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Unus Alladin

Michael Bartels is a man on a mission. The German Audi A4 Quattro driver is competing in Macau for the first time in 10 years after making his previous visit here a forgettable one - he crashed out on the first corner in the Formula Three race.

 Now, Bartels has the chance to exorcise the ghost that has haunted him for a decade.

 Bartels, who claimed pole position for tomorrow's Guia race clocking 2:29.064, said: 'The last time I was here in 1989, I crashed out on the very first corner and it has been a very frustrating period for me. I went back to Europe that year thinking things couldn't have gone worst.

 'It was hard for me and I will never forget that. Fortunately, I have another chance to redeem myself and hopefully all will go well this time,' said Bartels, who was 1.206 seconds faster than Italian teammate Max Angelelli after yesterday's final qualifying.

 Australia's Paul Morris was third quickest in 2:31.337 ahead of Hong Kong's Charles Kwan, who was farther back in 2:31.355, also in a BMW 320i.

 Bartels held on to his provisional pole position for tomorrow's race with another impressive performance.

 Pushing his Audi to the limit, the German improved his time set on Thursday by almost two seconds.

 'I am happy with my pace this weekend. I am expecting a tough fight with Max [tomorrow], although obviously we want to ensure that both cars finish the race,' said Bartels.

 Angelelli was pleased he had managed to improve his time from Thursday by almost three seconds. He was confident his enormous experience in Macau would help him over the two legs on raceday.

 'I've raced here a lot so I have no problems knowing where the track goes, but it has been hard adjusting to the four-wheel drive Audi,' said the Italian.

 Meanwhile, Briton Darren Manning failed to improve his fastest lap during yesterday's final qualifying, although he will start in pole position for the 46th Macau Grand Prix.

 The Tom's driver had trouble finding a clear path around the circuit as his rivals steadily closed his advantage during the session.

 Macau rookie Briton, Jenson Button, will be Manning's closest challenger as he set the second fastest lap, less than five-tenths of a second slower than pole, on his last lap. He clocked 2:14.664.

 Austrian Robert Lechner, who sat on pole last year, will start third after clocking 2:14.925.

 'I am overjoyed with this result but there was so much traffic out there that I could not improve my lap time,' said Manning. 'It was a terrible session for me and I think my only clear lap was the first one out of the pits.'  Earlier, Englishman John McGuinness stamped his class to snatch pole position for this morning's 33rd Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix and then promised fans a red hot race.

 The 25-year-old rider from Morecombe was quickest in yesterday's final qualifying session as he steered his Paul Bird Team Vimto Honda NSR 500 to the number-one grid position for the race.

 McGuinness' time of 2:34.384 was 0.081 of a second faster than British rider David Jefferies, who claimed second spot on the grid on his V&M Racing Yamaha 1000 in 2:35.465.

 Third fastest was Swiss veteran Andreas Hofmann, who will be aiming for his second Macau Grand Prix title in three years - one month short of his 44th birthday. Hoffman, winner here in 1997, clocked 2:34.318.

 Although McGuiness is the man to beat, the Honda rider said it was still anybody's race.

 'We're all professionals and we're all competitive. When the light turns green tomorrow, we're all going to be challenging for the top position,' said McGuinness.

 The Englishman was pleased with his fastest qualifying time, saying he had a 'perfect' practice.

 'I just rode as fast and hard as I could, although it was slightly off-putting for me when they stopped practice after an accident,' he said.

 Nigel Piery's NP Racing Honda 600 slammed into a wall after he lost control in a fiery crash although Piery escaped unhurt. The second incident occurred towards the end of qualifying when Dave Heal walked away unscathed after his Kawasaki burst into flames after hitting a barrier.

Dawning age - Page 18 



Bartels promises to make amends