For atmosphere, few motor racing events can match the Macau Grand Prix. It's 56 years-old, but it's since Formula 3 started coming here, in 1983, that Macau has given us some of the greatest names in racing. This year I've come to experience a race I've always admired for the very first time.
Photographs by Paolo Pellegrini
Macau is mecca for petrol heads. It might not get the TV exposure of races like Monaco or Indianapolis, but this is where the best young drivers come to make their name. Racing Formula 3 cars, previous winners here include Ayrton Senna (1983) and Michael Schumacher (1990). In fact, the winner's trophy is covered in the names of spotty 19 year-olds that would go on to be Formula One drivers.
The self-styled Las Vegas of the East, Macau's street circuit is treacherous, made up of a long wide straight stretching along the seafront, which then turns into a narrow twisty, undulating mountain section where passing is impossible. It's a track of two halves, overlooked by neon-lit casino hotels, colonial Portuguese churches, and pre-fabricated Chinese dwellings.
The drivers stare at the hypnotic yellow and black barriers that are way too close for comfort. Give one the tiniest tap and you'll lose your rear suspension.
Because of the prestige, the risk, and the inherent pressures upon any driver trying to make his name, the fingers that tap on steering wheels as the starting grid clears are generally well chewed.
I was shadowing Edoardo Mortara this weekend. "I'm really really stressed," he confided, an admission rarely made by a driver. He said he had been sleeping badly all week. A lot was riding on this race. The 22 year-old Italian finished second in 2008, followed by a tough season in GP2 this year. He came to Macau with one goal: "I have to win, nothing else will do."
Mortara started P3 behind pole sitter Jean-Karl Vernay and second-placed Marcus Ericsson. By the first corner, Mortara was leading. The difficulty with Macau is the walls, and that when an accident occurs - as they do frequently - the race has to be stopped, or at least run under the safety car, while the marshals clear up. On lap one, a seven car pile up brought out the red flags.
On the restart, the long straight here played into Vernay's hands and he was able to draught past Mortara for the lead. Then began a ten-lap duel as Mortara stared down his team mate. On Lap 11, Vernay mistimed a gear change and Mortara was there to scald him, passing on the straight and then disappearing into the lead. Vernay had been holding him up through the mountains, running a low-downforce set-up.
It was an emotional victory for Mortara, who was full of praise for Vernay's driving and "pushed 100 percent on every corner of every lap."
"Having struggled in GP2 this year with a car that was, at times, undriveable, I came here to prove some people wrong - that I still have it".
With victory on Macau's mean streets, his class can be in no doubt.
Hi, thank you for this fantastic blog, a truly great opening for the 2010, keep up the fantastic work, Sue.
Hello there, cheers for the wonderful blog, a truly great start for the 2010, keep up the excellent work, Brenda.
As a Newbie to the internet, I am always searching online for stuff that can help me. Thank you for your help.
Thankyou so much, this was an amazing post and can't agree with you anymore.
Is this a wordpress or a typepad blog? The theme is real nice.
Have you ever thought of adding additional videos to your site to keep the visitors more involved? I just read through the entire page and it was quite good but since I am more of a visual learner, I find videos to be more helpful. I like what you guys are always coming up with. Keep up the excellent work. I will revisit your page regularly for some of the latest post.
A slice of sound information here, a good read. When you are able to free a second have a look over my site and feel free to leave a comment wp-answers
Being short is no sin, if everyone else around you is taller, it is obvious you would wish to look taller too.
Hi, I can’t understand how to add your site in my rss reader. Can you Help me, please
Your blog is so informative … keep up the good work!!!!
Hi, nice post. I have been curious about this issue,so thank you for posting. I will absolutely be subscribing to your blog.
Being a complete newbie, all I can say is thanks for sharing this.
This was awesome
Great post, I really enjoy your blog, I will be stopping by again soon.
An article of perfection. This was exact and relevant.
I鈥檓 a proud iPhone owner coming from Blackberry Curve 8330, Storm 1, and Storm 1 again. And I鈥檓 not coming back.One small step for RIM, one giant leap for Apple.I manage a BES server. We were up to about 35 users in 2007. Over last couple years about 12 users have switched to the iPhone. From an IT view. Blackberries are a pain. The server has to be updated about once a month. When a phone gets low on storage without any warning it dumps all the messages in the inbox and call history to free up space. However, I鈥檝e had to tell Verizon people to stick with their Blackberrys for now because the Droid dumps the Exchange settings about every two weeks. They鈥檝e been doing this for a few months and nobody is in a rush to fix it.
Sorry for the huge review, but I'm really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it's the right choice for you.
I have a 3gs and a blackbery storm2 both have limitations. If I had to have one I would pick the blackberry. But the iPhone hands down is an infinetly enjoyable user experience. The blackberry platform is dated and awfully slow. The update process is ununified and arduous, for the leading smartphone in marketshare they are stingy with r&d and more intersted in releasing the same tired units in a new form factor than improving the user experience. The whole thing feels tired and archaic. However, email delivery is unsurpassed, support is top notch, everyone has a charger for it, battery life is superb, and it鈥檚 reasonably indestructible. Everyhing else could stand for major improvement. I typed this all from my iPhone. A sane person would not and could not attempt that on the storm.
I was a blackberry user for last 4 years (ever since the pearl 8100 in 2006) I鈥檝e had 4 Blackberries (pearl,curve,storm,tour) I can honestly tell you that the only difference from an OS perspective from the tour to the pearl was nicer graphics. It eventually got old, secondly the Storm was/is a disaster! unlike android or iphone OS it鈥檚 not a touch screen OS but rather a port of the trackball OS on to a touchscreen. This did not translate well and had to many menus and sub menus and options for a touchscreen. Their browser is by far the worst browser on the market ( all third party browsers were hands down better). Finally I think the BIGGEST problem is their having a hard time embracing the consumer market and consumer apps. There is no really fun apps , ALL are about productivity ( you need both) Also they really need to liven up there app store and make it more prominent, It is dark, gloomy and SLOW . LASTLY this is the biggest point of failure , why they do not update the OS for a particular device across the board like apple instead of having carriers update them at their own leisure is beyond me !! The Storm on telus still comes with software from Feb 09 when the OS has been updated multiple times on diffrent carriers . Sorry for the long rant but as you can tell I have some built up frustration with RIM , however I will say one nice thing (which is what is so frustrating about RIM) their hardware really is one of the top in the industry but without good software 鈥?it鈥檚 just paper weight !
Thanks for a great blog, I love reading and can't wait until the next post
Given Up On Finding A Great Looking Woman Who Likes You? Follow My Guaranteed Step-By-Step System for Success with Women and I’ll GUARANTEE Your Success!
Interesting piece of content, nice oen for sharing. I enjoy your writing style. Have bookmarked your web site. Bye. Janet
Great post!
I have been searching for a nice remedy to help me sleep too. Melatonin has bad side effects. I read about Calms Forte 4 Kids. That link goes to a review. You think its as good as they say?
Wonderful to read!
Hello, terrific posting.Rather helpful. I love your writing style. Keep up the great work. All the best.
Wonderful to read!
Great post!
There is obviously a lot to know about this.
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your site and wanted to saythat I’ve really liked rowsing your posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
Here is a chance to get a free iPhone.
Good post, thanks
Well written and explained. Thank you for taking the time.
"They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds."
...Hope this book will help you perfectly
This is right on target but is low cal the only way to accomplish it?
Wonderful to read!
Every one knows that our life seems to be high priced, nevertheless we require cash for different issues and not every one gets big sums money. Thence to get some lowest-rate-loans.com and just collateral loan should be good way out.
Anyone out there deal with allot of antique stuff, particularly architectural antiques? I'm looking for a good resource other than amazon. I found the shop I linked in search but never heard of the company.
I usually don’t post in blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful !
Poor kid cannot even spell proper correct. Tsk tsk tsk...
This is my first time I have visited this site. I found a lot of interesting stuff in your blog. From the volume of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one! keep up the great work.
This post was very nicely written, and it also carries a lot of useful facts. I appreciated your professed way of writing this post. Thanks, you have made it very easy for me to understand.
I finally decided to drop a comment, and let me tell you this is another very strong and powerful post. I've been reading through some of your previous posts and have been visiting your blog every now and then. I signed up for your newsletter and shared your site with my contacts, so please keep up the informative posts and return the favor. :)
Good luck on your blog, and feel free to comment and subscribe to my blog as well when you get a chance: Make Money Online with Dino Vedo.
Thanks so much, and lets stay connected and maybe share some ideas, do some guest posts, and get us both some more traffic and backlinks!
All the best,
Dino Vedo
Excellent and very thoughtful post! I really appreciate the time and effort you put in every single one of your posts, and finally decided to drop a comment on one of them! I've shared your site with my other blogger friends, and subscribed so hopefully you do the same for me.
Good luck on your blog, and feel free to comment and subscribe to my blog as well when you get a chance: Make Money Online with Dino Vedo.
Thanks so much, and lets stay connected and maybe share some ideas, do some guest posts, and get us both some more traffic and backlinks!
All the best,
Dino Vedo
Excellent job.
Thanks for the interesting post! May I ask where you get your sources from?
This is actually good put up however check this website at Healthy Dieting.
Have you aye thought concerning the processes from which a book is passed before coming into your hands? It is not a stark procedure to write down a book as well publishing it. Writing in itself is a arduous job. So why not we flourish on the obstacles and hurdles in the way of writing a book? Why don't we utter on getting help from book writing software?
Good post, thanks
Exactly!Based mostly on my not so average experience(i was 295now 181 pounds) correct weight reduction program when combined with capsules and life like goal in precise time frame will always be the proper path, but, if i may add, the most important part is to alter way of life and eradicate any further obese issues!fat burning furnace
Just now I discovered all the internet for exactly this information. I thank you for your article that search has come to an end now. You wrote the article in a very understandable way. So I like to say thanks to you and add your blog to my favorites just now. Enjoy the daytime
Hy...first of all I didn't had a great read from a long time.Truly glad i found it on google.I was talking with my friends three days ago about this matter and I have to say you make things very clear for me.Thanks and good luck
I In no way knew that. Thanks to the info. I believe your weblog is heading to do well. People will constantly return to read this form of content.Excellent job.
Can I quote you in my report for school?