World’s best road racers return to Macau for Moto GP

Sep 25 , 2017

BMW rider Peter Hickman on his way to victory in Macau’s Moto GP race in 2016.

Michael Rutter, Peter Hickman and Martin Jessopp will battle fellow competitors for a spot on the podium this year

Each autumn, speed freaks flock to Macau for the ultimate adrenaline rush – the Macau Grand Prix. It offers a buzz and excitement that translate into big business for Macau this November.

Organisers claim the street-circuit event featuring both cars and motorcycles gets hundreds of millions of viewers each year, raising awareness of Macau as a travel destination. It’s also a big deal for city authorities, who get to show off their organisational capabilities.

There is little margin for error among Moto GP riders on Macau’s Guia circuit.

While the Formula 3 race is considered the flagship event, perhaps the most thrilling of all the spectacles during the race weekend is the Motorcycle Grand Prix – also known as the Moto GP. Compounding this excitement is the danger: the two-wheeled, 1,000cc monster machines offer riders little protection compared with even the most stripped-down car.

Perhaps it is this that makes the Macau Grand Prix stand out from other championships around the world. Danny Horne, the head technician at Dafabet Devitt RC Express Racing, certainly agrees.

“The Macau GP experience is unique in so many ways,” he says. “The main factor is the variety of race series on show, from Formula 3 to GT cars to motorcycles – this just doesn’t happen anywhere else.

“The glamour and prestige of the Macau GP is out there on its own when you look down the past winners in the Macau Grand Prix Museum [on Rua de Luis Gonzaga Gomes].

“When all this is combined with the amazing history of Macau, alongside the ultra-modern hotels, casinos, and infrastructure, then the Macau GP is one of the most unique events on the race calendar.”

Horne’s rider this year is Ivan Lintin, who joined RC Express Racing in 2014. In 2017, the team became Dafabet Devitt.

“I have raced every season since 2006,” says Lintin, from Lincolnshire in England. “I always liked racing as my father used to race – I got dragged around to race meetings. But I didn’t have the urge to race seriously till I was 21.”

So what are his prospects this year? “We will be battling with multiple winners,” Lintin says. “[Eight-time Macau Moto GP winner] Michael Rutter, [two-time Macau winner and reigning champion] Peter Hickman and [two-time Macau runner-up] Martin Jessopp will all be battling for the podium this year.”