Macau Grand Prix

Macau, 15 Nov 1981

All cars are 1.6-litre F/Pac unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 81A (Naohiro Fujita): A March 81A raced by Naohiro Fujita in the JAF Formula Pacific series, entered by Speed Star Wheel Racing Team and fitted with a Toyota 2T-G engine. Raced by Fujita at seven of the nine races, and at Macau in November. Unknown after 1981.
2. Chevron B39/B40 (Albert Poon): LC Kwan (Hong Kong), owner of the Equipe 66 garage, bought a Chevron B39 in late 1977 from Fred Opert for Albert Poon (Hong Kong) to drive in Formula Pacific in Southeast Asia. The car was in the UK, not the US, for reasons still to be determined, and before it was shipped to Asia, it was borrowed by Ardmore Racing for Divina Galica to race in the Donington Park F2 event in October 1977, using a Swindon BDX engine. It was described as a brand new B40, and had been fitted with a set of Ardmore's blue, white and red bodywork to which Olympus signwriting had been applied. It was then shipped to Hong Kong in time for the Macau Grand Prix a month later. Although Poon entered his car as a B40, an article in the Malaysia Grand Prix race programme in May 1978 described the car as a "new car which he has just bought in the US". Also raced by Kevin Bartlett at Macau in 1978 and by Andrew Miedecke at Macau in 1979. Then raced by Poon at Macau in 1980, 1981 and 1982. Retained by Kwan in Hong Kong until 1989 when it was sold to Gordon Norris and returned to the UK. Sold in 2022 to Bruce Balchin (Southampton).
3. March 81A (Masatomo Shimizu): A March 81A raced by Masatomo Shimizu in the JAF Formula Pacific series, entered by Central 20 Racing Team and fitted with a Nissan LZ14 engine. Raced by Shimizu at seven of the nine races, and at Macau in November. Unknown after 1981.
4. March 81A (Masahiro Hasemi): A March 81A raced by Masahiro Hasemi in the JAF Formula Pacific series, entered by Hasemi Motorsports and fitted with a Nissan LZ14 engine. Raced by Hasemi at six of the nine races, and at Macau in November. Retained by Hasemi for 1982, and raced in the first four races of the season, after which he moved to a RaltRT4/82.
5. March 722/76B [722-40] (Roberto Moreno): New to Australian Vern Schuppan to drive in the British Formula Atlantic championship. Fitted with a BRM Ford twin cam engine, and first seen in practice at Mallory Park in late March, but Schuppan left before the race to catch a flight to the Singapore GP. Schuppan finished second in Singapore, and third in the Malaysian GP a week later. Then returned to the British series, now with a BDA, and won four rounds. The car was then fitted with Falconer bodywork and an Amon-Woods engine rebuilt by Geoff Richardson, and raced in the Rothmans 50,000 and in two late-season F2 races. After a single F2 race in 1973 fitted with a Richardon BDG, the car went to Southeast Asia, winning the Singapore GP with a Ford twin cam fitted, then competed in the JAF Grand Prix at Fuji with the BDG, and back to the 'twink' for Macau. He raced the car in British Formula Atlantic briefly in early 1974, then sent it back to Asia where he won the Macau GP in November, by which time it had been fitted with 732 bodywork and a Lola T360 rear wing. It then became a fixture at Macau up to 1977, being driven by Alan Jones and Derek Daly. Patrick Tambay also raced for Theodore Racing in the Malaysian and Penang Grands Prix in 1977, where it was still in 732 form but was billed as a 752. It reappeared at Macau for Schuppan in 1979, now in 76B bodywork. After one more race in the hands of Roberto Moreno, the car was retained by Yip and placed in the Macau Grand Prix Museum.
6. Ralt RT4/81 [267] (Geoff Lees): Ralt sales record says sold to Theodore Racing, delivered 16 Oct 81. [Tub no: 81/135; gearbox FT1488; fuel cell JM37176 10/81] Dave McMillan's car at Bay Park 3 Jan 82 is described by NZMN as Lees's car from Macau, 1981. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Dave McMillan at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. Presumed to be the car used by McMillan for the first part of the 1982 North American season, before he was given a 1982 specification car to use [alternatively this may have been RT4-205]. Chassis number given for McMillan's car at 1982 AGP, [AMSYB-82 p167] [CT]
7. Ralt RT4/82 [81-269] (Jean-Pierre Jarier): Ralt sales record says sold to Theodore Racing, delivered 2 Oct 81. [Tub no: 81/123; gearbox FT1482; fuel cell JM36678 6/81] Chassis number given by NZMA for the car of Mike Rosen at Bay Park 3 Jan 82. Described by NZMA report as ex-Jarier, so presumed to be Jarier's car at Macau 1981. A note for Paul Radisich's car at the Bay Park Union Travel Championship race 11 Apr 82 [A/S 15 Apr 82 p48] says that this was the car used earlier in the year by Mike Rosen. Paul Radisich's car at Adelaide 4 Jul 82 is described as 'ex Mike Rosen' [AMSYB-82 p153] Chassis number given for Paul Radisich's car at 1982 AGP, and presumed to be the car used by him throughout the 1982 Australian Gold Star series. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Paul Radisich at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. [CT]
8. March 81A (Satoru Nakajima): A March 81A raced by Satoru Nakajima in the JAF Formula Pacific series, entered by I&I Racing Development and fitted with a Toyota 2T-G engine. Raced by Nakajima at seven of the nine races, and at Macau in November, where it was fited with a Toyota 220P and where Nakajima crashed. Unknown after 1981.
9. March 81A [15] (Vern Schuppan): New to Phil Dowsett (Chelmsford, Essex) and raced in the British Formula Atlantic championshipmin 1981, with sponsorship from Pinch Plant and Industrial Control Services. Dowsett won two races and finished third in the championship. Sold to Theodore Racing and raced by Vern Schuppan at the Macau GP in November. Then sold to Graham Brown in Western Australia in April 1982 and raced in Australian Formula Pacific. To Michael Moylan in March 1985, then to Jeremy Kenyon (NSW) in January 1991. Sold to Clive Osborne (NSW) in August 1996 and raced by him in 2000, then to Robert Foster (NSW) by 2007 and raced by him from 2007 to 2019. To Barry Wise (QLD) in 2020, and raced by him in 2021 and 2022.
10. Ralt RT4/81 [265] (Roberto Moreno): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Pwee, no delivery date. [Tub no: 81/126; gearbox: FT1478; JM36735 6/81] "Pwee" is Gregg 'Peewee' Siddle, who ran the teams of first Nelson Piquet in F3, and then Roberto Moreno in all junior formulae. Chassis number noted in NZMA report on the car of Nelson Piquet at Australian GP 1981 [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. Chassis number given for Moreno's car in NZMA report of the Bay Park race, 3 Jan 82, and presumed to be the car run by Moreno throughout the NZ series. Chassis number given for Phillip Revell's car at the 1982 AGP and presumed to be the car used by Revell in the 1982 Australian Gold Star series. Revell's car also described by AMSYB-82 p166 as 'ex Piquet 1981 AGP'. [CT]

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

The results of the Formula Pacific races in South East Asian at Macau, Penang, Selangor and Shah Alam were originally provided by Chris Townsend based on the short reports in Autosport and Motoring News plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors. These have been developed further by Andrew Horrox using material in New Zealand Motoraction. For the Macau Grand Prix, further data comes from Philip Newsome's book 'Color and Noise: 40 Years of the Macau Grand Prix' (Studio Publications Ltd, 1993).

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

'Colour and Noise: 40 Years of the Macau Grand Prix' (Philip Newsome, Studio Publications Limited, 1993).