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 and Guia Race of Macau. The circuit consists of long straights and tight corners, and features the characteristics of a typical street circuit - narrow, bumpy and limited overtaking opportunities. However, there are two special features that can rarely be found in other street circuits - variation in altitude (over 30 m (100 ft) between highest and lowest point of the circuit) and an ultra long main straight that allows top speed of 260 km/h (160 mph) on Formula Three cars. As a result, the circuit is recognised as one of the most challenging circuits in the world in terms of both driving and tuning, as cars have to maintain competitive speed to overcome hill-climbing, twisty corners and long straights in a single lap.

Guia Circuit
LocationMacau
Time zoneGMT +8
FIA Grade2 (Restricted)
Major eventsFormula Three
Length6.2 km (3.8 mi)
Turns19
Race lap record2:06.317 (Jüri Vips, Hitech GP, 2019, Formula Three)
Websitegp.macau.grandprix.gov.mo

History

The Guia Circuit was originally conceived in 1954 as the route for a treasure hunt around the streets of the city,[1] but shortly after the event it was suggested that the hunt's track could host an amateur racing event for local motor enthusiasts. Since 1967, with the introduction of a motorcycle race, the track has become a venue for both motorcycle and car racing events.

Racing events

The circuit is unique for its combination of motorcycle and car racing events within the same race weekend. The Macau Motorcycle GP, the Guia Race (WTCC final rounds from 2005 to 2014) and the Macau Formula 3 GP are the highlights of the race weekend. In addition, various kind of racing events are organized for competition between local and regional (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South East Asia, etc.) enthusiasts.

Layout

Unlike other regular racing tracks in the world, the layout of the Guia Circuit has not been modified since its first event in 1954 (the pit and paddock complex has been relocated to the present location since 1993, but the layout of the circuit has not been changed). The narrowest part of the track has a width of merely 7 m (23 ft), which is located at the Melco Hairpin. The whole length of the circuit is safely bounded by Armco barriers painted in black and yellow stripes. There used to be a gravel trap near the Reservoir Bend but since the pit and paddock complex was moved to the present location, this feature has been removed.

Grandstands

There are two major grandstands around the circuit for spectators to watch live racing - the main grandstand along the pit straight and the other one at the Lisboa Bend. The Lisboa Bend is the most famous spot of excitement as it offers the only possible overtaking opportunity at the end of the main straight. On the other hand, it is also notorious for massive pile-ups on opening laps due to its 90-degree turn configuration and its significant reduction in track width. As a result, the ticket price for a seat at the Lisboa Bend is much higher than that of a seat at the main grandstand. But as with most street circuits there are many people who stand or sit next to the track or on bridges and fly overs.

Lap records

Italics indicate discontinued class.

CategoryRecordDriverCar/BikeDate
1993–[2]
Formula 3 Grand Prix 2:06.317 Jüri Vips Dallara F3 2019-Mecachrome 2019[3]
GT Cup 2:17.182 Earl Bamber Porsche 911 GT3 R 2019[4]
Formula Renault 2:23.135 Scott Speed Tatuus-Renault F7R 2004
Motorcycle Grand Prix 2:23.616 Stuart Easton Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R 2010
Guia Race WTCC TC1 2:26.469 Robert Huff Citroën C-Elysée WTCC 2017[5]
Porsche Carrera Cup 2:27.343 Darryl O'Young Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 2007
Guia race (Super Touring) 2:29.253 Steve Soper BMW 320i 1997
Formula BMW 2:29.449 William Buller Mygale FB02-BMW K1200RS 2009
Asian Formula 2000 2:30.052 Philippe Descombes Argo-Ford Zetec 1.8 2001
Guia race (Super 2000) 2:30.881 Robert Huff Chevrolet Cruze 2011
Guia Race WTCR 2:31.038 Robert Huff Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 2018
Road Sport Challenge 2:32.974 Manabu Orido Nissan GT-R 2010
Guia Race TCR 2:34.136 Robert Huff Honda Civic TCR 2015
Guia race (Super Production) 2:39.634 Simon Harrison Honda Integra Type-R 2003
CTM Touring Car[6] 2:40.916 Paul Poon Chevrolet Lacetti 2012
Supercar race 2:41.877 Kevin Wong Porsche 911 GT3R 2000
ACMC race 2:42.591 Cheung Wai On Honda RS125 2003
Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup 2:46.183 Duncan Huisman Volkswagen Scirocco R 2013[7]
Interport race[8] 2:48.216 Alvaro Mourato Honda Integra DC5 2010
CTM Cup (Super 1600) 2:46.990 Paul Poon Peugeot RCZ 2015[9]
Chinese Cup[10] 2:58.203 David Zhu Senova D70 2016[11]

Appearances in video games
Simulation / Video GameYearConfiguration
1967 2014
Race - The Official WTCC Game 2006 Yes No
RaceRoom 2013 No Yes
Race 07 2007 Yes No
Ride 2 2016 - -
Project Gotham Racing 4 (Fictional) 2007 - -
Race Pro 2009 Yes No
TT Superbikes Real Road Racing 2005 PS2 No

See also

References
  1. "Fernando Macedo Pinto, one of the founders of the Macau Grand Prix" (in Portuguese). Blog Macau Antigo. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  2. After moving the start line back
  3. "Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix – FIA F3 World Cup – Qualification Race – Final Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix. Macau Grand Prix Committee. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  4. "SJM Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup – Main Race – Final Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix. Macau Grand Prix Committee. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-06-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Officially known as CTM Cup
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-11-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. For Macanese and Hong Kong professional drivers, previously two separate races each different nationalities, replaced by Chinese Cup.
  9. "CTM Macau Touring Car Cup – Race – Official Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix. Macau Grand Prix Committee. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  10. One-make race for Senova D70s.
  11. "Suncity Group Chinese Racing Cup – Race – Final Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix. Macau Grand Prix Committee. 19 November 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

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