Is the Macau GP threatened with the events in Hong Kong?

The images have been going around the world for several weeks. The gigantic gatherings in the heart of Hong Kong continue, as do the clashes with the police.

On the streets since last June to proclaim their dissatisfaction with a bill aimed at arresting, extraditing and trying in mainland China any person directly or indirectly linked to activities presented as criminal by Chinese legislation, Hong Kong demonstrators also demand more democracy, through the establishment of universal suffrage.

Demands already at the heart of the “umbrella movement” in 2014. The inhabitants of the former British colony, returned to Beijing in 1997, wish to maintain a certain independence vis-à-vis China, and therefore want their own legislative or judicial systems are maintained.

But what link is there to be found with motorsport? At first glance, none, except that less than two hours by boat is Macau, scene of the famous Grand Prix from November 14 to 17. F3. The 66th edition will once again bring together the FIA ​​F3 and FIA GT World Cups, as well as a round of the WTCR championship.

Wait and see

The distance between Macao and Hong Kong suggests that if the events shaking the Pearl of the Orient were to continue, an immediate impact seems unlikely. However, the maritime link between Hong Kong and Macau was briefly interrupted last July due to demonstrations and the Hong Kong international airport paralyzed due to sit-ins organized by protesters.

Another way to reach one area to another: the famous 55 km bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau. As for the Grand Prix, there are no concerns to mention for the moment. “The 66th Macau Grand Prix will take place from November 14 to 17, 2019 on its usual date of the third week of November, the organization told us. There are no special arrangements or modifications for this year. »

Ditto on the team side, a source close to the GT event having told us that no change in the schedule was known for the moment, the deadline for transporting the cars participating in the FIA ​​GT World Cup being around two weeks . Another major category of this event, the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) does not seem to be on the agenda. “There is no concern at this stage”, confirmed François Ribeiro, promoter of the discipline via the company Eurosport Events.

As a reminder, this season, the Macanese round does not constitute the final of the championship, but rather the penultimate meeting, three weeks after the trip to Suzuka (Japan, October 25-27). The cars must be transported by sea to the old Portuguese trading post, as in previous years.

If the scenario of a postponement, or even an outright cancellation, still seems unlikely three months before the first laps of the wheels, motorsport cannot remain indefinitely cut off from the upheavals that Hong Kong is going through. If it is therefore too early, according to those involved in the Grand Prix, to envisage a disaster scenario, the danger could increase if the conflict persists only 65 km away.

Even the business of Formula 1 had to give up settling down in 2011 in Bahrain. The Persian Gulf country, caught up in the democratic demonstrations of the Arab Spring, had violently repressed popular desires, resulting in several dozen deaths. Once postponed from April to November following a vote led by the FIA ​​World Council, the event was ultimately canceled entirely by those responsible for the Sakhir circuit.