Final decision on Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix 'next week' as more top names withdraw due to Covid-19 restrictions

Smiths Racing rider Peter Hickman, a three-time Macau GP winner, and his Global Robots BMW team have pulled out, while former winner John McGuinness is also set to shelve his plans to make the long trip to China.

Record nine-time winner Michael Rutter had previously ruled himself out, while Northern Ireland’s Lee Johnston did not intend to compete at Macau this year, regardless of the Covid-19 impact.

The Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team withdrew from the event early on and top Irish road racers Derek Sheils and Michael Sweeney have decided against travelling to Macau, where foreign competitors are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period in a designated hotel prior to the race, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 21.

Magherfelt’s Paul Jordan, who made his debut at Macau in 2018, has also ruled himself out.

Jordan, who was due to ride for Lee Hardy’s RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki team, told the News Letter: “As much as I love the place, it’s just not possible this year with the restrictions in place.

“Lee [Hardy] made the decision not to go with the team and it’s just not an option this year with everything that’s happening. It’s disappointing because it’s an event that we all look forward to, but we’ll just have to wait and see how things go next year.”

In the latest press conference for the event, Macau Sports Bureau Vice President Christine Lam said the number of overseas riders due to compete this year was “much less” than what was initially anticipated, with many competitors changing their minds after originally expressing a willingness to take part.

Ms Lam revealed the Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee would make a decision by the middle of this month on whether the 54th edition of the motorcycle race can take place, stressing that the event would only run with sufficient entries.

Around 200 competitors are expected to contest the car races at Macau this year, although the majority of drivers are local and from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and surrounding Asian countries.

The blue riband Formula 3 race has been dropped from the programme for the first time in 37 years as a result of the restrictions in force, while the other headline races – the FIA GT World Cup and FIA World Touring Car Cup – have been replaced by races targeted at local and regional participants.

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