The 2004 Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix. Mention it in Europe and only a select few could tell you what or where it is. But to the people of Macau, Hong Kong, and south east China, it’s their biggest motorsport event of the year. TV audiences in Asia run to 100’s of millions.
Each November the former Portuguese colony on the coast of China, some 35 miles from Hong Kong, echoes to the sound of race bikes, touring cars, and the blue-riband Formula 3 cars racing round the closed public roads, the 3.8 mile Guia circuit reminiscent of an oriental Monaco.
Take a Flying Lap of the Macau circuit with Roger:
Official Pre-Race Press Release
Click here for Roger's Macau 2004 Photo Gallery
NB This page may be a bit slow to load
Hello from a cool windy and overcast Macau. Not the sort of weather I
was expecting, but comfortable none-the-less.
I got home late Saturday night from a curtailed holiday in Gran Canaria,
then jetted out here, leaving home Sunday mid afternoon and arriving
here about 11pm Monday. The only incidents of note were managing to blag
a bulkhead seat for more legroom (thanks BA), and the jetfoil broke down
in Hong Kong harbour, leading to a very sea-sickening 1/2 hr delay as we
bobbed back to the jetty. I think two little chinese guys were swimming
along towing it back! Or it felt like that anyway!
After a sound nights sleep, I spent most of today in the paddock meeting
old friends and getting my gear scrutineered, including a new Arai
Corsair which was painted double quick by Andrew at Bike Paints.
Alistair Flanagan and the rest of the ETI team went over to China for
the afternoon shopping. I managed to get a couple of laps in a hire car
to familiarise myself with the track, but it looks very much the same as
it did last time I rode round in 2001.
Tomorrow we'll be setting up the bike to fit me, making minor
adjustments to the controls etc. Also selecting some tyres to use on
Thursday's one hour free practise in the morning. There is the first of
two timed qualifying sessions on Thursday late afternoon, so hopefully
we'll have a set up sorted before that, and it'll just be fine-tuning
from there on.
I have two front compounds and two 205 section rear compounds to choose
from, plus a couple of very soft qualifying tyres. I'll concentrate on
choosing the race tyres first and see what sort of time I can get out of
them before using a qualifier. These Dunlops are the latest spec, and
were being eyed up by the American riders who don't get them unless
they're in the factory teams. I'll know where to look if any go missing!
One bit of controversy reared it's head when Pete Jennings unveiled his
600 Honda sporting a turbo. The rules don't specifically exclude them
here, but there may be some dissent from the other 600 riders who have
to sign an agreement for Pete to use it in the race.
I hope to update you after Thursday's qualifying session. Fingers
crossed...
Cheers, Roger.
Well, Friday's one and only qualifying session was action packed, but
ultimately ended in frustration for the ETI team when the gear lever
snapped off the Ducati on my first hot lap on a new 205 section tyre.
This meant sitting out the last 20 minutes of the session watching
people gradually overtaking me on the grid. At the end of the session I
finished up 7th.
However, this disappointment was balanced by the fact that it could have
happened in the race, so better that it broke in qualifying.
The Ducati 998 F02 is shockingly fast, and requires a bit of finesse on
the throttle, such is the brutal power delivery. But much better to
have too much power than too little!
I'm typing this at 10.30 pm on Friday night in an internet "cafe",
though this should maybe be renamed "smoking den", judging by the smoke
polluted atmosphere!
Saturday morning has a 30 minute warm up period which will be ideal for
me to try and set some fast lap times in preparation for the afternoon
race.
The weather has been very warm and sunny here which will suit me and the
soft Dunlop I'm going to use.
A couple of points of note: Journalist Gus Scott crashed the Monster Mob
Fireblade in the closing laps of qualifying, and was very lucky to
escape with a broken arm and knee injuries when he vaulted the armco and
landed literally feet from the sea. He's a non-starter for the race,
promoting me one place on the grid. There is no further news of Austrian
rider Wilding who crashed spectacularly on Thursday afternoon. He
remains critically ill with head injuries.
Fingers crossed then for a trouble free safe race tomorrow, I'll try and
send an update to Graham Dove and Sandra Reynolds who have put in all the effort
to create and maintain this site for me.
Cheers for now,
Roger
15mph tumble puts me out of the race!
Not the report I was hoping to write, but a stupid slip-off on cement
dust cost me any chance of doing well in the Macau GP. Plenty has
happened since the last update, here's a summary:
Qualifying: This was reduced to one session at 07.30 on Friday morning
following a large spillage of coolant on the circuit on thursday. I was
still confident I could get the ETI Ducati on the front row of the grid,
and I set out on the tyres we had used on Thursday, both used Dunlops,
in order to set a reasonable time as a "banker". I very comfortably did
a 2m 32.6 lap, putting me 4th at the time, about 1 second off pole. I
came in to fit a new 205 section slightly softer tyre identical to the
one we planned to use for the race, and set off out of the pits. The
bike immediately felt better, the slightly larger rolling diameter gave
it a better feel everywhere having lifted the rear ride height slightly.
I found myself space for a clear lap, and crossed the start line on a
flyer.
Unfortunately half way round the lap, the gear lever snapped off. I
struggled back to the pits only to find that the team didn't have a
spare one. It's a complicated thing in three parts which also operates
the quick shifter so we couldn't easily pinch a different one. This
meant sitting out the rest of the session and watching in frustration as
I slipped down to 7th on the grid. This was reduced to 6th after moto-journalist
Gus Scott crashed and put himself out of the running, prompting a
lecture for all of us from the clerk of the course.
Mechanics Warren and Duane found the broken off part of my lever in the
fairing bottom and repaired it so the bike was ready for the race day
warm up. I made my mind up to go for it in that session to ensure that
the bike was set up for quicker lap times than we had achieved so far,
but though there was a briefing before the session, I missed the crucial
part about there being an oil spillage at the Melco hairpin. When I got
there on my first lap, there was indeed a spillage, with plenty of
cement dust on the track. This wasn't too big a problem, I kept to the
outside of it, albeit at a fair speed, but as I rounded the very tight
hairpin, the cement dust was brushed all over the road, and the front
wheel just slid away from me.
I half fell off the bike, and eventually had to let go as the bike
flicked upright. As it did so, I caught my right leg in the back wheel
and it wedged my foot and calf between the wheel and the exhausts as it
fell over.
It was agony as it twisted both my knee which was the immediate pain,
but also my ankle, which soon became more of a problem.
I stayed with the bike to ensure it was no further damaged on the way
back to the pits on the back of a lorry, and the guys set about
repairing the minor bodywork damage and broken screen. My own injuries
were less easily fixed, and despite GP medic Dr Macchiogodena giving me
a poultice to reduce the swelling along with some tablets, I was
struggling to walk as the race drew nearer.
We lined up on the grid anyway, but even on the out lap I knew I'd be
struggling, I couldn't push on the footrests in the way that you have to
at any time, let alone the numerous flicks from one side to the other
along the tight section of the Macau track.
On the first lap my foot slipped off the footrest on the straight, and
it took me a couple of goes to get it back on again, and I decided there
and then that I would pull in. If I couldn't even do that properly, what
if it had come off on one of the corners? So I pitted and was quite
honest with the team about there being no problem with the bike, it was
simply me that wasn't fit enough to ride it. The mechanics were
disappointed though understanding, and team owner Alistair Flanagan
returned to pit wall to watch his other rider Steve allan, who finished
a creditable 8th on the new ZX10 Superbike.
The race was won by Michael Rutter, who used the awesome straight line
speed of his factory CBR1000 to defeat John McGuinness on the Monster
Mob 999 Ducati, with team mate Stuart Easton third. Austrian BMW cup
champion Thomas Hinterreiter was 4th on a Yamaha Austria R1, and the
trio of Americans Josh Hayes (Attack ZX10), Geoff May (Yam R1), and
Jeremy Toye (Suz
GSXR) were next up ahead of Steve allan. Macau debutant Les Shand
finished a very good 11th aboard the BMR team Suzuki GSXR 1000. Scot
Callum Ramsay also won the 600 class on the Triumph.
So, a disappointing end to this years Macau adventure. But as the old
James Bond saying goes: "Never say never again"!
Cheers
Roger
The following links are to official Macau GP web site. Unfortunately some of the pictures are large and may take some time to load
Tumble on cement dust:
http://gp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/grandprix2002/photo/1100942140s.jpg
Friday qualifying:
http://gp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/grandprix2002/photo/1100785605.jpg
Start of race:
http://gp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/grandprix2002/photo/1100956129s.jpg
Rutter leads from McGuinnes, Easton, Hinterreiter and me:
http://gp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/grandprix2002/photo/1100947464.jpg
Further Information on the 2004 Macau GP
(external sites):
The Macau Official Tourism site has details of what to do and where to stay in Macau.
For further information on the 2004 event: www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo
Official lap timing www.mst-group.co.uk
Roger (No 12) fights for the lead in the 2000 Macau GP