WTCC Macau - Simon Harrison's film
Simon Harrison sets high standards for production of motor sport films. His latest effort is a four-and-a-bit-minute summary of my FIA World Championship point scoring weekend with City of Dreams and Wiechers-Sport at the Macau Grand Prix. Take a look (and click on High Quality)...
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
PHOTOS FROM MACAU
Finally I have uploaded a selection of photos from the Macau Grand Prix. They can be viewed by clicking here. There is also the option to watch a slideshow of the pictures.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
HONG KONG IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
My eighth place finish in Sunday's final round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship made history: the point scored was the first ever by a Hong Kong driver in an FIA World Championship.
Additionally I scored 36 points for the Independents' Trophy. This put me in ninth place of the 26 drivers who scored points this year.
And all this with a car which was carrying the maximum success ballast (as a non-series registered car). Car 88 weighed 70 kilos more than my team mate's machine!
It was a good weekend!
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
LETS GET THE PARTY STARTED
Matthew Marsh celebrates with Dominik Greiner and Wiechers-Sport team personnel after finishing second in the Independents class in the WTCC Guia race second leg.
A crowd of photographers and spectators gathered as Matthew posed with the Hong Kong flag and the City of Dreams girls for a seemingly endless photo opportunity, as everybody enjoyed the first world championship point for a Hong Kong driver achieved by finishing eighth overall in the Guia race. Picture Colin Marsh. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
MARSH EIGHTH OVERALL, 2ND IN CLASS
Hong Kong driver Matthew Marsh acquitted himself well at international level with eighth overall in the Guia race leg two and second overall in the class. All the hard work is justified as Matthew delivers on the streets of Macau. A cracking professional performance in a strange car, he kept his head when others around him were losing the plot. He came from seventeenth on the grid to eighth overall at the end.
Pic by Philip Newsome. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA RACE TWO GOES TO GRID
After a fifteen minute break the second leg of the Guia race will shortly be underway. Matthew Marsh came to pitlane for a well-deserved drink of water and the competitors are back on track forming up on the race two grid. Another nine laps of the gruelling Guia circuit in hot sunny still conditions are in prospect.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
TOP THREE FOR MARSH IN GUIA LEG ONE
Matthew Marsh finished seventeenth overall and third in the Independents class in leg one of the World Touring Car Championship held on the Guia circuit here in Macau. He set a best race lap of 2mins 38.379 seconds, moving up from 22nd on the grid to seventeenth overall position. The objective of getting cleanly through to race two has been achieved.
The Independents class was won by Sergio Hernandez of Spain in a BMW 320si, followed home by Franz Engstler of Germany. BMW finished 1-2-3 in the class. Overall winner was Alain Menu in a Chevrolet Lacetti. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA GOES TO GRID
We are underway in the first leg of the Guia race here in Macau. Everybody appears to have got through Lisboa and San Francisco successfully on the first lap.
Pic by Phil Newsome. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
ALAIN MENU GRABS TOP SPOT
Alain Menu of Switzerland will start the Guia race from pole position in his RML-run Chevrolet Lacetti. He pipped Andy Priaulx of Great Britain in a BMW with a time of 2 mins 30.285 around the Guia circuit. The car is pictured at the Melco hairpin. Pic: Chevrolet. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
THIS IS THE WARM-UP
Sunday morning 07:50 - Matthew Marsh is now on track in the warm-up for the FIA WTCC Canon-Guia Race of Macau at the Macau Grand Prix meeting. He is taking it easy to make sure the car is in one piece for the race which starts at 11:55 with two races of nine laps each.
Described in the South China Morning Post as the only Hong Kong driver to qualify for the World Touring Car Championship he will start fifth in the Independents class. His best lap time in the session was 2 mins 38.887 seconds.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
CITY OF DREAMS AT THE MACAU GRAND PRIX
A short film introducing the City of Dreams team at the Macau GP 2008
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
IT'S A TOUGH LIFE
Saturday in the Macau GP paddock with the (City of) Dream(s) girls...
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
MATTHEW MARSH AND THE CITY OF DREAMS GIRLS
Saturday lunchtime media scrum as Matthew Marsh fronts a promotion for sponsor City of Dreams in the Macau Grand Prix paddock. Pics by Colin Marsh.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
DIGGING DEEP IN QUALIFYING
Hard on the throttle at Fisherman's Bend.
Pitlane debrief following qualification frenzy.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
QUALIFYING DEBRIEF
No more damage to the BMW but Matthew's hair shows the strain.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
FROM THE PITS
Matthew talks about the Free Practice sessions at the Macau Grand Prix
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
Former Macau GP winner offers advice
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Matthew Marsh chats to fellow Guia race competitor Andre Couto of Macau.
Pic: Macau GP website
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA RACE: FREE PRACTICE 2
The second session is currently red-flagged for debris on the circuit. Accident for Tom Coronel. No representative times have been set.
Session resumed.
Matthew Marsh, car #88, hit the barrier at marshal post #5, that is Lisboa Corner, towards the end of the session while on his last flying lap. The car was craned off and delivered back to the paddock. The driver is OK but fed up, the car is relatively unscathed. Matthew had taken Mandarin Oriental bend faster than ever but then slid into the barriers at the 90-degree right at Lisboa.
Independents Class, unofficial practice results:
31 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, Sergio Hernandez (ESP) BMW 320si, 2:35.502
17 Wiechers-Sport, Takayuki Aoki (JPN) BMW 320si, 2:37.087
29 Russian Bears Motorsport, Jaap van Lagen LADA 110 2.0, 2:37.452
88 Wiechers-Sport, Matthew Marsh (HKG) BMW 320si, 2:39.085
43 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Andrey Romanov (RUS) BMW 320si, 2:40.195
45 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, George Tanev (BUL) BMW 320si, 2:40.699
Pictures by Colin Marsh. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA RACE: FREE PRACTICE 1
Independents class top six:
42 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Franz Engstler (GER) BMW 320si, 2:35.000
31 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, Sergio Hernandez (ESP) BMW 320si, 2:35.708
17 Wiechers-Sport, Takayuki Aoki (JPN) BMW 320si, 2:36.040
43 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Andrei Romanov (RUS) BMW 320si 2:38.474
29 Russian Bears Motorsport, Jaap van Lagen LADA 110 2.0, 2:38.657
88 Wiechers-Sport, Matthew Marsh (HKG) BMW 320si, 2:38.825
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
You're a star in Hong Kong, You're a star in Macau...
Matthew Marsh talks to Simon Harrison on the pitwall of the Guia circuit in Macau.
Pic by Colin Marsh. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
ALORS TARQUINI!
Gabriele Tarquini in the SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI. Pic: Philip Newsome.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA GOSSIP II
Friday morning 08:45, Guia circuit: For Matthew Marsh a season that started out at Daytona in January racing a Ferrari against the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves and NASCAR-champion Jimmie Johnson has come down to a contest in Macau in the World Touring Car Championship against the likes of Andy Priaulx, Alessandro Zanardi and Tom Coronel.
The challenge for Matthew today is to further adapt his driving style from the Porsche he customarily drives in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia to the Wiechers-Sport BMW 320si, sponsored by City of Dreams and Flex-Box. The BMW requires more aggression on entry to the corners, needing to be driven hard into the turns and late on the brakes, and slower on exit. From analysing data on other faster cars this approach is shown to be quicker overall and to produce better overall lap times.
We are currently waiting for first Friday practice for the FIA WTCC Canon - Guia Race of Macau to start with the timetable as follows:
08:45-09:15 - Practice
12:15-12:45 - Practice
15:50-16:35 - Qualifying
This event provides plenty of opportunity to adapt to the Guia track in the BMW, with three practice sessions, qualifying and two 9-lap races. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
FIRST PRACTICE TIMES
Picture by Create Images.
Testing - Independents class top six:
31 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, Sergio Hernandez (ESP) BMW 320si, 2:36.031
42 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Franz Engstler (GER) BMW 320si, 2:36.201
17 Wiechers-Sport, Takayuki Aoki (JPN) BMW 320si, 2:39.129
88 Wiechers-Sport, Matthew Marsh (HKG) BMW 320si, 2:39.701
27 Russian Bears Motorsport, Kirill Ladygin (RUS) LADA 110 2.0, 2:42.204
45 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, George Tanev (BUL) BMW 320si, 2:44.516
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
THIS IS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CALLING
Matthew Marsh talks to Rupert Lloyd Thomas about the difficulties of tackling the Guia circuit in the City of Dreams WTCC BMW 320si.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
STREET FIGHTING MAN
Matthew said:
"It is so difficult. When its starts to slide it goes away. The quick guys are floating. I think to be quick you have to get it sliding all the time. I followed Zanardi with his rear end alive."
Tyre warmers, slicks and a street circuit: the ingredients for a classic Guia race are in place. Photo by Phil Newsome.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
MARSH AT THE MELCO
Matthew Marsh at the Melco hairpin on the Guia circuit. Fantastic photograph by Philip Newsome.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA RUNNERS
2008 FIA WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Rounds 23 & 24 - MACAU, November 16, Entry List:
1 BMW Team UK, Andy Priaulx (GBR) BMW 320si
2 BMW Team Germany, Jorg Muller (GER) BMW 320si
3 BMW Team Germany, Augusto Farfus (BRA) BMW 320si
4 BMW Team Italy-Spain, Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) BMW 320si
5 BMW Team Italy-Spain, Felix Porteiro (ESP) BMW 320si
6 Chevrolet, Nicola Larini (ITA) Chevrolet Lacetti
7 Chevrolet, Robert Huff (GBR) Chevrolet Lacetti
8 Chevrolet, Alain Menu (SUI) Chevrolet Lacetti
9 SEAT Sport, Jordi Gene (ESP) Seat Leon 2.0. TDI
10 SEAT Sport, Rickard Rydell (SWE) Seat Leon 2.0. TDI
11 SEAT Sport, Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) Seat Leon 2.0. TDI
12 SEAT Sport, Yvan Muller (FRA) Seat Leon 2.0. TDI
13 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport, Ibrahim Okyay (TUR) BMW 320si
15 N.technology, James Thompson (GBR) Honda Accord Euro R
17 Wiechers-Sport, Takayuki Aoki (JPN) BMW 320si
18 SEAT Sport, Tiago Monteiro (POR) Seat Leon 2.0. TDI
20 SUNRED Engineering Development, Tom Coronel (NED) Seat Leon 2.0. TFSI
27 Russian Bears Motorsport, Kirill Ladygin (RUS) LADA 110 2.0
28 Russian Bears Motorsport, Viktor Shapovalov (RUS) LADA 110 2.0
29 Russian Bears Motorsport, Jaap van Lagen (NED) LADA 110 2.0
31 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, Sergio Hernandez (ESP) BMW 320si
42 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Franz Engstler (GER) BMW 320si
43 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Andrey Romanov (RUS) BMW 320si
45 Scuderia Proteam Motorsport, George Tanev (BUL) BMW 320si
66 N.technology, Andre Couto (MAC) Honda Accord Euro R
69 Thunder Asia Racing, Melvin Choo Kwok Ming (SIN) BMW 320si
80 Chevrolet, Manabu Orido (JPN) Chevrolet Lacetti
81 Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Masaki Kano (JPN) BMW 320i
88 Wiechers-Sport, Matthew Marsh (HKG) BMW 320si
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
CITY OF DREAMS
Matthew Marsh limbers up for first practice in the 2008 edition of the Canon - Guia Race of Macau. Photo: Colin Marsh
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
GUIA GOSSIP
Greetings to Henrik Nielsen, sponsor of car #88, the City of Dreams Flex-Box Wiechers-Sport BMW 320si entered in the World Touring Car Championship, driven this week-end by Matthew Marsh on the Guia circuit. The Canon-Guia Race of Macau consists of two races of 9 laps each, with a 15 minute break between the two legs, starting at 11:55 on Sunday 16th November. RLT.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
Macau Grand Prix
Hot on the heels of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia finale in Bahrain comes the Macau Grand Prix - and my second FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
The photograph shows Macau drivers Joe Merzei (left) and Lei Kit Meng with Alex Zanardi at the drivers' briefing this evening (Wednesday).
Today was spent preparing for the weekend.
The nice people from City of Dreams visited the pits and inspected their hospitality area.
Billy Au (from EDJ Karting) assisted the Wiechers Sport team in the preparation of their two BMWs. This included heading into town with a front bumper over his shoulder to find a repair shop where it was repainted (to replace the one damaged in Okayama).
Meanwhile I joined in the fun at a basketball competition between teams from the WTCC, the motorbike GP, the F3 GP and from Fisherman's Wharf (where the competition was held). I am hopeful that my performance on track this weekend will be somewhat more promising than this afternoon 'on court'...
Stay tuned for regular updates from the pits as the weekend develops.
Labels: Macau 2008, WTCC 2008
WTCC - Podium Finish in Independents' Class
Well... not exactly a podium because only the top three overall and the best Independents' Trophy driver actually go to the podium - but I did finish third on the Independents' class in Sunday's second race. This is very encouraging as we look towards the races in Macau on November 16th.
Labels: WTCC 2008
WTCC Okayama - Race 2
Mega! I started 21st and finished 14th - and enjoyed a good battle with Alain Menu. The conditions were very tricky and I was helped by a number of drivers choosing to start on slick tyres. Sadly the car was damaged by James Thompson using me as a kerb on about lap three but I was lucky not to get caught up in a number of other incidents.
Also mega was that Tom Coronel won the race. A brilliant result for him. It was Tom who suggested I drive with the Wiechers Sport team. Good advice!
A final word of respect for Alain Menu who was faster than me but stayed patient behind - and alongside - me during our battle. I feel privileged to have raced against him.
Labels: WTCC 2008
WTCC Okayama - Race 1
Eventful! As usual the first race had a rolling start. Mine was acceptable until the hairpin at the end of the long straight where someone spun me around. I re-started in last place. I then made some progress to catch Kano in the Engstler BMW. I made life difficult by two trips through separate gravel traps but finally caught him on the last lap. We battled through the final turns where he eventually spun letting me through to 22nd position.
My fastest lap time was a 1:55.4 which was about 1.4 slower than team mate Aoki and 2.2 from race winner Rickard Rydell (SEAT).
Labels: WTCC 2008
Friends in High Places
A visit to the Wiechers Sport garage this morning from the President of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, Wesley Wan. Mr Wan is a member of the FIA's Touring Car Commission, under Jonathan Ashman, and is one of the three stewards observing the WTCC event in Okayama this weekend.
Labels: WTCC 2008
Saturday Reflections
Tune in to Matthew Marsh as the Wiechers Sport crew remove gravel from his car!
Labels: WTCC 2008
WTCC Okayama - Qualifying
The good news is that I have started to get a feel for how the car needs to be driven - which was the whole point of this exercise, of course. The bad news was that I ended-up in the gravel trap about half-way through the session! I was on my second three-lap qualifying run (of three scheduled).
The performance on new tyres and with some detailed set-up changes was good and I benefited from some time studying the data-logging with Wiechers Sport's technical director Thomas Schiemann.
My best time was a 1:39.914 which puts me 7th in the Independents' class and 24th overall. My team-mate Takayuki Aoki set a 1:37.937 for 3rd in class and 15th overall.
Next is a warm-up session on Sunday morning and then two races with a short gap between them. Nelson Pang reports from Macau that the live video streaming on the WTCC website (click here) works well.
Labels: WTCC 2008
WTCC Okayama - Free Practice 2
Disappointing. We ran the first 15 minutes with the old tyres and then put on new ones for a qualifying simulation. My best time - 1:40.666 - was still two seconds slower than team-mate Aoki. It left me 23rd overall and 7th in class.
Qualifying later this afternoon...
Labels: WTCC 2008
WTCC Okayama - Free Practice 1
Improving... slowly. After being 3.5 seconds off the fastest Independent runner yesterday I was 'only' 2.4 off this morning (and 2.2 from my Wiechers Sport team mate Takayuki Aoki). I was 7th of the 12 Independent runners and 24th overall of 29 entries. We have another free practice session at 1200hrs then qualifying in the afternoon.
Labels: WTCC 2008
Pit Box Confidential
Matthew speaks about his first experience of the Wiechers-Sport BMW 320si in the World Touring Car Championship at Okayama - whilst team boss Dominik Greiner runs away from the camera!
Labels: WTCC 2008
WTCC Testing - this is difficult!
Getting used to 280bhp rather than 420 - and a load less grip - is taking a little time. In today's 30-minute testing session on the 3.7 kilometre Okayama circuit I was 28th quickest (of 30 cars) and 3.5 seconds from the quickest Independent (Sergio Hernandez's BMW). Yes - 3.5 seconds!
Tomorrow (Friday) we have two more 30-minute sessions before qualifying.
Labels: WTCC 2008
Bauhinia at Okayama
We're all ready for Friday's free practice session and the sign above our pit shows Hong Kong's Bauhinia flag.
The circuit looks challenging. Many 2nd- and 3rd-gear corners and a lot of hills. We think it will suit the BMW.
And it's stopped raining!
Labels: WTCC 2008
SETTING-UP
Here's the City of Dreams Mean Machine in the pitlane at Okayama International Circuit. It's been raining for the past 18 hours...
Labels: WTCC 2008
On the way to Okayama
I flew today to Osaka and met there the Wiechers-Sport team. They had flown from Germany via Dubai with Emirates. "The best entertainment system ever!" enthused team manager Dominik Greiner.
The picture shows Dominik about to have his first meal in Japan. We're on our way to the Okayama International Circuit for this weekend's World Touring Car Championship event - my debut in the series.
Labels: WTCC 2008
MARSH ENTERS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
I will be racing in the final two events of the 2008 World Touring Car Championship - in Okayama, Japan on October 26th and at the Macau Grand Prix on November 16th. The BMW 320si will be run by the Wiechers-Sport team of Germany and presented in the colours of City of Dreams Macau. Wiechers-Sport won the Independents’ Trophy of the WTCC in both 2005 and 2007. City of Dreams is an integrated entertainment resort due to open in 2009.
The photo below shows the car in its dramatic City of Dreams livery outside the Wiechers-Sport workshop. It will be flown to Japan in time for next week’s race at Okayama. The addition of these two events to my schedule means I have a busy time ahead with four events in five weekends: Shanghai this weekend for the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia race at the Chinese F1 Grand Prix; Okayama for the WTCC; a weekend at home!; Bahrain for the PCCA finale; the Macau Grand Prix.
There are only three FIA World Championships: Formula 1, World Rally and the World Touring Car Championship. I am delighted to be representing Hong Kong in a world championship after becoming the only Hong Kong driver to race in the Le Mans 24-hours and the first to race at the Monaco Grand Prix (in the Porsche Supercup).
Labels: WTCC 2008
