Formula 3 cars will make a grand return to Macau this weekend for the 70th running of the historic Macau Grand Prix, but what exactly is it?
The Macau GP is a non-championship round of the F3 season, but F3 cars have not been since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The event is considered to be a stepping stone for higher motor racing categories, as it has been won by several world-famous drivers before they reached stardom.
Preview: How Macau's long awaited return is shaping up to thrill
Racing is held on the streets of Macau, a city facing the South China Sea.
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, organisers expanded this year’s event over two weekends. The opening weekend (11-12 November) had mainly domestic and Asian series in action - TCR Asia Challenge for example, while this coming weekend (16-19 November) are the international races.
The F3 race is the highlight of the event. Even though points are not scored towards the FIA Formula 3 championship, which concluded at Monza in September, the Macau GP winner becomes the F3 World Cup champion - an honour last claimed by current Formula 2 driver Richard Verschoor.
But it isn’t just for vehicles on four wheels. This is the only street race that has both cars and motorcycles competing over the weekend. Legends of two wheels across the Isle of Man TT, British Superbike championship and World Superbike championship have competed at Macau, including Carl Fogarty, who won the race in 1992.
Then there are the grand touring cars as well. GT3-spec cars compete in the FIA GT World Cup, which is also back for the first time since 2019. Last year, when it held GT Cup status with a reduced international entry, Maro Engel added to his 2014 and 2015 victories in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. So it is an event for all disciplines of motor racing, and here is everything to know about the Macau GP.
Source: Autosport