This Thursday the Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition starts, where Honda Racing’s John McGuinness and Conor Cummins will be reunited with their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines, as the 2016 road-racing season draws to a close.
Fired up and ready for close racing action, both McGuinness and Cummins know that competition will be high as they brush shoulders with the walls and Armco that line the 3.8-mile Guia street circuit in China.
A successful outing last year saw McGuinness make the move of the race as he breathtakingly snatched the fourth-place spot from rival Gary Johnson. Victorious once in 2001, the ‘Morecambe Missile’ is keen to score another win at the street circuit.
Team-mate Cummins is also hoping to finish his 2016 season in style with a podium finish, or by taking his debut win at the circuit. Last year the Manxman finished seventh, after enjoying good on-track battles aboard the Fireblade over the 12 laps.
The Macau Grand Prix attracts road-racers from the UK, Europe, America and Asia at an event that sees both two and four-wheel racing over the same weekend. Honda has enjoyed past success at this unique event, with the most recent win in 2012.
Practice for the Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition starts on Thursday 17 November at 0730 HKT (GMT 2330 Wednesday 18 November), with the race-taking place on Saturday 19 November at 1530 HKT (GMT 0730 Saturday).
Suncity Group Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 50th Edition schedule:
Thursday 17 November (GMT+8)
0730 – 0830 – Practice
1545 – 1630 – Qualifying 1
Friday 18 November:
0730 – 0830 – Qualifying 2
Saturday 19 November:
1120 – 1140 – Warm up
1530 – 1630 – Race (12 laps)
John McGuinness 1
I can’t wait to get out to Macau this year, last year was my first time back since 2013 and I just love the place. I haven’t ridden the Fireblade on the road since the TT, I had a little outing on her at Darley Moor a few weeks ago, so can’t wait to get going for practice. Last year I finished fourth, the boys were on fire and it was tough competition. I got an average start off the line and after that, it was just wheel-to-wheel for the 12 laps. I made a move on Gary (Johnson) for fourth-place, it was a brave move but I had confidence in myself and the Fireblade that we’d make it, so thought go for it! I’m pretty certain this year the competition will be strong again, the lads are hungry for Macau and taking the win, so we’ll see what we can do and just have some fun.
Conor Cummins 10
I really can’t wait to get to Macau; it’s a superb event and I love racing there. Last year was the first time I raced the Fireblade there and it was faultless throughout. We had good practice and qualifying sessions, I started the race from seventh and finished seventh, but the competition was strong and racing from the go was wheel-to-wheel. Everyone on track wants that win, so from the start it’s very close. The last time I rode the CBR was at the Ulster GP, which seems like so long ago now, and I can’t wait to get going for practice.
Neil Tuxworth
Team Manager
Macau really is a unique event, which we all really enjoy coming out to, it’s a nice way to round off the road-race season. Honda over the years has enjoyed wins and success there, so we’re hoping this year that we can repeat this. Both John and Conor really enjoy riding at Macau and the Fireblade always goes well, so we’re looking forward to seeing what the boys can do.
