Racing in Zhuhai
You don’t have to haul yourself to the Singapore Grand Prix to watch some real motor racing. Go to Zhuhai next weekend and do it for free, says Adam White.
Sun, speed… Zhuhai?
Zhuhai may not be a city that we think about much in Hong Kong, out of SAR loyalty: if you’re going to China, why not go to Macau? But aside from being a gentle, sleepy coastal city, Zhuhai has its own petrol-filled charm. It’s the home to the Zhuhai International Circuit, China’s first permanent race track—and with it, Asia Formula Renault racing.
Sure, “Formula Renault” doesn’t sound quite as glamorous as “Formula 1.” The cars may be a touch smaller than their F1 or their F3 cousins. The 200-odd horsepower engines may not push out quite as much torque. But when they go from 0-100kph in 3.5 seconds; when you’re stood at the pit wall as a dozen of these machines scream down the straight at 230kph—the differences whip away. It’s powerful, terrifying speed, and it’s happening 20 meters from your face. And let me promise you something: unless your name happens to be Schumacher Wong, they’re sure as hell not going to let you hang out on the pit wall during a Formula One race.
Asia Formula Renault cars are what Formula One champ Kimi Raikkonen was driving before he made the leap to F1, and they’re the jewel in the crown of the Pan Delta Super Racing Festival. The festival takes place a few times each year, and the next one blows into town next Saturday and Sunday, September 14-15. Race weekends are packed with superbikes, touring cars, drift cars and Formula Renault—qualifying sessions, drift battles, demonstrations, and bumper-to-bumper racing. It’s hot, it’s sticky, and it’s all in front of you.
Getting Some Track Time
While it’s free to get in to the grandstand, RMB180 gets you entry into to the racing paddock and occasional access to the pit lane. Want to upgrade again? For just RMB500 you’ve got a VIP pass and pretty much free-roaming rights across the circuit. The crowd floods on to the starting grid itself just before the race. You weave between cars on a baking hot grid, as all around you the business of racing goes on: tire pressures are checked. Last-minute adjustments made to wings and surfaces. In one corner, a whole spool of orange wire is yanked from around the gold-plated rims of a touring car.