Road Racing: FHO Racing ready to fly the flag at Macau

FHO Racing have announced a three-rider lineup for the Macau GP.

FHO Racing have announced their three-rider lineup for the 2023 Macau Grand Prix in November. Both their BSB riders, Josh Brookes and Peter Hickman will race alongside Macau GP winner Michael Rutter.

The race will be held at Macau from the 16 – 18 of November and will be the 55^th edition of the historic race. It is the last road race of the season of a historic year in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the UK.

It is Team Principal, Faye Ho’s home meeting, who grew up in Macau and has been involved in the race throughout her life.

The event was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 restrictions which were in place. In 2022 the race returned with Erno Kostamo taking his first win at the Macau Grand Prix. Kostamo was also the first non-British rider to win the race since 1997 when Andreas Hofmann won onboard his Kawasaki.

FHO signs the most successful Macau GP rider

After a three-year gap, Michael Rutter will make his long-awaited return to the iconic road race. Rutter is the most successful motorcycle racer at Macau, winning nine races throughout his career. His most recent win came in 2019, onboard a legendary and loud Honda RC213V-S. 

“I’m looking forward to going back to Macau, the last time I raced there was in 2019 which turned out to be a short race with just one lap. Heading back this year with FHO Racing is quite a big deal, they’re the biggest team in the UK and after their success at the Isle of Man TT Races, we should be in for some good results. 

“I’m looking forward to being teammates with Josh (Brookes) and Peter (Hickman), I’ve raced against them so much in the past so although it’ll be highly competitive, the three of us will be a strong team. A huge thanks to Faye and the team for the opportunity, it’ll be great to be back racing at Macau with FHO Racing and with my long-term sponsors Bathams also onboard; it would be great to secure win number ten!”

TT record-breaker ready for Macau comeback

Peter Hickman will also return to the race, hoping to add another win to his tally onboard the BMW. Hickman has won three Macau Grand Prix – his first in 2015 with the RAF Reserves team.

“I’m super excited to get back to Macau this year, the last time I raced there was in 2019, which was four years ago now, so I’m really looking forward to getting back out there. With the FHO Racing team, it’s going to be a special one; it’s Faye’s home event and the first time the team has raced there, so it’s going to be really cool. 

“It’s great to have Josh making his debut there, it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on with a brand-new circuit such as Macau, but after a few laps, he’ll get his head around it. We’ve got a strong three-man team, and it’ll be fun having Michael with us too!”

Brookes makes his Macau debut

Josh Brookes will make his debut racing at Macau in 2023 after an impressive showing at the Isle of Man TT. The two-time British Superbike Champion finished in fifth at the Senior TT, riding for FHO Racing.

“The Macau Grand Prix is going to be interesting, I have a career of road racing with results at the North West and the Isle of Man TT, but Macau is different from those races, it’s more like a short circuit with walls, as opposed to a public road so to speak.

“The real true road racing event is the Isle of Man TT, and the absolute pinnacle of racing extremes you know what you can achieve from a motorcycle is achieved in short circuits, so having never ridden at Macau before that’s where my head’s at. I see it being more like a short circuit, let’s say a smoother more refined ground to ride on but obviously surrounded by walls.

Image credit: FHO Racing