There are still no updates about the participation of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in the 64th edition of the Macau Grand Prix (Macau GP), to be held from November 16 to 19 this year.
A spokesperson for the local Sports Bureau told Business Daily on the phone last Friday that the current status of the WTCC race for the Guia circuit was still “not confirmed”, corroborating the comments made by the President of the same bureau, Pun Weng Kun, towards the end of last week.
Last Thursday, contradictory positions emerged about the whether the WTCC would be part of the Macau GP this year, on the sidelines of the event held to announce this year’s rundown.
Whereas Pun said that the participation of the World Touring Car Championship was not yet a final deal, it appeared as scheduled on the website of the International Federation of Automobiles (FIA) WTCC.
While reinforcing previous declarations by Pun to Business Daily on Friday, the Sports Bureau spokesperson added that the WTCC and the [Macau Grand Prix] Organizing Committee had held “preliminary discussions only” at this point.
“They are in a very early stage of contact, although I don’t know by which means the contact was made. I can only say that WTCC showed interest,” the bureau representative explained.
Business Daily contacted the office of WTCC in the U.K. however the group’s response on the issue is still pending.
On the other hand, the spokesperson for the local sports bureau further said that there is no deadline currently set as to when a decision regarding the matter would be reached.
Puzzling
As of Sunday May 28, the return of the WTCC to the Guia circuit was still posted online on the FIA’s official website, reading that ‘after two years away, the world’s fastest international touring car series returns to the [Macau] Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, restoring the famous Guia Race to its former glory in the process.’
The return of the Guia Race of Macau to the WTCC 2017 season was also news in November 2016, as one of ‘the most significant changes’ of the season, ‘with the calendar confirmed at the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Vienna,’ motorsport.com reported.
The WTCC raced on the Macau Guia circuit for ten years, from 2005 to 2014, with 2014 marking the first year of TC1 (Touring Car 1), WTCC’s main category.
According to statements by FIA’s WMSC, which bears responsibility for all aspects of international motor sport, the WTCC TC2 category ‘has been deleted for the 2017 season,’ following an extraordinary meeting of the Council held in Geneva January 18 of this year.
According to further information by FIA published online, regarding the WTCC 2017 season, it is stated that ‘Macau will now host the penultimate weekend of the campaign,’ different from previous years when the city closed the event.
