On too many Asian tours in the past I haven't had enough time to spend in Hong Kong. This year I allowed myself four nights in the Island Pacific Hotel in Western to chill out after the frantic time in Macau. Good to catch up with friends and read the South China Morning Post over an extended breakfast.
Monday morning check out of Holiday Inn in Macau and catch 11:05 ferry in the company of Phil Newsome and son William. To the Island Pacific sharing a cab with Jessie Leong. Get laundry done at hole-in-the-wall place in Centre Street, the bargain of the trip at HK$24, about £2. After an afternoon nap I hop a bus to Central and take supper in a Japanese restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong all by myself. Home early to bed. They are rather fussy in the hotel taking great exception to me taking my shoes off while sitting in the foyer.
Tues: Up early and breakfast at hotel with Phil Newsome. Meet up at Aberdeen Boat Club at midday for a boat trip from Aberdeen harbour to Deepwater Bay organised by Matthew Marsh. We are celebrating his victory in the Porsche Carrera Asia Cup with Kirin beer. On return to dry land we make a quick pitstop at The Dublin Jack then reconvene at the Foreign Correspondents Club. Incredibly hot Singapore Noodles in good company.
Wed: Trip to the dentist followed by lunch in Lan Kwai Fong with Phil Newsome after visiting The Smile Spa, a new approach to dentistry as far removed from the NHS as possible. A quick drink in The Dublin Jack with Matthew Marsh then cab back to hotel and crash out.
Thurs: Meet brother Julian at hotel then to optician nearby, trip to the HSBC bank then business center on 27th floor of the hotel. Take tram into Central (HK$2) and head for Cheung Chau by ferry for lunch, followed by a pleasant walk round the island. Quick drink in The Dublin Jack on return and off to drive a racing car simulator, off Arbuthnot Street. Run by Carsten Widderich, the Sideways Driving Club is a world-class facility providing an incredibly realistic experience. I drive a Porsche GT3 at the A1-Ring in Austria racing against up to nine others. Magic.
Fri: Trip to the dentist, sort out second new pair of glasses, then business center on 27th floor of the hotel, back track to pick up glasses then collect bags from hotel and drop off at check-in in Central, to Outer-Island ferry terminal for trip
to Lamma Island on 12:15 ferry - phew! Meet brother Julian on the dock then curry at the Spicy Island chatting to Ian Watson, an old friend who gave me my start in journalism.
Time to head for the airport so ferry back to Central and fast train to Chek Lap Kok. I can see the bush fires on Lantau Island on take-off - quite spectacular. I have a lousy flight home surrounded by squawking kids, having been asked to move
my seat by an inconsiderate hostess. I'm sure BA stands for best avoided.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Premat pounces in Macau
Alexandre Premat of France has won Macau Grand Prix to take the FIA Intercontinental Cup. In a chaotic race shortened to 11-laps he was one of the last men standing in a race marred by incidents and accidents.
There was drama at the start when Loic Duval hit the barrier on the left hand side of the road exiting the Mandarin Oriental bend, then two of the most fancied runners were eliminated when Nico Rosberg crashed out of the lead on Lap Two, hitting the wall at Lisboa and taking Lewis Hamilton with him. This promoted Frenchman Alexandre Premat to the lead and despite brushing the wall himself he duly picked up the safety car on Lap Four. Hamilton managed to get going again but later crashed out of the midfield.
Jamie Green jumped Robert Kubica on the restart to take second and he set off after Premat and by Lap Seven he was picking up the tow on the main straight. It was not to last as Kubica slipped ahead of Green as he appeared to be having a problem, rapidly dropping down the leaderboard.
Daisuke Ikeda crashed at San Francisco on Lap Nine and shortly after Rodolfo Avila was also in the barriers. A second Safety Car period ensued resuming on Lap Twelve. Fabio Carbone, front wings askew, barged ahead of Di Grassi to take third on the restart seemingly untroubled by the aerodynamic disadvantage.
A major shunt at San Francisco on Lap Thirteen involving numerous cars brought out the red flags leaving Premat to celebrate the win. The efforts of Carbone went for nothing as the results were declared at the end of lap eleven under the countback rule.
Provisional Results
Premat, Kubica, Di Grassi, Carbone, Perera, Carrol
There was drama at the start when Loic Duval hit the barrier on the left hand side of the road exiting the Mandarin Oriental bend, then two of the most fancied runners were eliminated when Nico Rosberg crashed out of the lead on Lap Two, hitting the wall at Lisboa and taking Lewis Hamilton with him. This promoted Frenchman Alexandre Premat to the lead and despite brushing the wall himself he duly picked up the safety car on Lap Four. Hamilton managed to get going again but later crashed out of the midfield.
Jamie Green jumped Robert Kubica on the restart to take second and he set off after Premat and by Lap Seven he was picking up the tow on the main straight. It was not to last as Kubica slipped ahead of Green as he appeared to be having a problem, rapidly dropping down the leaderboard.
Daisuke Ikeda crashed at San Francisco on Lap Nine and shortly after Rodolfo Avila was also in the barriers. A second Safety Car period ensued resuming on Lap Twelve. Fabio Carbone, front wings askew, barged ahead of Di Grassi to take third on the restart seemingly untroubled by the aerodynamic disadvantage.
A major shunt at San Francisco on Lap Thirteen involving numerous cars brought out the red flags leaving Premat to celebrate the win. The efforts of Carbone went for nothing as the results were declared at the end of lap eleven under the countback rule.
Provisional Results
Premat, Kubica, Di Grassi, Carbone, Perera, Carrol
Muller grabs Guia
Jorg Muller from Germany has won the two-part Guia race for Touring cars here in Macau. Driving his BMW 320i round the 3.8 mile Guia circuit he held off a fierce challenge from Andy Priaulx, the newly-crowned European Touring Car Champion, also in a BMW to win by a narrow margin. In third place was Rickard Rydell from Sweden in a Seat Toledo Cupra, who fell back towards the end with an engine problem.
Muller redeemed himself from last year when he was fined by the stewards for an on-track incident with Simon Harrison in the same event.
Muller redeemed himself from last year when he was fined by the stewards for an on-track incident with Simon Harrison in the same event.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Marsh crowned at Macau
Matthew Marsh from Hong Kong is the 2004 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia Champion. He took the series crown at the Macau Grand Prix meeting in a tense ten-lap encounter with championship rivals Charoensukhawatana Nattavude of Thailand and Charles Kwan from Hong Kong.
Marsh withstood massive pressure in the race to take the crown in the decider to this 11-race series. Marsh took the lead off the startline from the pole sitter Rizal Ramli and led in the early going. Ramli hit Marsh up the rear at the Melco hairpin on lap one and later passed him on the approach to Lisboa Bend. Ramli went on to win the race in a time of 32 mins 29.365 seconds.
Matthew Marsh then came under pressure from Darryl O'Young who succeeded in passing, only to fumble his approach at Melco and clout the barriers, letting Marsh back into second place. O'Young got going again and eventually finished seventh
Championship rival Charles Kwan really woke up in the second half of the race, passing Nattavude and setting the fastest lap of the race in his last Macau appearance. He is retiring from sprint racing after many years but may appear with Matthew Marsh at Le Mans next year. Nattavude eventually finished fourth
The championship leader going into the final round, Charoensukhawatana Nattavude, never really got to grips with Marsh and watched his slender one point lead melt away as he conceded the last podium position to Charles Kwan.
The race finished under the safety car as Scott Miau had a car- destroying accident across the start finish line on lap eight.
Final points:
Matthew Marsh 179
Charoensukhawatana Nattavude 176
Charles Kwan 162
Razil Ramli 152
Marsh withstood massive pressure in the race to take the crown in the decider to this 11-race series. Marsh took the lead off the startline from the pole sitter Rizal Ramli and led in the early going. Ramli hit Marsh up the rear at the Melco hairpin on lap one and later passed him on the approach to Lisboa Bend. Ramli went on to win the race in a time of 32 mins 29.365 seconds.
Matthew Marsh then came under pressure from Darryl O'Young who succeeded in passing, only to fumble his approach at Melco and clout the barriers, letting Marsh back into second place. O'Young got going again and eventually finished seventh
Championship rival Charles Kwan really woke up in the second half of the race, passing Nattavude and setting the fastest lap of the race in his last Macau appearance. He is retiring from sprint racing after many years but may appear with Matthew Marsh at Le Mans next year. Nattavude eventually finished fourth
The championship leader going into the final round, Charoensukhawatana Nattavude, never really got to grips with Marsh and watched his slender one point lead melt away as he conceded the last podium position to Charles Kwan.
The race finished under the safety car as Scott Miau had a car- destroying accident across the start finish line on lap eight.
Final points:
Matthew Marsh 179
Charoensukhawatana Nattavude 176
Charles Kwan 162
Razil Ramli 152
Hamilton wins qualification race for Macau Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton grabbed the lead on the opening lap and remained unchallenged throughout the 10-lap encounter. The Briton eventually finished 2.2 seconds ahead of Nico Rosberg, with Alexandre Premat third.
Hamilton got away well from his second place on the grid and instantly tucked into the slipstream of pole position man and Manor Motorsport team-mate Robert Kubica. He managed to draft past on the outside as the pair approached Mandarin Bend and, as Kubica lifted, Hamilton swept into the lead, which he held onto through Lisboa Bend.
“It was very scary,” said Hamilton of the decisive move. “Robert was covering the inside as I got the tow. I pulled up to the left side and was passing him but not enough to get past him and we could not go through side-by-side. So I hoped to make him scared and lift, and he did that - although I went through sideways.”
Kubica's hopes of making an instant response were dashed when the Safety Car was called out following a series of incidents on the grid. Richard Antinucci had got away slowly from third place on the grid and was clouted from behind by Nelson Piquet Jr., while further back there was a much bigger accident as Eric Salignon slammed into the back of the stalled Kazuki Nakajima before spearing off into the barrier. Also involved in the incident were Marchy Lee, Ho Pin Tung and Rodolfo Avila.
The Safety Car remained out until the start of lap five, as Salignon needed assistance to get out of the car, but as soon as the race restarted Hamilton made a brilliant getaway to pull clear of the field. Behind him, Kubica came under instant pressure from Rosberg and lost second place on the run into Mandarin.
With Hamilton looking unstoppable at the front, Rosberg was happy to settle for the second slot that will ensure him a front-row start position for Sunday's 15-lap race, while behind him Premat took third after diving past Kubica into Lisboa on lap six.
Kubica duly finished fourth, with fifth-placed finisher Jamie Green's bid to wrest that spot from the Polish driver in the closing stages failing to come off. Behind Green, last year's pole position man Fabio Carbone finished sixth, ahead of Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi, James Rossiter and Danny Watts
Hamilton got away well from his second place on the grid and instantly tucked into the slipstream of pole position man and Manor Motorsport team-mate Robert Kubica. He managed to draft past on the outside as the pair approached Mandarin Bend and, as Kubica lifted, Hamilton swept into the lead, which he held onto through Lisboa Bend.
“It was very scary,” said Hamilton of the decisive move. “Robert was covering the inside as I got the tow. I pulled up to the left side and was passing him but not enough to get past him and we could not go through side-by-side. So I hoped to make him scared and lift, and he did that - although I went through sideways.”
Kubica's hopes of making an instant response were dashed when the Safety Car was called out following a series of incidents on the grid. Richard Antinucci had got away slowly from third place on the grid and was clouted from behind by Nelson Piquet Jr., while further back there was a much bigger accident as Eric Salignon slammed into the back of the stalled Kazuki Nakajima before spearing off into the barrier. Also involved in the incident were Marchy Lee, Ho Pin Tung and Rodolfo Avila.
The Safety Car remained out until the start of lap five, as Salignon needed assistance to get out of the car, but as soon as the race restarted Hamilton made a brilliant getaway to pull clear of the field. Behind him, Kubica came under instant pressure from Rosberg and lost second place on the run into Mandarin.
With Hamilton looking unstoppable at the front, Rosberg was happy to settle for the second slot that will ensure him a front-row start position for Sunday's 15-lap race, while behind him Premat took third after diving past Kubica into Lisboa on lap six.
Kubica duly finished fourth, with fifth-placed finisher Jamie Green's bid to wrest that spot from the Polish driver in the closing stages failing to come off. Behind Green, last year's pole position man Fabio Carbone finished sixth, ahead of Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi, James Rossiter and Danny Watts
Friday, November 19, 2004
Kubica locks up pole in Macau F3
The final practice for the Macau F3 Grand Prix has come and gone - the Manor Motorsport team from Sheffield have locked up the front row with Robert Kubica on pole position and Lewis Hamilton alongside. In third place is the American driver Richard Antinucci. Fourth place was taken by Nico Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Jnr fifth and Jamie Green sixth. The final qualifying session held in bright sunshine produced a fast pace with Kubica circulating this 3.8 mile circuit in a time of 2 mins 12.155 secs. Hamilton who was fastest yesterday relied on his time from the previous session to secure second place. The prospect of a fast qualifying race on Saturday and the final on Sunday raises the possibility of a lap time in the 2 mins 11 second bracket.
Journalists at the track are lamenting the lack of access to the legendary Pizzeria Toscana, put off limits by the organizers for their own use. One of the greatest facilities at any race track anywhere, is lying idle most of the time while those working at the track lack proper catering facilities. This is doing nothing to enhance the reputation of this great race.
Journalists at the track are lamenting the lack of access to the legendary Pizzeria Toscana, put off limits by the organizers for their own use. One of the greatest facilities at any race track anywhere, is lying idle most of the time while those working at the track lack proper catering facilities. This is doing nothing to enhance the reputation of this great race.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Marsh on the case at Macau
I'm in Macau at the Grand Prix backing-up Hong Kong driver Matthew Marsh who is bidding to win the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia at the final round of the series......
Matthew Marsh, from Hong Kong, was the fastest of the championship contenders in the first practice for the 2004 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia Championship held yesterday. He set a time of 2 mins 35.771 seconds, second overall to Darryl O’Young, the Canadian driver in the Team Jebsen entry.
Final qualifying will held later today and the series will be settled at the final round as a support race to the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday. After an 11-round series at circuits all over Asia, Macau’s demanding Guia street circuit will decide the winner. As these 400 bhp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing machines take to the track for Sunday’s 10-lap final round three drivers are in contention to take the title.
Charoensukhawatana Nattavude of Thailand, in the Fuspeed Racing machine run by former-racing driver Adrian Fu of Hong Kong, holds a slender one-point lead going into the final round. He was three seconds adrift of Marsh in first practice but can never be counted out.
In-form driver Matthew Marsh of the A-Ha Racing team is determined to take the fight to Nattavude and claim the crown. Marsh comes to Macau on a winning streak having won four of the last five rounds. He was stripped of victory in the round held at the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai in September for a startline infringement and has been hungry to make amends.
Marsh said “I was disappointed with my performance yesterday. Macau, more than any other event, because of the limited track time, is about surviving and reacting correctly to unforeseen events. I did not do this correctly. I hope to go at least a second quicker this afternoon.” Marsh was held in the pitlane at a crucial time due to a problem with an onboard airjack.
Reigning Champion, Charles Kwan of Hong Kong in the Team Infineon-Novellus machine, is also an outside contender for victory. As one of Asia’s most successful racing drivers he has much experience of the Guia Circuit, having won here many times. He suffered accident damage in practice yesterday, the car requiring overnight repairs.
Both Marsh and Kwan were racing together at Zhuhai last weekend in a Ferrari 360 Modena in the China round of the FIA GT Championship. Off the track they are the best of friends. Marsh said “It was mega competing at Zhuhai. I had never raced a Ferrari before and I hadn’t experienced the Italian approach to motor racing. I think we proved that we were not there to make up the numbers. We intend to race at Le Mans flying the flag for Hong Kong.”
The battle for victory at this prestigious event will be far from a three-car race. Malaysia’s Rizal Ashram Ramli, a former Formula 3 racer in Europe and fourth in the championship with the Crest Jaseri Racing team, has made a strong impression this year with his no-nonsense, attacking style and now faces the challenge of adapting to the Macau street circuit.
Another newcomer to the series, Team Jebsen’s 24-year-old Darryl O’Young, has really made his mark in the region’s premier sportscar series. After topping the timesheet yesterday the youngster hopes to make the podium on race day.
Nigel Albon makes a one-off appearance at Macau after losing out on the championship title last year by just four points. His return to the series this year for the final round will add another factor for the championship contenders.
END
Matthew Marsh, from Hong Kong, was the fastest of the championship contenders in the first practice for the 2004 Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia Championship held yesterday. He set a time of 2 mins 35.771 seconds, second overall to Darryl O’Young, the Canadian driver in the Team Jebsen entry.
Final qualifying will held later today and the series will be settled at the final round as a support race to the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday. After an 11-round series at circuits all over Asia, Macau’s demanding Guia street circuit will decide the winner. As these 400 bhp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing machines take to the track for Sunday’s 10-lap final round three drivers are in contention to take the title.
Charoensukhawatana Nattavude of Thailand, in the Fuspeed Racing machine run by former-racing driver Adrian Fu of Hong Kong, holds a slender one-point lead going into the final round. He was three seconds adrift of Marsh in first practice but can never be counted out.
In-form driver Matthew Marsh of the A-Ha Racing team is determined to take the fight to Nattavude and claim the crown. Marsh comes to Macau on a winning streak having won four of the last five rounds. He was stripped of victory in the round held at the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai in September for a startline infringement and has been hungry to make amends.
Marsh said “I was disappointed with my performance yesterday. Macau, more than any other event, because of the limited track time, is about surviving and reacting correctly to unforeseen events. I did not do this correctly. I hope to go at least a second quicker this afternoon.” Marsh was held in the pitlane at a crucial time due to a problem with an onboard airjack.
Reigning Champion, Charles Kwan of Hong Kong in the Team Infineon-Novellus machine, is also an outside contender for victory. As one of Asia’s most successful racing drivers he has much experience of the Guia Circuit, having won here many times. He suffered accident damage in practice yesterday, the car requiring overnight repairs.
Both Marsh and Kwan were racing together at Zhuhai last weekend in a Ferrari 360 Modena in the China round of the FIA GT Championship. Off the track they are the best of friends. Marsh said “It was mega competing at Zhuhai. I had never raced a Ferrari before and I hadn’t experienced the Italian approach to motor racing. I think we proved that we were not there to make up the numbers. We intend to race at Le Mans flying the flag for Hong Kong.”
The battle for victory at this prestigious event will be far from a three-car race. Malaysia’s Rizal Ashram Ramli, a former Formula 3 racer in Europe and fourth in the championship with the Crest Jaseri Racing team, has made a strong impression this year with his no-nonsense, attacking style and now faces the challenge of adapting to the Macau street circuit.
Another newcomer to the series, Team Jebsen’s 24-year-old Darryl O’Young, has really made his mark in the region’s premier sportscar series. After topping the timesheet yesterday the youngster hopes to make the podium on race day.
Nigel Albon makes a one-off appearance at Macau after losing out on the championship title last year by just four points. His return to the series this year for the final round will add another factor for the championship contenders.
END
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