For single-seater and GT racing aficionados, a painful four-year wait ends this week with the return of the FIA Formula 3 and GT World Cups to their rightful place at the Macau Grand Prix.
While the event continued to run with local F4 and GT races even during the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be fair to describe it as a mere shadow of its former self. Now, with border closures and quarantine protocols but a distant memory, the entry lists are stacked with international talent ready to put everything on the line in search of success in the ‘Las Vegas of the East’.
In F3, there’s an impressive crop of young talent, most of whom have never experienced the streets of Macau owing to the pandemic, which should make the contest wide open. By contrast, the GT entry list is rife with veterans eager to make the most of a rare chance to forget about sharing a car with team-mates and go all-out in pursuit of individual glory.
One of those drivers is Daniel Juncadella, whose first trip to Macau was all the way back in 2010 with the Prema F3 team. A few of the drivers he raced against that year – Edoardo Mortara, Laurens Vanthoor and Adderly Fong – are also on the GT entry list 13 years later, along with many others to have made their names at the famous Guia Circuit.
Juncadella won the Macau GP in 2011, and made three more outings in F3 machinery before his Macau GT debut in 2017. This year is his first outing since then, as he joins Raffaele Marciello, Maro Engel and Jules Gounon in defending Mercedes honour.
“When I heard Macau was coming back, there was no way I was going to miss it!” beams Juncadella. “The atmosphere around Macau is so exciting. You have this packed city full of skyscrapers and bright lights, gamblers, there’s a lot of action going on… You get there and you can feel the vibe.
“And the track layout itself is unique. For the last couple of years there hasn’t been a proper World Cup, but this year we have all the top GT drivers in the world again. That makes it very special.”
Source: Autosport