The final round of the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) will be held on the Guia Circuit on public roads in downtown Macau. During the race week of the Macau Grand Prix, many other races such as a GT, F3 and motorcycle race will also take place at the same time, and the qualifying and races of the WTCC are scheduled for Friday 16 and Sunday 18 November respectively.

Started in 1954, the classic Macau Grand Prix is competed on a six-kilometre track on public roads both in the seaside near the ferry port and in the mountains. The circuit is known to be one of the most challenging ones in the world with bad condition asphalt as well as Armco barriers and concrete walls along its whole length. The track features two different characteristics –fast sections at the seaside and technical sections in the mountains. With almost no runoff areas, car set up and driving are also very difficult there and frequent accidents could make the race unpredictable.

This final round of the season will be the third outing for the Civic WTCC since its debut. The team has gained experience and developed the car through actual races. They will do their best, trying many things and adding to their experience again in Macau in preparation for next season.

Comments

Driver Tiago Monteiro:

“Macau will be another story, a completely different game with a completely different track, different atmosphere and a different car set up. It will probably be the most difficult one because the track is very bumpy and narrow. It will be a very difficult track for everybody. That’s why it’ll be very important to know your car very well, which we don’t yet. So, we are going step by step and try to improve in every session. I am not going to go crazy but we’ll push hard again. We’ll fight and learn at the same time for next year.”

Honda Racing Team JAS Team Principal, Alessandro Mariani:

“Macau will be a challenging race and many things can happen. It will be very difficult to predict the results even if you have a car that is a lot faster than others. Macau is the last round of the season, so we’ll do our best and gain as much experience as possible for next year.”

Chief Engineer for Civic WTCC Development, Daisuke Horiuchi:

“I have never been to the circuit in Macau and I expect the races will be very challenging there. Team members who know the track have told me that racing there is like gambling. I suppose that’s because luck could often determine a good part of the races on that track.

I feel that our car is getting better. We have experienced many things through racing at Suzuka and in Shanghai, and the car has definitely improved thanks to this experience. We will do our best for the areas such as reliability and balance to prepare for the last race of the season in Macau. And for everything else, I hope our driver will do a good job and fortune will favour us in the races.”