Revised Saturday schedule for qualifying at Macau Grand Prix after overnight rain - pacesetter Davey Todd 'surprised' by early pace
Friday’s qualifying for the 57th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix was cancelled after overnight rain.
A revised schedule has been issued, with a one-hour qualifying session now set to run from 07:00 to 08:00 Macau time (11pm to 12 midnight UK time) on Saturday.
The 12-lap race will then go ahead as scheduled at 09:10 local time (01:00 UK time).
Last year, the race was cancelled due to adverse weather brought by a passing typhoon.
England’s Davey Todd was declared the winner in 2024 based on results in qualifying, with Finland’s Erno Kostamo second and Peter Hickman third.
No racing or qualifying for the motorcycles takes place in Macau unless the course is dry due to the dangers involved, with Armco barriers lining the 3.8-mile course.
On Thursday, 8TEN Racing’s Todd set the pace in free practice (2m 26.210s) on the Zeeco BMW by 2.41s from team-mate Hickman, with Rob Hodson third fastest on the SMT Racing Honda.
“I’m loving being back on a bike I enjoy riding,” said Todd. “These are the same settings I use outside the British championship and it shows what pace I can run at when everything is in the right place.
“If I’m honest, I’ve surprised myself at the times I’ve posted considering the track is still green as there’s been no action on it. Everything is good.”
Hickman is making his road racing comeback after crashing in qualifying at the Isle of Man TT.
The four-time Macau winner was happy with how he performed on Thursday.
“I’m happy how things are going so far,” he said. “It’s no secret that I like to build into a session as opposed to being quick out of the blocks.
“Everything feels good, both with me and the bike, in fact, I felt very good when we went back out with twenty minutes to go. It’s all going to plan so far.”
Kostamo was fourth quickest on the Racing for Inclusion by RVS BMW, despite only managing six laps.
Northern Ireland’s Paul Jordan was fifth quickest on the Jackson Racing Honda powered by Prosper2, with team-mate and Macau newcomer making a big impact on his debut by ending the session in sixth.
Michael Sweeney crashed at Donna Maria bend after a water pipe came loose, spilling fluid onto the rear wheel of his MJR BMW and causing the incident, which brought out the red flag.
Sweeney walked away from the crash and his machine was not badly damaged. The Skerries man – 13th in free practice – is expected to return in Saturday’s qualifying session.
SEE ALSO: