The Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix is a very different event from a typical Bike Road Racing Series event on the roads of Ireland. There are riders at Macau that run regularly in the series, and some that have done only a handful of races this year, whose names you may be familiar with.
Macau is similar to Hong Kong. It is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Macau's economy is based upon gambling, tourism, and manufacturing. The racetrack at Macau is known as the Guia circuit. It is a narrow, bumpy, Here are the main corners on the race track to serve as reference.
Mandarin Bend
Lisboa
San Francisco Hill
Maternity Bend
Solitude Esses
Reservoir Bend
Moorish Hill
Melco hairpin
Donna Maria
Fisherman's Bend
R Bend
This track does have two things that most street courses don't. Plenty of elevation changes, and, a long straightaway to bring out a vehicle's top speed.
The top rider in this year's race is Michael Rutter. He's won the Macau Grand Prix seven times, going for number eight. He is teamed with John McGuinness who has won the race once, about ten years ago. Gary Johnson is back in the field. He hasn't scored a podium or won at Macau. But, either of those things could happen in this race. Ditto for Martin Jessopp. He finished second in last year's Macau motorcycle Grand Prix.
We go first to qualifying highlights. Here's what went down.
This is a 30 minute qualifying session after the one scheduled the day before was cancelled. Riders will need to get fast laps done early as daylight is fading. At this point, Michael Rutter is on provisional pole at 2:28.3. Rutter is slower in this session, but still at the top of the timesheets at 2:31 and change. Martin Jessopp and Gary Johnson both might have something to say about that. The leaders in qualifying are:
1. John McGuinness
2. Michael Rutter
3. Martin Jessopp
4. Gary Johnson
5. Simon Andrews
6. Jimmy Storrar
7. James Hillier
8. Didier Grams
The track is getting quicker. McGuinness turns in a flying lap at 2:27.763 which is his best of the session so far. Rutter is only slightly faster. Martin Jessopp still holds down third. Horst Saiger (from the FIM World Endurance Championship), will compete at Macau. Right now, he runs fifth, between Johnson and Andrews. Half the bikes are on track. Half in pit lane. The heat plays a big factor at Macau. Mark Miller is coming into the pits.
Meanwhile, Saiger is waved through by Davy Morgan. Simon Andrews wants to pass Horst Saiger. It's Kawasaki vs. BMW. So, the battles are on, even in qualifying. The race has not started yet. Rutter brings fast time down to 2:27.5. Conor Cummins is up to fifth overall. Right now, it's McGuinness and Rutter who are the top. They are team mates for SMT Honda. A red flag comes out with ten minutes left, stopping the session.
So, here are the positions after the qualifying session is concluded.
1. #1 Michael Rutter SMT Racing
2. #2 John McGuinness SMT Racing
3. #40 Martin Jessopp Riders Motorcycles.com
4. #5 Gary Johnson Quattro Plant Motorsports
5. #4 Conor Cummins Tyco Suzuki
That is the top five. The race is coming up. Michael Rutter is the winningest rider at Macau with seven wins, beating the previous record mark set by Ron Haslam. The two SMT Honda's are on different tires. McGuinness running Dunlop and Rutter, Pirelli. There are no wet weather tires that can be used.
The riders are on their warmup lap. The track might be damp. Here's the whole grid.
Row 1: #1 Michael Rutter GBR
#2 John McGuinness GBR
#40 Martin Jessopp GBR
Row 2: #5 Gary Johnson GBR
#4 Conor Cummins GBR
#8 Horst Saiger AUT
Row 3: #17 Simon Andrews GBR
#15 James Storrar GBR
#55 Dan Kneen Isle of Man
Row 4: #37 James Hillier GBR
#26 Didier Grams GER
#9 James McBride GBR
Row 5: #13 Riko Penzkofer GER
#12 Steve Mercer GBR
#66 Branko Srdanov NLD
Row 6: #10 Mark Miller USA
#20 David Johnson NZL
#54 Steve Heneghan IRL
Row 7: #113 Rafael Pascholian BRA
#71 Davy Morgan GBR
#74 Y. Matsushita JPN
Row 8: #47 Brandon Cretu USA
#32 Joao Fernandes MCO
#18 Sio Hong Sou MCO
Row 9: #44 Jamie Hamilton GBR
We are ready to race.
The race is on! At the start of this 15 lap race, McGuinness and Rutter battle side by side. Martin Jessopp is down to fourth as this 25 bike field thunders around the Guia circuit. Conor Cummins is now third. The bikes turn into Lisboa for the first time. Jessopp has to stay with the two Honda's of Rutter and McGuinness. There's dirt on the track from the car races that took place at Macau including the Formula 3 Grand Prix, the GT race, and the touring car race.
McGuinness and Rutter are both going for it. One rider may have a problem. The red flag comes out on lap one, stopping the race. What happened? Rain is falling on the track. One rider is out of the race. The bikes and riders go back to the pits. According to Michael Rutter, things seem to be worsening with the rain. So, the race is stopped, and will be restarted, the next day.
What will happen is, the motorcycle GP will follow the final car race (the Formula 3 Grand Prix), and be shortened by five laps, for a total distance of ten laps. It's now or never for the bike race as the F3 car race had plenty of red flags in it. At the start, Gary Johnson takes the race lead immediately. Rutter and McGuinness follow. Conor Cummins is fourth. Martin Jessopp is down the field as Rutter passes Johnson. McGuinness is running well on his Honda.
He follows right behind Johnson, and will pick up speed as the race continues. McGuinness will have to stick to Rutter like glue. The bikes round the Melco hairpin. Martin Jessopp and Simon Andrews are moving forward. McGuinness has his bike set for power up the hills and not necessarily outright straightaway speed. Conor Cummins and Martin Jessopp battle through Lisboa. Up San Francisco Hill, everyone settles down just a bit.
Jessopp wants to pass Cummins. Horst Saiger has also joined in this battle. Up the hill to Moorish, there's a hard stop after a 90 degree right hand curve. Then comes the Donna Maria section of the track. Johnson has passed McGuinness as Michael Rutter leads. It's close through the hairpin, going back downhill. There's passing in the Melco hairpin. Unlike in the car races at Macau, there are no corner flags for the motorcycles.
McGuinness is looking for a way around Johnson. The bikes start another lap, heading down the front straight, towards the Mandarin. Simon Andrews sets fast lap at 2:28.891. McGuinness closes up and then drops back from Gary Johnson. Andrews passes Johnson. He makes the move going through Lisboa. McGuinness is pushing as the front wheel of his bike rose off the ground on the uphill. The track is surrounded by walls. If you wanted to play pinball riding a motorcycle, this is how it's done, folks, on the streets of Macau.
McGuinness wanted to pass Gary Johnson, but had Simon Andrews take him entirely by surprise. Martin Jessopp has faded slightly. Everyone thought he'd be in contention for a win here. Not the case so far. Simon Andrews is right up on Gary Johnson's rear wheel. Andrews does it again, getting right around Johnson. One lap to halfway. Jessopp takes possession of fast lap at 2:27.249. He has passed John McGuinness and is going to be on top of Simon Andrews soon.
Jessopp has an extra burst of speed, getting around Simon Andrews. Michael Rutter holds the lead by two and a half seconds. Johnson is now second. He'll need to hold his line, as you cannot make defensive moves around a track this narrow. Jessopp is setting all the purple (fastest of all) sector times, even though Michael Rutter holds down P1. Jessopp flies by Johnson on the straight just past Melco hairpin. Jessopp has flown from sixth to second in one lap! It's the halfway mark already. The riders are on lap five of ten.
Andrews continues to hound Johnson while 1-2 it's Rutter followed by Jessopp. Don't count out Simon Andrews on his BMW either. Jessopp in sector one, is three tenths quicker than Michael Rutter, the leader. Jessopp picks up 2/10ths on Rutter now. 1:34.8 for Jessopp, and 1:35 flat for Rutter. Some riders who might lose energy during a longer race, won't do so, since this race is run at a shortened distance. Jessopp is almost a second quicker than Rutter. Rutters lap is 2:29.033, while Jessopp is running a 2:28.043.
McGuinness and Johnson battle until McGuinness goes straight on down an escape road at Lisboa. McGuinnness outbrakes himself. Jessopp is still hounding Rutter. It's just that Rutter has a real comfortable margin. Well, maybe not so comfortable. It's actually shrinking. Rutter goes purple in sector two. Rutter runs a 1:33.9, and Jessopp, a 1:34.7. Rutter is very well on his way to an eighth win in the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix. Rutter runs a personal best time in sector one another time. His lap is a 2:27.432, while Jessopp still needs a few more hundreths at 2:27.567.
The Ducati has an advantage on the longer, faster sections, compared to the Honda. Rutter is still up by a second, and Martin Jessopp is running out of time, with just three laps left. Simon Andrews is third. Michael Rutter increases his lead margin to 3.5 seconds. These guys are now racing more like a traditional bike road race. That is, against the clock, rather than against each other. Rutter is in traffic, which may give Martin Jessopp and opportunity.
The gap goes up with a lap or so left. Rutter turns in a 2:28.111, while Jessopp, can only muster 2:28.709. Is Rutter in the clear? Will Martin Jessopp have an opportunity to challenge? Jessopp has a fast bike. But, Rutter has been running the Macau motorcycle race for a lot longer. So, he knows the track. Simon Andrews in third, is out of contention, except for that final place on the podium. Rutter begins the last lap of the race.
Jessopp is still quickest on the long, wide straightaways. But, the gap grows. It's five plus seconds between Michael Rutter and Martin Jessopp now. Rutter goes through Lisboa one more time, still quicker by a second or so. Rutter is in cruise mode from here on out. Michael Rutter goes through Melko hairpin once more, and is headed for victory. Doing a wheelie on the front straight, Michael Rutter wins Macau Grand Prix number eight! Will he come back for the 60th anniversary in 2013 and go for a ninth win? Odds are, the answer would be, yes.
#1 Michael Rutter SMT Racing Honda
So ends a fabulous season in 2012 of the Bike Road Racing Championship! 2013 beckons, and we'll see what happens then. So long, for now.
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