The 2020 Macau Grand Prix was a
Formula 4
FIA Formula 4 (F4) is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, but rather individual nations or regions can host their own championships in compliance with a universal set of rules and speci ...
(F4) car race that took place on the
streets of Macau on 22 November 2020. Because of strict Chinese quarantine regulations brought on by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the race became an F4 event (rather than
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
History
Formula Three (adop ...
) for the first time in 37 years and was part of the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(FIA)-administered
China Formula 4 Championship
The F4 Chinese Championship () is a racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4. The inaugural season was the 2015–16 edition.
History
Gerhard Berger and the FIA Singleseater Commission launched the FIA Formula 4 in March 2013. T ...
. The event featured two races: an eight-lap qualifying race to set the
grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Space partitioning
* Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs
** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...
for the twelve-lap main event. The 2020
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...
was the race's 67th running, the first for F4 cars, and the final meeting of the three-round
2020 F4 Chinese Championship
The 2020 F4 Chinese Championship (Shell Helix FIA F4 Chinese Championship) was the sixth season of the F4 Chinese Championship. It began on 19 September at the Zhuhai International Circuit and ended on 22 November at Guia Circuit as a part of the ...
.
Hon Chio Leong of Smart Life Racing Team won the Grand Prix from
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
after winning the qualification race the day before. Leong was the first Macau driver to win the Macau Grand Prix since
André Couto
André Bragança Macedo e Couto ( zh, t=安德烈·高度; born 14 December 1976) is a Macau, Macanese in the
2000 race, and the third overall.
Wing Chung Chang
Wing Chung "Andy" Chang ( zh, t=鄭頴聰, born 26 October 1996 in Macau) is a retired racing driver from Macau. He formerly competed in the China Formula 4 Championship and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
Andy Chang finished second in ...
of the
Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit Team finished second, and the podium was completed by the highest-placed Chinese driver, Li Sicheng of the LEO Geeke Team, who finished third. The race results earned He Zijian the Drivers' Championship and the LEO Geeke Team the Teams' Cup.
Background
The
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...
, Macau's most prestigious international sporting event, is an annual auto race which is considered a stepping stone to higher
motor-racing
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...
categories such as
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
. The 2020 Macau Grand Prix was the 67th edition of the event, and its first running under
Formula 4
FIA Formula 4 (F4) is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, but rather individual nations or regions can host their own championships in compliance with a universal set of rules and speci ...
regulations.
It was held on the temporary
Guia Circuit
The Guia Circuit, or Circuito da Guia, is a street circuit located at the southeast region of the Macau Peninsula in Macau. It is the venue of the Macau Grand Prix, Macau Grand Prix #Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix (1967–), Macau Motorcycle Gran ...
in the streets of Macau on 22 November 2020 with two preceding days of practice and qualifying.
After the event was held as a non-championship round of the
FIA Formula 3 Championship
The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...
for the first time in
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, the series was due to return for a second year. With quarantine restrictions introduced due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, however, the plan was abandoned by the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee in early September;
Euroformula Open
The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
and
Super Formula Lights
is a national formula racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses the same single seater chassis as the pan-European Euroformula Open Championship. The series will be the first with the new ...
cars complying with Formula 3 regulations could not compete in Macau. Since Macau had imposed a 14-day quarantine for overseas visitors, most drivers came from Hong Kong, Macau and China.
The 2020 race was part of the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(FIA)-administered
China Formula 4 Championship
The F4 Chinese Championship () is a racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4. The inaugural season was the 2015–16 edition.
History
Gerhard Berger and the FIA Singleseater Commission launched the FIA Formula 4 in March 2013. T ...
, featuring
Mygale
Mygale Racing Car Constructor (Mygale SARL) was a French racing car manufacturer that specialised in the production of Open wheel car, single seater chassis for use in formula racing. It is most notable for its Formula Ford chassis. Mygale also ...
cars powered by a Geely G-Power JLD-4G20 engine,
[ and was the last of three meetings of the 2020 season.]
After the second Zhuhai International Circuit
Zhuhai International Circuit (ZIC) () is located at Jin Ding town in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, China.
Motorsport started in Zhuhai when it hosted a race on its Zhuhai Street Circuit, street circuit in 1993. Racing continued there until ...
meeting a month earlier,[ Smart Life Racing Team driver He Zijian led the Drivers' Championship with 169 points (ahead of of FFA Racing and Leo Geeke Team's Li Sicheng in second and third places with 78 points each). Pointer Racing driver was fourth with 75 points, and ]BlackArts Racing Team
BlackArts Racing Team (BAR) is a Chinese motor racing team that was formed in January, 2015. Its main operational headquarters is located within the Zhuhai International Circuit, in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province bordering Macau.
The teams business o ...
competitor Zhu Yuanjie was fifth with 64 points. In the Teams' Cup, Smart Life Racing Team led with 175 points; Leo Geeke Team was second with 119 points, and Black Arts Racing Team was third with 115. FFA Racing and Pointer Racing were in fourth and fifth place with 109 and 75 points, respectively.
Drivers 15 years of age or older were invited to compete by Macau's governing body, the Associação Geral Automóvel de Macau-China, and entries had to be filed between 17 August and 11 September 2020. The entry list of 17 drivers was released on 4 November; it featured local drivers Hon Chio Leong, Wing Chung Chang
Wing Chung "Andy" Chang ( zh, t=鄭頴聰, born 26 October 1996 in Macau) is a retired racing driver from Macau. He formerly competed in the China Formula 4 Championship and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
Andy Chang finished second in ...
and Drivers' Championship leader He. Wong moved from Henmax Motorsport to replace Cheng Tao at Leo Geeke Team, and Hong joined Asia Racing Team from FFA Racing. The Grand Prix was originally scheduled to use a rolling start (a change to the series' regulations), but the plan was abandoned on 19 November in favour of a standing start in line with China Formula 4 Championship meetings. Double championship points were awarded for the qualifying and main races.
Practice
There were two 35-minute practice sessions preceding the race on 20 November: one in mid-morning, and the second later that afternoon. The first practice session took place in clear weather. Li Sicheng lapped fastest (with three minutes remaining), with a time of 2 minutes, 34.106 seconds before improving to two minutes, 33.209 seconds on his final lap; he was 1.281 seconds ahead of Chang in second position. Positions three through five were held by He, Chao Yin Wei and Ling Kang. No major incidents occurred during the session. Conditions continued to be clear for the second practice session. Leong set the fastest lap time early in the session at 2 minutes, 33.466 seconds before improving to two minutes, 30.893 seconds midway through. He later improved to two minutes, 30.168 seconds, with ten minutes remaining, to conclude the session fastest. Chang was second-fastest, ahead of Li, Ling and He. Soon after Leong lapped fastest,[ Zhu collided with the barrier at the right-hand Faraway Hill corner in the track's mountain section, prompting officials to end the session with eight minutes to go.][
]
Qualifying
The 20-minute qualifying session on the morning on 21 November determined the qualification race's starting order with each driver's fastest lap times. Drivers who were outside 110 percent of the fastest lap time in their category would not qualify for the event. Conditions were dry for the session. Cheng was the early pacesetter before He led with a 2-minute, 31.970-second time which Leong would improve to 2 minutes, 29.794 seconds. Yellow flags waved during the final minutes of the session, which prevented any improvement from Leong; however, his time was fast enough for pole position. Leong was joined on the grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Space partitioning
* Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs
** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...
's front row by Li: the highest-ranked driver eligible to score championship points, since Leong was a previous China Formula 4 Championship winner. Li's time demoted Chang to third place, with Ling moving to fourth in the qualifier's final six minutes; the drivers were separated by less than a second. He qualified fifth, with Kit, Junjie Lu, Yang Liu, Wei and Zong Yi Shang placing seventh through tenth. Yucheng Zeng, Zhu, Jing Zefeng, Weifu Huang, Hui Zheng, Ying Fu Hon and Song Tao Yu, in 11th through 17th place, were the final qualifying drivers. The session was disrupted when Hui lost control of his car on the main straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, normal person
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing
* Str ...
before Hong ran deep onto the run-off area
A run-off area is an area on a motorsport race track used for racer safety. Run-off areas are usually located along a road racing circuit where racers are most likely to unintentionally depart from the prescribed course. There are different types ...
at the Lisboa turn during his final lap.
Qualifying classification
Bold time indicates the faster of the three times that determined the starting order for the qualification race.
Qualifying race
The eight-lap qualifying race to determine the starting order for the main event began at 14:20 p.m. on 21 November; conditions were dry. Leong maintained his pole position advantage heading into Lisboa corner. Li and Chang were alongside each other on the straight, with Chang overtaking Li at the Mandarin Oriental Bend turn. Liu moved from eighth to fourth during the first lap; Kwan fell from sixth to ninth, and Chao improved from ninth to eighth. Leong held a 1.654-second gap over Chang to start the second lap, as Ling began duelling He for fourth place. Zeng crashed during the second lap in the mountainous area of the circuit and created a brief blockage which necessitated the safety car
In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...
, since Huang could not restart his vehicle and required assistance from the marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
to push start
Push starting, also known as bump starting, roll starting, clutch starting, popping the clutch or crash starting, is a method of starting a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine that has a manual transmission, a mechanical fuel pump, a ...
his car. Jing retired during the safety-car period when he stopped at the Melco hairpin
A hairpin or hair pin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place. It may be used simply to secure long hair out of the way for convenience or as part of an elaborate hairstyle or coiffure. The earliest evidence for dressing the ha ...
, creating a brief 13-car blockage until his vehicle was removed from the road. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of the fourth lap as Zhu and Hong made contact when racing was about to resume. Hong resumed, as the top section of Zhu's front wing was removed.
Li attempted to overtake Chang towards the Lisboa corner but decided to bow out of the manoeuvre. The safety car was dispatched for the second time on the fifth lap. Hui crashed at high speed into the guardrail on the Solitude Esses, and the resulting cleanup lasted until the seventh lap. The race was restarted on the final lap, with Leong leading Chang. Through the Mandarin Bend Oriental corner, Chang was close behind Leong and attempted to pass him on the outside when Leong turned inside. Chang drew alongside Leong (braking at the Lisboa corner), but Leong kept the lead. On the final lap, Wei, He and Ling were involved in separate crashes into the left-hand barrier. Leong maintained the lead for the remainder of the event to claim victory and pole position for the main race. He was the first Macau driver to win a single-seater
An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...
motor race in Macau since Cheong Lou Meng finished first in the 2004 Formula Renault
Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to auto racing, motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before mov ...
undercard round. Chang was 0.867 seconds later in second place, with Li another 1.4 seconds behind in third. Liu was in fourth place, Zong fifth, Hong sixth, Zhu seventh, Lu eighth, Wong ninth and Yingfu tenth; He, Ling and Wei were the final classified finishers. Despite his accident, He took the Drivers' Championship with one race to go.
Qualification race classification
Main race
The twelve-lap main race began in sunny weather at 15:30 local time on 22 November. Leong took the lead at the start of the race, weaving on the main straight to keep Chang in second position going into the Mandarin Oriental Bend turn. Chang slipstreamed, drawing closer to Leong into the Lisboa corner as Liu overtook Li on the inside for third place on the turn. The safety car was deployed on the first lap when Liu crashed into the right-side barrier on the track's mountain section (cresting the Faraway Hill corner), since his car needed to be removed. Yu went into a run-off area, and retired from the race as well. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of the third lap, and racing resumed with Leong in the lead. On the fifth lap, Lu tried to pass Hong on the Mandarin Oriental Bend but Hong held onto fourth place on the inside; Shang was passed for seventh place by Ling on that lap. Yuan dropped from sixth to tenth place on the sixth lap as Shang overtook him on the main straight and He passed Yuan at the Lisboa corner. Hong blocked a passing attempt by Lo for fourth place going into the Lisboa corner on lap seven. Hong and Lu were alongside each other later in the lap, but Hong held onto fourth place.
Hong and Lo's battle for fourth place enabled Ling to gain on both drivers and join the duel on the eighth lap. On lap ten, Lo passed Hong on the inside for fourth place at the Mandarin Oriental Bend. Ling tried to pass Hong cresting San Francisco Hill, but was hampered by slower cars. Ling drew alongside Hong at the Reservoir Bend to start lap 11, but decided not to pass him on the Mandarin Oriental Bend. Chang had cut Leong's three-second lead to 0.723 seconds during the lap 11 when they encountered slower cars. On the final lap, a lapped car on San Francisco Hill delayed Leong enough for Chang to catch up. On his third attempt, Leong won the race in 36 minutes, 38.984 seconds. He was the first driver from Macau to win the Macau Grand Prix since André Couto
André Bragança Macedo e Couto ( zh, t=安德烈·高度; born 14 December 1976) is a Macau, Macanese in 2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, and the third in race history. Chang finished second, 0.513-second behind, and Li was 23 seconds later in third for the event's first all-Asian podium since 1971. The final 15 classified finishers were Lu, Hong, Ling, He, Shang, Zhu, Wei, Jing, Weifu, Zheng, Zeng and Hon. The race gave Huang the Masters' Cup, with Li taking Rookie of the Year honours and Leo Geeke Team winning the Teams' Cup.
Main race classification
After the race
The top three finishers appeared on the podium and at a later press conference. Leong said about his victory, "I just reached one of my childhood dreams, I’m a bit wordless I don't know how to describe what I’m feeling right now, I feel like I’m dreaming." He added, "I had a couple of cars blocking me through the mountain part ate in the raceand I was struggling quite a bit to get past them. In the end it was really, really close. I think I used my tyres a bit too quick at the start of the race. It was pretty tough."[ Leong acknowledged that residents were upset that the Grand Prix was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he felt it was important to demonstrate that Macau was safe for mainland Chinese visitors.] Chang said about his second-place finish, "In the beginning I was trying to get closer, but Charles was so quick, I couldn't catch him. And then on the last lap I saw there was a slow car in front, and I thought I had a chance. But I'm really happy to finish second." Third-place finisher Li expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete in the race, but admitted to feeling slightly nervous in the presence of the media. He concluded the race "was an excellent first experience."
He Zijian won the Drivers' Championship with 193 points, ahead of Chang (153 points) and Li (150). Hong finished the season in fourth place with 126 points, and Lo was fifth with 117. With 211 points, Leo Geeke Team finished the 2020 season first in the Teams' Cup competition. Smart Life Racing were in second place with 199 points, and the Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit Team placed third with 155. BlackArts Racing Team were in fourth place with 147 points, and Pointer Racing finished fifth with 117.
Post-race standings
;Drivers' Championship
;Teams' Cup
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
* 2020 Macau Guia Race
The 2020 Macau Guia Race was the fifth edition of the Macau Guia Race under the TCR Regulations held at Guia Circuit in Macau on 19–22 November 2020. The race was contested with TCR touring cars and run in support of the 2020 edition of ...
References
External links
*
{{Macau F3 Grand Prix years
Macau Grand Prix
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...
Macau Grand Prix Formula Four
Macau Grand Prix Formula Four