The FIA has revealed which teams will participate the Macau Grand Prix’s second running as a Formula Regional race this November.
There will be 10 teams entering the event on November 13-16, which will award the FIA FRegional World Cup to the winner, compared to 11 last year.
Dutch outfit MP Motorsport, New Zealand’s FRegional Americas dominator Kiwi Motorsport and the TGM Grand Prix squad from Japan are not returning after competing in 2024, while Trident and Van Amersfoort Racing join to fight for FRegional honours.
R-ace GP will defend its 2024 victory, and remaining on the grid after racing last year are ART Grand Prix, Evans GP, PHM Racing, Pinnacle Motorsport, Prema, Sainteloc Racing and TOM’S. Pinnacle competed last year in partnership with KCMG.
Trident previously entered cars in the Macau GP in its last two editions as a Formula 3 race in 2019 and 2023. On its first visit to the challenging Guia Circuit it rose up the order over the weekend. Alession Lorandi was its highest placed driver in qualifying, putting his car 14th on the grid for the qualification race.
He rose to seventh in that encounter, then to fifth in the main race as team-mate David Beckmann started and finished ninth.
Two years ago its best qaulfier was Ugo Ugochukwu (who won the 2024 grand prix) in ninth, but in the qualification race Richard Verschoor (the 2019 winner) was its top driver in 12th. He charged up to sixth in the main race.
VAR has a far longer history in Macau, having first raced there in 1998. Bas Leinders finished eighth for the team that year.
Its next appearance in the grand prix was 2011 with one car, but their weekend ended by being eliminated on lap one of the main race. VAR had two cars in 2012, but also did not see the chequered flag on the Sunday.
The team returned in 2014 with future Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen in its line-up. The single-seater rookie qualified third and charged from 24th to seventh in the main race after retiring in the qualification race.
Charles Leclerc was Macau GP runner-up for VAR in 2015, Callum Ilott was second in the qualification race in 2016 but fell to fifth in the main race, and Ralf Aron made his way from 15th on the grid to the grand prix podium in 2017.
Unfortunately VAR’s participation in 2018 was remembered for Sophia Floersch’s back-breaking shunt, but she recovered to be back on the grid for 2019 while VAR was absent as only teams from the FIA F3 Championship were invited to take part.
It joined that championship a few years later, enabling it have a ninth attempt at winning the Macau GP in 2023. While another podium eluded the team, there was celebrations as Floersch was its top driver in 11th place.
Trident and VAR are currently Formula 2, FIA F3 and Formula Regional European Championship rivals.