Guia Race preview: CTCC and TCR to battle it out on the streets of Macau

The new rules for the Guia Race 2.0T this year have paved the way for China Touring Car Championship cars to join the party along with the TCR cars, which were the sole protagonists last year.

The addition means that the CTCC cars, which some expect to be faster than the TCRs, will have a good chance of securing the Guia Race. To that respect, BTCC regular Adam Morgan is surely among the favourites, driving a CTCC-spec Mercedes-Benz C260.

However, Teamwork Motorsport will field their Citroën C-Elysée CTCC cars, driven by Alex Hui and Sunny Wong. As race winners in their national series, they should probably be regarded as potential contenders for the ultimate glory.

However, the track does not always respect predictions, so the TCR-equipped drivers should not be completely ruled out. In particular Tiago Monteiro is a Macau regular, returning after a one-year absence to the former Portuguese colony.

“The level of competitiveness is very high in the international TCR,” said the Honda driver. 

“The drivers are experienced and they have the advantage of having participated in the entire championship. I will do my best and if I can fight at the front it will be very good and it is my intention, but if not, I will try to take some pleasure from it and put on a good show and enjoy the experience.

“The TCR championship will be played out in Macau and I do not want to risk disrupting the race for the title contenders.”

The race will in fact serve as the TCR International Series finale, as well as awarding the traditional Guia Race.

Free practice will start on Thursday morning at 11:25, lasting 30 minutes. The second session will take place at 12:30 on Friday, while qualifying is scheduled for early in the morning on Saturday, with the Q1-Q2 format as per TCR International Series regulations. However, there will be no reversed grid for the second race, with the starting grid  determined by the finishing order of the first “qualifying” race.

The award for the Guia Race 2.0T champion will be awarded to the winner of Race 2, which last year was Stefano Comini.

2016 Guia Race 2.0T Timetable

Thursday 17th November
11:25 – Free Practice 1

Friday 18th November
12:30 – Free Practice 2

Saturday 19th November
7:30 – Qualifying

Sunday 20th November
10:05 – Race 1 (10 Laps)
11:20 – Race 2 (10 Laps)

All times CST. GMT-8.

2016 Guia Race 2.0T Entry List

No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car
1 – Stefano Comini – SUI – Leopard Racing Team – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
2 – Jean-Karl Vernay – FRA – Leopard Racing Team – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
3 – Andy Yan – HKG – Engstler Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
4 – Adam Morgan – GBR – Star Team – Mercedes-Benz C260 CTCC
6 – Tim Zimmermann – GER – Engstler Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
7 – Davit Kajaia – GEO – Engstler Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
8 – Mikhail Grachev – RUS – WestCoast Racing – Honda Civic TCR
9 – Attila Tassi – HUN – B3 Racing Team – SEAT León TCR
10 – Gianni Morbidelli – ITA – WestCoast Racing – Honda Civic TCR
11 – Alex Hui – HKG – Teamwork Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysee CTCC
12 – Sunny Wong – HKG – Teamwork Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysee CTCC
14 – Wei Chao Yin – CHN – Son Veng Racing Team – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
17 – Terence Tse – HKG – Roadstar Racing Team – SEAT León Cup Racer
20 – Lou Hon Kei – MAC – Elegant Racing Team – SEAT León Cup Racer
21 – Zhang Ya Qi – CHN – Linky Racing – Audi A3 CTCC
22 – Petr Fulín – CZE – Mulsanne Racing – Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR
23 – Andrea Belicchi – ITA – Mulsanne Racing – Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR
27 – Bill O’Brien – HKG – Teamwork Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
28 – Kevin Tse – HKG – Teamwork Motorsport – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
33 – Jiang Tengyi – CHN – Linky Racing – Audi A3 CTCC
35 – Rafael Galiana – FRA – Target Competition – SEAT León TCR
38 – Ho Hon Keong – MAC – Champ Motorsport – Honda Civic TCR
48 – Antti Buri – FIN – LMS Racing – SEAT León Cup Racer
50 – Josh Files – GBR – Target Competition – Honda Civic TCR
54 – James Nash – GBR – Craft-Bamboo Racing – SEAT León TCR
62 – Dusan Borkovic – SRB – B3 Racing Team – SEAT León TCR
65 – Douglas Khoo – MAS – Viper Niza Racing – SEAT León TCR
68 – Tang Chi Lun – HKG – Tang Chi Lun – Honda Civic TCR
70 – Mat’o Homola – SVK – B3 Racing Team – SEAT León TCR
74 – Pepe Oriola – SPN – Craft-Bamboo Racing – SEAT León TCR
77 – Sergey Afanasyev – RUS – Craft-Bamboo Racing – SEAT León TCR
78 – Kenneth Ma – HKG – FRD Racing Team – Ford Focus TCR
81 – Tiago Monteiro – POR – WestCoast Racing – Honda Civic TCR
83 – Tin Sritrai – THA – Team Thailand – Honda Civic TCR
97 – Edgar Lau – HKG – Asia Racing Team – SEAT León Cup Racer
99 – William Lok – HKG – Star Team – Mercedes-Benz C260 CTCC