suncity group title sponsor for 63rd macau grand...

Macau Grand Prix gazette VOL.1 ISSUE 1 JULY 2016 1

Suncity Group Title Sponsor for 63rd Macau Grand Prix

Suncity Group has been announced as the title sponsor for the Macau Grand Prix for the third consecutive year. Officially named the Suncity Group 63rd Macau Grand Prix, the event will be held from November 17-20.

The Macau-based premium leisure, travel and entertainment conglomerate continues its support of the city’s prestigious annual motorsport festival, which each year wins praise from

across the globe.

With strong interest shown in this year’s Macau Grand Prix by numerous commercial organisations, further details of event partners will be issued, however for the second consecutive year, Maserati Safety, Medical, Rescue and Official vehicles will be provided by Auto Italia Limited and Kong Fong Motors Company Limited.

Promotion of the event is already well underway. Beginning in April with a Macau Grand Prix exhibition at the Chinese F1 Grand Prix in

Shanghai, additional roadshows are running throughout China until October. Closer to home, emphasis on educating and engaging the younger generation of Macau residents continues, with students from a number of schools taking part in visits to the Grand Prix Building where they are given a behind-the-scenes insight into the workings of the city’s premier annual sporting event.

Ticket prices have been announced. For holders of valid Macau student cards, entrance to Reservoir stand is MOP130 per day on race days. Regular tickets for practice and qualifying in all three grandstands are MOP50 per day, while race day tickets per day are priced at MOP350 for Reservoir Stand; MOP550 for Grand Stand A; and MOP900 for Lisboa Stand.

VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 1 | JULY 2016

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Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee

While the success of the Macau Grand Prix continues to rely upon the formidable support, expertise, commitment and

hard work of the city’s residents, responsibility for its organisation now rests with the Sports Bureau of the Macao SAR. The Grand Prix becomes the latest addition to the Bureau’s portfolio of major events, which also includes the Macau International Dragon Boat Festival, the FIVB Volleyball Grand Prix, the Macao Open golf and the Macao International Marathon.

Macau’s prestigious annual motorsport festival will benefit from the Bureau’s vast experience in organising major international sporting events. Meanwhile, key members of the former Macau Grand Prix Committee will continue to contribute their specialist knowledge while at the same time broadening their skill set through involvement in other sporting events.

A new Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee has been formed on which numerous government departments are represented. President of the Committee is Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Dr. Alexis Tam Chon Weng, while Sports Bureau President Mr. Pun Weng Kun is Coordinator. The Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee has 12 dedicated Subcommittees for different elements of the event.

Motorsport Showpiece puts Macau on World Map

Having grown beyond recognition from its humble origins as an amateur race meeting more than six decades ago, today the Macau Grand Prix has a race programme which is as prestigious as it is diverse. And the next target for

the jewel in the crown of Asian motorsport? To become a truly global brand for its creator: the city of Macau.

The Macau Grand Prix has earned its place in the hearts of millions across the globe. Last year, more than 80,000 spectators flocked to the grandstands over the four days of the event. A new record for revenue was set; MOP53 million, of which MOP12.7 million was from ticketing alone. More than 1,000 media representatives from 19 countries and territories covered the Grand Prix on behalf of over 200 media organisations. The Grand Prix was telecast in 934 separate broadcasts on 87 stations for a combined 752 hours to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.

Visitors to the official website www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo increased 53% over the previous year, with an astonishing 15 million hits in just four days. Visits from web users in the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Germany and Australia were amongst the top 10 countries, proving the event’s global appeal.

Along with the hundreds of overseas drivers, riders, teams and sponsors who descended upon Macau for the Grand Prix last year, 400,000 visitors arrived in the city over the four-day period, pushing occupancy levels in 3 to 5-star hotels to 93.47%.

Having earned a passionate global following, the next challenge for the Grand Prix is to spread the word yet wider, becoming an instantly-recognizable icon for a city as dynamic and glamourous as motorsport itself.

Macau Grand Prix gazette VOL.1 ISSUE 1 JULY 2016 3

Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee Motorcycle

Master of Macau

Record Breaking Rutter:

When Michael Rutter first stepped off the ferry in Macau in 1994, fellow Briton ‘Rocket’ Ron Haslam held the record for the most Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix wins. Haslam had won all six races he had entered at Macau between 1981 and 1987, and was at the time the city’s two-wheel hero.

Japanese rider Hiroshi Hasegawa had taken the first two Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix wins in 1967 and 1968,

while fellow countryman Sadeo Asami had notched up three victories between 1978 and 1980. British rider Steve Hislop was to take his third Macau title the year Rutter made his debut.

As Rutter took to the demanding Guia Circuit for the first time, little did he know he would one day smash Haslam’s Macau tally. However, Lady Luck wasn’t smiling during his first two Macau outings, but he made his first appearance on the podium in 1996 after finishing third behind Scotsman Roger Bennett and winner, multiple Isle of Man TT champion Phillip McCallen.

This was the first of what today stands at 16 Macau podiums for Rutter, including his astonishing eight victories, the first of which came in 1998, and is the win of which he is

MICHAEL RUTTER ON THE GRID AT THE 2015 MACAU MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX

most proud. Rutter dominated, taking pole position and setting the fastest lap on the way to beating Ian Simpson and road racing legend John McGuinness, who made his Macau debut that year.

“When I won my first Macau Grand Prix back in 1998, I never dreamed of winning eight and beating people like Ron Haslam and Steve Hislop,” says Rutter. “It’s been amazing and I’m hoping to hold onto this record a bit longer.”

For Rutter, motorcycle racing is in the genes. Father Tony’s successful career included seven Isle of Man TT race wins between 1973 and 1985, nine North West 200 victories and four Formula 2 World Championship titles. As well as his Macau record and successes at the world’s major road race meetings, Michael has also notched up 29 British Superbike Championship wins and has contested MotoGP and World Superbike Championship races.

For the younger Rutter, there was never any question which path his career would take: “I was too clever to be an astronaut so I decided to stick with bike racing,” he quips.

To watch him on a lap of 6.2km Guia street circuit, inch-perfect and smooth as silk, Rutter almost makes it look easy. Any rider who has ever competed at Macau will assure you it is anything but. Rutter believes the race is even more demanding than the mammoth 60.7km Isle of Man TT course: “Macau is more mentally and physically demanding because it’s a short circuit race. It’s hot and very hard on braking and very physical changing direction. Therefore, overall it’s more demanding.”

When Rutter made his Macau debut in 1994, the fastest lap of the race was 2:35.31. The current lap record, set by Scotsman Stuart Easton in 2010, stands at 2:23.616. As the lap times have fallen, the competition has increased and along with it the physical and mental demands on the riders as they hurtle between the stone walls and Armco barriers of the Guia Circuit. Yet Rutter was on the podium at Macau again last year, third behind Martin Jessopp and winner Peter Hickman. And he plans to be right back there after the 50th edition of the Far East classic this November: “It would be nice to be back on the podium again as it’s such a special year,” he says.

Never before has such complete mastery of the Guia Circuit been displayed by a motorcycle

MICHAEL RUTTER (CENTRE) AFTER HIS MAIDEN WIN IN 1998 WITH IAN SIMPSON (LEFT) AND JOHN MCGUINNESS (RIGHT)

4 Macau Grand Prix gazette VOL.1 ISSUE 1 JULY 2016

RUTTER: SMOOTH AS SILK

Macau Grand Prix Website Macau Grand Prix App

Macau Grand Prix Official Macau Grand Prix OfficialWeibo Wechat

Suncity Group 63rd Macau Grand Prix Tickets

Location Practice Days17 & 18 | 11 | 2016

Race Days19 & 20 | 11 | 2016

Grand Stand (A)(Free Seating)

MOP/RMB/HKD 50.00USD 6.50


Lisboa Stand (Numbered Seats)



Reservoir Stand (Free Seating)



*Reservoir Stand (Free Seating)*Valid Macau student card holders



Ticketing outlets

MACAUKong Seng / Macau Ticketing Service Website: www.macauticket.com Email: [email protected]: +853 2855 5555

HONG KONG Hong Thai Travel Services Hotline: +852 2108 8111Website: www.hongthai.com

MAINLAND CHINA

GuangdongHong Thai Travel Services Tel: +86 20 8760 8833

ShenzhenHong Thai Travel Tel: +86 755 8228 8222

China International Travel ServiceTel: +86 400 6282 1888 / +86 755 8231 7919

ZhuhaiZhuhai China Film Cinema (HuaFa Mall)Tel: +86 756 8698 882 / +86 756 8696 333

Zhong ShanCulture and Art Center CinemaTel: +86 760 8880 0088

Join us! Suncity Group 63rd Macau Grand PrixN O V E M B E R 1 7 - 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

For enquiries, please contactTel: + 853 87962216Email: [email protected]: www.facebook.com / MacauGrandPrix

Sports Bureau of Macao SAR GovernmentInstituto do Desporto do Governo da RAEM

rider in the 49 editions of the Grand Prix held so far. It therefore seems likely that Rutter’s name will remain in the Macau record books for a long time to come. His closest challenger in recent years has been Easton, who has so far collected four Macau titles, the most recent coming in 2014. Doubling that number seems a huge task, even for one as talented as Easton.

So what advice does Rutter have for the riders who will be making their Guia Circuit debuts this year? “Watch onboard laps as Macau has lots of corners that look similar,” he advises. But don’t study too hard. Rutter is rightly proud of his record and isn’t planning to relinquish his well-deserved title of ‘Two-Wheel King of Macau’ any time soon.

suncity group title sponsor for 63rd macau grand...

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