History Revisited with Stunning Line Up

The 50th Macau Grand Prix will revive the majesty of a bygone era with a special event for the glorious sports-racing cars from the great days of the 1950s and '60s. Two races will be held on November 9, in two classes - the GP Anniversary Trophy for automobiles built between 1960 and 1966, and the Golden Jubilee Cup made up of cars from 1950 to 1959.

The cars, brought from the United Kingdom especially for the Golden Jubilee celebrations, represent the most valuable grid ever to assemble on the Guia Circuit, and this special event itself, is being organised by the Macau Grand Prix Committee, the UK Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC), and Motor Race Consultants.

The truly great sports car field includes three Lotus 15s, of the type which won the Macau Grand Prix in 1961, and two Lotus 23s, the same model with which Hong Kong's Albert Poon won the Grand Prix in 1964.

The oldest cars are both Jaguar-powered machines from 1952, with an XK120C (or "C-type"), designed to win at the famous Le Mans 24 Hour race, driven by Ben Cussons, and Barry Wood's RGS Atlanta.

The D-type Jaguar won Le Mans three times in the 1950s, and the Jaguar XKSS, the "road going" version of the car, won the Macau Grand Prix in the hands of Ron Hardwick, and again in 1960 thanks to Martin Redfern. These victories will be brought to life this year by Ben Eastick's 1955 D-type.

The newer cars should produce the overall winner of each race, with the favourites being a re-match of the recent titanic battle at Goodwood between Simon Hadfield's brutish Lotus 30V8 and the eventual winners Frank Sytner's Lola T70 powered by a Chevrolet V8. Both cars are expected to be extremely quick on the straights and, due to their width, impossible to pass on the narrower sections of the track.

Three Ferraris will line up for the start of the race. Two 1964 250LMs driven by Juan Barazi and David Piper, nine-time winner of the Kyalami 9 hour race in South Africa. The third Ferrari is the beautiful Dino 206SP of Brazilian Carlos Monteverde.

The 1960 Lotus 19 of Danish driver Otto Reedtz-Thott has the potential for a high placing, and the 1964 AC Cobra driven by Kevin Kivlochan and Bill Wykeham in one race each will be spectacular on the twisting Guia circuit.


All the drivers race regularly in Europe, many with considerable success, but not one has raced at Macau before.

The sight of these stunning examples of historic automobiles will provide not just a trip down memory lane for many, but a close-fought on track battle for victory.

2003-10-16 16:00:29