.

Felix Porteiro had run wide and hit the barriers, before his car was swiped by Franz Engstler’s BMW. Engstler’s car was then left stationary in the middle of the track where it was struck heavily by local driver Andre Couto.

With debris all over the track there was no option but to halt the race and, after a brief delay, it was decided that the event would not be restarted. It meant that Tarquini’s fifth placed finish was enough for him to take the FIA WTCC crown, with his SEAT team earning enough points to take the manufacturers’ title.

Tarquini had been suffering an engine misfire in the second race and was nervous about his chances of taking the title if there had been a restart. In the end, he was relieved that his accidents earlier in the weekend and the late drama had not destroyed his title chances.

“It is fantastic,” said Tarquini. “I had some crashes in practice and qualifying, which isn’t the best way to approach the weekend in Macau, but the team did a fantastic job to rebuild the car.”

Chevrolet, in fact, showed impressive performance in the first WTCC race. Rob Huff, in his spanking new Chevrolet Cruze sedan, dominated the first WTCC race. Huff led away cleanly at the start as fellow front row-starter Andy Priaulx hit trouble, falling back into the pack and then clouting the wall at the exit of Turn One as he fended off his rivals.

Priaulx’s problems allowed Tiago Monteiro to move up to second early on, with Tarquini charging through the order to be up to third by the time the cars braked into Lisboa Bend.

From there, Huff opened up a cushion over Monteiro until lap eight when the Portuguese SEAT driver slowed down – handing second place to Tarquini. The top two finishers crossed the line 7.9 seconds apart.

Jordi Gene eventually finished third after a chaotic closing lap to the race, with BMW’s Farfus dropping down the order on the final lap to secure himself the eighth place finish that gave him pole position for the second and final race.

In the centerpiece Formula 3 event (wherein all the cars also raced on superb performing Yokohama slicks), Edoardo Mortara took a hard-fought victory after triumphing in a race-long duel with Signature teammate Jean-Karl Vernay. The Italian had started from third on the grid, but a good start allowed him to move past front-row starter Marcus Ericsson and pole position man Vernay on the run down to Lisboa.

The race was stopped a few moments later, however, when the track was blocked following a spectacular multiple-car collision caused when Daniel Ricciardo crashed into the wall at the Solitude Esses and was clipped by a number of other cars.

At the restart, Mortara got away cleanly but his advantage was not enough to prevent Vernay getting into his slipstream and overtaking him into Lisboa. From there, the Signature pair were locked in a very tight battle for the lead – although it seemed Vernay had done enough as Mortara could not get close enough in the final corners of the lap to get a slipstream down the main straight.

However, coming out of the Melco Hairpin on lap 11, Vernay made a mistake – which allowed Mortara to close up on him and swoop past into the lead into Lisboa on lap 12.

Mortara was then able to pull away and take the victory – on the same day that fellow Italian Gabriele Tarquini became FIA World Touring Car Champion.

“It feels fantastic,” said the delighted Mortara. “So many things are going through my head I don’t know where to start. I feel so emotional. After such a difficult season this year, it is unbelievable. I am proud of this victory.”

Briton Sam Bird finished third, having moved up the field from seventh on the grid. He was fifth in the early stages of the race, but took fourth from Ericsson on lap 12. He then moved up another place on the final lap when third place runner Valtteri Bottas slowed with a wheel problem. Ericsson finished fourth, with Bottas fifth.

Geez… I write a column, go on coverage for about a week and unknowingly incite an angry mob. Last week’s “The struggle that is C-5” elicited some very heartfelt (read: angry) reactions from you Backseat Drivers. Here are some of them…

I was in the same C-5 traffic jam you described. The MMDA’s problem is that they focus almost exclusively on the Engineering aspect of traffic management, almost totally neglecting the Education and Enforcement component. Consider C-5. After they put up those ridiculous elevated U-turn slots, the virtually abandoned it by not deploying traffic enforcers to make sure it is not used as a jeepney stop/terminal. Then they put up those fences, but again do not deploy enforcers or even just a single roving patrol to apprehend those who are sure to try cross C-5 despite them. The MMDA’s problem is its very arrogant leader; who acts as if he’s the only one with brains – the rest of us be damned. This explains the pink fences, U-turn slots, and all of the out-of-this-world so-called traffic management solutions this clown imposes on us. – amang

I remember when they put up the white fences on C-5, some idiots cut the fence so people could still squeeze through... very annoying. They should put a sign that says “WARNING! ELECTRIFIED FENCE” and they should put about a 1,000-volt current through the entire stretch! – smoothe

With regards to “Electrified Fence”, night-owls “linemen” from the slum areas might tap their wires from those fences, thinking they will get free electricity. If they get electrocuted and killed, it might be an additional problem (for the Government). So, if one idiot is cutting those fences to pass through and another one taps on it for “free” electricity... Bob Arum will, again, say “that makes two idiots”. – luzvi

I would like to borrow this statement from our columnist: “Our laws are good, it’s the system that sucks!” – KERSMcPherson

A bit off topic... excuse me po but can’t help to be ecstatic about this, saw the race and Philippines’ Ferdinand Pastor was on the podium for 3rd place in Macau Grand Prix. He lost the third position to Macau driver Eurico de Jesus for a while but ran an intelligent race and grabbed back the third spot. Mabuhay ka Ferdinand Pastor! You ran a good race! – TomGuNa (That’s what we really love about our readers… you guys are just as into motoring as we are! Hope you appreciated Manny de los Reyes’s coverage story on the Macau Grand Prix above. Keep those Backseat Driver reactions coming! – ed.)