28th Macau Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna 2004

Race Result
Michael Rutter, on board the 1000cc Red Bull Honda, made it three wins in a row when he won the 38th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna this afternoon.

The 31-year-old racer from Leicestershire worked hard for this win, the fifth of his career in the Far East Classic, after rival John McGuinness (999cc Monstermob Ducati), who had been fastest in practice, took the lead at the start of the 15-lap race. Rutter admitted that he thought his rival had pulled too far away to be caught on the opening lap, but decided to ride as hard as he could and hope that McGuinness would make a mistake. Rutter was struggling with the grip from his Michelins and was losing time to McGuinness on the back part of the track but Rutter was able to make up that time and more with the awesome power of the Honda on the straights.

Rutter was able to take the lead came on lap eight when he was able to pull out of the slipstream and pass McGuinness on the brakes. McGuinness chased him all the way and was only half a second down at the chequered flag.

It was a good day for the Cumbrian-based Paul Bird-owned Monstermob Ducati team with 21-year-old Scot Stuart Easton finishing third - Yamaha Austria's Thomas Hinterreiter (1000cc Yamaha), was fourth, nearly 13 seconds behind Easton.

Three Americans pulled off a major surprise by filling the next three places. Josh Hayes, 29, on the 1000cc Attack Kawasaki making his debut at the race, was fifth, 24 year-old Geoff May on the 1000cc Hot Bodies Racing Suzuki was sixth and Jeremy Toye (1000cc Roadracingworld.com Yamaha) took seventh place. Early retiree Scotland's Roger Bennett (ETI Ducati) was shocked at Josh Hayes' speed at his first visit to the track and was well impressed...Josh was putting in laps of around the 2:31 mark, which is incredible for a first visit.

Roger had slid off on the warm-up lap at the Melco hairpin and had caught his leg between the rear wheel and the exhaust can, leaving him with a sprained ankle and bruising. He had thought that he would be OK during the race but he overshot at the infamous Lisboa corner after his foot slipped off the peg while braking - he realized that he wasn't able to make a race of it and pulled out. His room-mate at the hotel, Dean Ellison, kept sensible during the race on the Brian Morrison-run DMR Racing 600 Honda, coming 6th in class, with his Scottish team-mate Les Shand finishing an exceptional 11th in front of many Macau regulars (including Marcus Barth who is getting married next week...our congratulations!)

Callum Ramsay was the winner of the FIM 600 Supersport event, but a one-time 14 second lead had been cut to just over two seconds by Australian Cameron Donald (China Yuan XGJao Honda) at the end of the race.

Chris Palmer, Ramsay’s team mate, on the second Valmoto Triumph was third, just over two seconds behind Donald with the trio taking 19th, 20th, and 21st places in the overall results.

Cheung Wai On, the talented 23-year-old Hong Kong racer, made an impressive debut on a home-built 600cc Honda, finishing 25th overall out of the 34 starters and fourth in the 600 Class.

Finally, we have heard that Honda Austria's Erwin Wilding is now stable and his condition is improving in hospital after his massive crash in first qualifying.

Final Qualifying - updated
Another accident during final qualifying saw Slingshot Monstermob Honda rider Gus Scott break an arm and also suffer a knee injury ( that news from Roger Bennett at the track). This means that he won't be able to take part in the race and will shuffle everyone behind him up one place. I was told that Gus went up so high he was lucky not to land in the sea. Honda Austria rider Erwin Wilding remains in hospital with severe head injuries from his first qualifying crash on the extremely fast exit of the bumpy Reservoir Bend and our hopes and wishes for a full and speedy recovery are with him. American rider Jeremy Toye, riding the Roadracing World Yamaha had a cracked front wheel which he discovered after taking his tyre warmers off, just before going out for his qualifying session - and other U.S. riders Josh Hayes and Geoff May both decided to have a 'conservative' qualifying session after seeing the results of yesterday's crash from Wilding. ETI Racing Ducati rider Roger Bennett was at one time lying 4th in qualifying until a his gear lever broke off, leaving him no time to move up the order.

John McGuinness and Stuart Easton, the Monstermob Ducati Team duo, have topped qualifying for Saturday’s 38th running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix-Hotel Fortuna at the end of the one-hour timed session this morning.

McGuinness, the 32-year-old former bricklayer from Morcambe, Lancashire, grabbed pole position early on and never looked like being beaten.
But Easton, the 21-year-old Scot, was the big surprise. A last-minute offer to ride with McGuinness when his 2004 sponsor pulled out meant that he finished just 1.32 seconds slower than his team mate.
Thomas Hinterreiter (1000cc Yamaha), the 37-year-old Austrian, was third quickest, seven tenths of a second slower than Easton on a machine he normally races in World Endurance events.

Michael Rutter (1000cc Red Bull Honda) was only fourth, struggling with tyres that didn't work well in the cool morning temperatures. The 31-year-old Leicestershire racer, looking for his fifth win in the event, was 2.24 seconds slower than McGuinness but was confident that the new afternoon starting time for the 15-lap race on Saturday will be more suited to his tyres.

Callum Ramsay, the 29-year-old Scot, maintained his grip on the FIM 600 Supersport Class by being fastest in all three practice sessions on the Valmoto Triumph.
27-year-old Australian Cameron Donald, twice winner of the class in the past three years, was second quickest on the China Yuan XGJao Racing Honda, just seven tenths of a second down.

First Qualifying
Honda Austria's Erwin Wilding has crashed in the first qualifying session. More news has come in that he crashed at over 100mph at turn one and was airlifted to hospital with head injuries. Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.

Opening Practice - Thursday 18th - Mid-day
John McGuinness, riding the 999cc Monstermob Ducati, led the opening practice session for Saturday’s 38th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – Hotel Fortuna.
Michael Rutter - who is looking for his third win in a row - was only fourth quickest on the 1000cc Red Bull factory Honda and a full 2.4 seconds a lap slower than McGuinness.
From World Endurance, Austrian Thomas Hinterreiter on the Yamaha Austria R1 once again showed how good he was by getting the second-best time of the 50-minute session, just 1.8 seconds slower than McGuinness.
Gus Scott, the 40-year-old from Cumbria, was third best just over a tenth of a second slower than Hinterreiter.
Scot Roger Bennett, back at Macau after a two-year absence, was fifth best on the 998cc ETI Racing Ducati, and German Markus Barth on the 1000cc Fylde Superbikes Kawasaki rounded off the top six.

American Josh Hayes was eighth fastest on the 1000cc Attack Racing Kawasaki despite it being his first ever visit to the Far East road circuit event.

Callum Ramsay on board the Valmoto Triumph was best of the FIM 600 Supersport competitors, in 14th place overall, lapping one and a half seconds a lap quicker than his British team mate Chris Palmer who was second best.
Cameron Donald, China Yuan XGJao Honda, two-time winner of the class which runs concurrently with the Grand Prix, was third best in the 11-strong line up.
First qualifying is in a few hours with the second session on Friday morning to set the grid for the 40-strong field in Saturday afternoon’s 15-lap race.

Pre-race Information
Michael Rutter, who notched up his fourth Macau title in six years in 2003, is returning to one of the most unique and demanding road races on earth – the 38th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix - Hotel Fortuna...and this year it has this year attracted a title sponsor for the first time.

Rutter has had a great year in the British Superbike Championship. Finishing the season second in possibly the most highly-competitive domestic series in the world, the 31-year-old will be aboard a 1000cc Honda Racing Team machine for this year’s Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix as he continues his attempt to break motorcycle legend 'Rocket' Ron Haslam’s unbeaten record of six Macau victories.

...but Rutter will find it tough to repeat his dominance of last year's event.

On-track rival and off-track friend, John McGuinness, who won the event in 2001 and has been runner-up to Rutter for the last two years, will be aboard a 1000cc Monstermob Ducati and out to spoil Rutter's party. The 32-year-old McGuinness has had a brilliant season, winning the Formula 1 and Junior events at the Isle of Man TT and also competing in the British Superbike Championship winning the Brands Hatch round. In the TT, McGuinness set a new outright lap record.

British riders, with their superior experience on street circuits, have won the Macau event for the last six years, and included in the strong UK contingent is multi-Isle of Man TT winner Ian Lougher and racing journalist Gus Scott who describes the Guia Circuit as “the most challenging and exciting track I have ever ridden on”. Scott, who is making his 6th trip to the Far East Classic and has been competing in the British Superbike Cup this year finishing a creditable 7th, will ride the 1000cc Vodka Kick Slingshot Honda.

Macau regulars Iain Duffus and last year’s third place finisher Brian Morrison have hung up their leathers but the lure of Macau has inspired them to form their own team and bring Macau newcomers Les Shand and Dean Ellison - and Shand will be riding the GSXR1000 Suzuki that was ridden by Kevin Schwantz at this year's Bol d'Or, the one that's got the TECH2000 suspension. Other British newcomers include James McBride, Ian Armstrong and Roy Richardson who is mounted on the Fylde Superbikes 636cc Kawasaki.

Returning to Macau after a two-year absence is co-commentator for Eurosport's "Master of Endurance" television coverage, Scotsman Roger Bennett. Making his 14th visit, Bennett has always sworn to conquer the Guia Circuit, just missing out on a victory in 1996 when he finished second. Bennett won the Scottish Regal Championship in 2002 and 2003 on a 1000cc Suzuki. Roger almost swore off racing again after a nasty hip injury but the Macau Grand Prix is just far too tempting...

The truly international field also includes three of the best riders from the USA including two from the top ten of the 2004 American Superbike Championship. Geoff May made his Macau debut last year, finishing 8th. Geoff is currently 5th in the US Championship ahead of numerous factory entries. Jeremy Toye also debuted in 2003 with 9th place. The newcomer taking on the daunting Macau circuit is Josh Hayes on the factory Kawasaki who currently lies 10th in the American standings. Josh has also had outings in World Endurance with the Herman Verboven team and his 10th in the AMA standings belies his fantastic ability.

From Germany comes 32-year-old Markus Barth, making his 7th trip to Macau where he has just missed out on a podium finish twice, but has won the Supersport class. For 2004 he has secured a seat on the second Fylde Superbikes entry, a 1000cc Kawasaki.

Thomas Hinterreiter from Austria, winner of the prestigious BMW Motorrad BoxerCup this year, joins newcomer and countryman Horst Saiger on a pair of 1000cc Yamaha Austria machines. Horst has had selected outings in World Superbikes this year and word is that the Yamaha Austria team will be doing a lot more in WSB for 2005.

From Switzerland, making his 5th Macau appearance, comes Marcel Kellenberger on the Bolliger Kawasaki. Bolliger are the top Kawasaki team in World Endurance.

After impressive results in the 2004 TT, Jun Maeda will once again fly the flag for Japan on his 954cc Honda Dream Racing bike. The 36-year-old will be making his 4th visit to Macau.

Run alongside the Superbike class is the ultra competitive FIM 600cc class. Due to a change in their model line up, the Triumph factory team will make its swansong in 600cc racing at Macau. The Jack Valentine-run Valmoto team are making a real effort to go out with a final victory by securing the services of TT winner Chris Palmer and Macau veteran Callum Ramsay.

Former British 600cc Champion, 21-year-old Stuart Easton returns to Macau for a 3rd time, this year on the 750cc Ducati Coventry machine. Easton has competed in the British Superbike and Supersport Championships this year, and will be looking to add a second Macau 600cc victory to his impressive portfolio

Another 600cc class entry includes German Benny Jerzenbeck on Peter Rubatto’s machine.

Representing Macau on home turf will be Leong Iok Choi, Sou Se Hong and Ip Weng Keong who will make this debut in the Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The 15-lap 38th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – Hotel Fortuna moves this year from its traditional early morning Saturday slot to 3:15pm in the afternoon. This will give even more two-wheel racing fans a chance to catch one of the most spectacular – and breathtaking – motorcycle races on the planet.

No.	Rider	Nat.	Team/ Entrant	Machine/ CC
1	Michael RUTTER	GBR	Red Bull Honda Racing	Honda/ 1000
2	John McGUINNESS	GBR	Monstermob Ducati	Ducati/ 999
3	CHEUNG Wai On	HKG	CHEUNG Wai On	Yamaha/ 600*
4	Erwin WILDING	AUT	Honda Austria	Honda/ 1000
5	Roger BENNETT	GBR	ETI Racing	Ducati/ 998
6	Markus BARTH	GER	Fylde Superbikes	Kawasaki / 1000
7	Gus SCOTT	GBR	Slingshot Monstermob	Honda/ 1000
8	Marcel KELLENBERGER	SUI	Bolliger Team Switzerland	Kawasaki / 998
9	Stuart EASTON	GBR	Monstermob Ducati	Ducati/ 999
10	Thomas HINTERREITER	AUT	Yamaha Austria	Yamaha/ 998
11	Horst SAIGER	AUT	Yamaha Austria	Yamaha/ 998
12	Roy RICHARDSON	GBR	Fylde Superbikes	Kawasaki / 636
13	SOU Se Hong	MAC	Ao’s Racing Team	Yamaha/ 600*
15	Dean ELLISON	GBR	DMR Racing	Honda/ 600*
16	Umberto RUMIANO	ITA	RXR	MV Agusta/ 750
17	Joao FERNANDES	POR	Ao’s Racing Team	Yamaha/ 600*
18	Richard BRITTON	GBR	P.J. O’Kane	Suzuki/ 1000
19	LEONG Iok Choi	MAC	Ao’s Racing Team	Yamaha/ 600*
21	Pete JENNINGS	GBR	Matlock Motomax	Honda/ 600*
22	James McBRIDE	GBR	Inchcape/ JV-Racing	Suzuki/ 1000
23	Stephen THOMPSON	GBR	P.J. O’Kane	Suzuki/ 1000
24	Nigel DAVIES	GBR	Fylde Superbikes	Suzuki/ 1000
25	Nick WINTHROPE	GBR	Tracktorque	Suzuki/ 1000
27	Ian ARMSTRONG	GBR	Star Hire	Yamaha/ 1000
28	Steve ALLAN	GBR	ETI Racing	Kawasaki / 998
29	Takuma YAMAMOTO	JPN	China Yuan XGJAO Racing	Honda/ 600*
30	Masayuki YAMANAKA	JPN	China Yuan XGJAO Racing	Honda/ 600*
31	Rui REIGOTO	POR	Vodafone BPN Sendo	Suzuki/ 1000
32	Luis CARREIRA	POR	Repsol Honda Team	Honda/ 1000
33	Jose LEITE	POR	Kawasaki Fundevilla Rodicentro	Kawasaki / 1000
35	IP Weng Keong	MAC	Ao’s Racing Team	Yamaha/ 600*
41	Josh HAYES	USA	Attack Racing	Kawasaki / 1000
45	Martin FINNEGAN	IRL	RPM Performance	Yamaha/ 1000
55	Chris PALMER	GBR	Valmoto	Triumph/ 600*
57	Jeremy TOYE	USA	Roadracingworld.com	Yamaha/ 1000
59	Jun MAEDA	JPN	Allstar Motorsport/Team Wood	Honda/ 954
60	Callum RAMSAY	GBR	Valmoto	Triumph/ 600*
71	Mark PARRETT	GBR	Kingscourt Foods	Yamaha/ 1000
77	Les SHAND	GBR	DMR Racing	Suzuki/ 1000
78	Giorgio CANTALUPO	ITA	Team Augusta P.M.S.	Aprilia/ 1000
86	Cameron DONALD	AUS	China Yuan XGJAO Racing	Honda/ 600*
99	Geoff MAY	USA	Hot Bodies Racing	Yamaha/ 1000

* FIM 600cc Supersport Class