Shell Teamwork Lynk & Co Motorsport will enter this year’s Macau Guia Race with its Lynk & Co 03 TCRs, with the world’s most famous street circuit event now host to the final round of the TCR China Touring Car Championship.
The Guia Race, the principal touring car race of the Macau Grand Prix weekend, returns to being a predominantly Asian affair this year as a result of global travel restrictions due to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
The team therefore enters this year’s new-look event as a title hopeful. The Hong Kong-based operation already has over a decade’s worth of experience at the circuit in the Chinese Special Administrative Region, having secured ten victories in the supporting Macau Touring Car Cup with its self-developed racing cars.
Ma Qing Hua, the current TCR China championship points leader, will compete in one of the team’s 03 TCRs, while the second car will be driven by 2018 Macau Touring Car Cup and TCR China drivers’ champion Sunny Wong.
The Lynk & Co 03 TCR already has a perfect record in Macau, after the Chinese manufacturer won all three races of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup last year on its first appearance, driven by former world champions Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx.
The objective will be to try and take the first win for an Asian driver in the Guia Race since Charles Kwan won in a BMW M3 in 1993.
The Macau round has now been confirmed as the final race of a revised TCR China championship calendar, with three more rounds still to take place before the championship closer.
Ma Qing Hua said:
“I’m very much looking forward to racing at the Macau Guia Race this year, and to be taking part with the Lynk & Co 03 TCR.
“The car was phenomenal around the track last year. I have a few years’ experience around Macau from my time in WTCR and WTCC, so I’m hoping that together we’ll have the perfect package to fight for victory at both Macau, and also hopefully for the TCR China championship.”
Sunny Wong said:
“Winning the 2018 Touring Car Cup race was the highlight of my career so far, so I’m really happy to have this opportunity to race at Macau again, and this time in the Guia Race with a car we know that gives us the chance to fight for victory.
“It’ll be quite a challenge, I’ve not raced since late last year, and I’ve never driven the Lynk & Co, but I’m hoping it won’t take long to get up to speed, and I’ll be doing my best to achieve a great result for the team in this year’s very special Macau Grand Prix weekend.”
Paul Hui, team principal, said:
“The team is really looking forward to the Macau event. The race will be quite different to usual given the circumstances, but that won’t change our resolve. Our aim will be to fight for the victory, as well as the TCR China championship with Ma.
“We already know the Lynk & Co 03 TCR is a strong car around Macau, so that fills us with optimism going in. It promises to be a crazy event and an exciting end to a very unusual season.”
