Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series Vice-Champion Antonio Giovinazzi and fellow category podium finisher Sean Gelael will make their respective debuts in the blue riband Macau Grand Prix this weekend, 16th/17th November, with former GP winning squad Double R Racing.
Italian rookie Giovinazzi, who put together a fantastic first season in Formula 3 with Double R during his dovetailed programme in the British series and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, could well be one of the surprise packages in the 60th staging of the Macau Grand Prix.
As well as becoming Vice-Champion in British F3 in his maiden campaign, with two wins and a total of seven podiums, Giovinazzi also developed into a consistent front-runner in the European series with a season-best top six finish coming during the final weekend at Hockenheim last month.
While Giovinazzi has never experienced the challenging and unforgiving Circuito da Guia track before, team boss Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt is confident the 19-year-old has what it takes to be one of the fastest rookies.
“We’re cautiously optimistic for Antonio’s chances in Macau”, said Hieatt, “He’s done a fantastic job this season, has delivered some tremendous performances, and we’re confident he can aim to be one of the quickest rookies out there at the weekend. He’s done excellent work on the simulator, he’s prepared very strongly, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can achieve.”
Team-mate Gelael, who will be the youngest competitor on the Macau grid having just celebrated his 17th birthday at the beginning of the month, has been on a very steep learning curve this year with Double R but has shone on several occasions – not least in British F3 where he took three podiums.
As the least experienced driver on the entry list for this year’s Star River Windsor Arch Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix, in terms of total car racing mileage, the Indonesian youngster will be embarking on his greatest challenge to date. Even so, Double R team principal Hieatt is confident of a strong showing from Gelael having seen, first hand, his skills develop throughout 2013.
“This year is all about learning for Sean”, he commented, “He’s done a great job in his first season up against some incredibly tough competition, especially in Europe. We’ll be interested to see how he gets on during his first visit to Macau, he just needs to get as much experience as he can and learn as much as possible for next year.”
Alongside Giovinazzi and Gelael at Double R for this weekend’s event will be Estonian racer Kevin Korjus and China’s Sun Zheng. The latter pairing will run under the ‘Galaxy Double R Racing’ banner, in deference to the former GP-winning team’s title sponsorship from key partner Galaxy Macau.
Following the initial practice sessions at Circuito da Guia on Thursday, 14th November, additional practice running and qualifying will take place on Friday, 15th November. The 10 lap qualification race will begin at 14.00 (local time) on Saturday, 16th November, with the Star River Windsor Arch Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix itself scheduled for Sunday, 17th November, at 15.30 (local time).
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