The Chinese city/island of Macau has hosted the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix for nearly half a century now. The Guia Circuit has been used since 1972, making this the 39th time motorcycles have been run on that course. For the last three years, though, a certain Scotsman has owned that track during the real roads motorcycle race which draws racers and fans from around the world. Riding a Paul Bird Kawasaki ZX-10R, British Superbike regular and real roads ace Stuart Easton rode to his third victory in three years. Easton even broke his own lap record as he charged ahead of Paris AXA Ducati rider Michael Rutter, who was the pole sitter for the race.
The race itself was essentially split in two as Canadian rider Chris Peris had a nasty crash caused by running on an
unfamiliar tire. During qualifying, Peris landed in the 12th spot – an enviable achievement for a newcomer. That red flag came in lap six; the race was stopped and then restarted with nine laps run afterwards. Easton took off on the second start with a mission to put some distance between him and second position man Rutter. At one point he managed a gap of 2 seconds, but Rutter came back. That forced Easton to put down his fast and record-setting lap in order to hold on to the win.
Once the checkered flag was dropped, the order was Easton in first, Rutter right behind in second and Lee’s Cycles Racing BMW rider Jeremy Toye rounding out the podium. For Paul Bird Motorsports it was victory number two at the event – both as the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT). Easton’s teammate on the KRT, and fellow Scot, Keith Amor finished in tenth position after qualifying in sixth; he had setup issues. The Macau race was a fine finish for last year’s Kawasaki ZX-10R. Next season will see the team using the brand new 2011 Ninja ZX-10R – a near complete re-design – so we might yet see Easton on the top step again.
The 45th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix will be held in November 2011 in Macau, China.
