Road racing and endurance riders from 11 countries and territories will take to the 6.2km Guia street circuit for the Star River‧Windsor Arch Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix – 47th Edition this November.

The entry includes a fascinating combination of nine exciting newcomers and a host of successful Macau experts such as eight-time winner Michael Rutter, who returns on an SMT Racing Honda.

No-one is going to rule out win number nine for Rutter, not even his likeliest rival John McGuinness, but the two most experienced Macau campaigners head up an entry list that's rich with talent - and possible winners.

Ian Lougher makes his last-ever racing appearance at Macau, bringing down the curtain on a long and illustrious career that he seems determined to end as competitively as it began, if his race-winning performance at the Scarborough Gold Cup is any kind of guide. Lougher will certainly have thought about adding the Macau Grand Prix to his CV for the first time on his final race outing as a rider, which will be on an IRL/Barnes Racing Honda.

Martin Jessopp, runner-up at Macau for the last two years running, is back with Riders Motorcycles this time aboard a BMW, and should be a strong contender.

Elsewhere on the entry list are a host of names who have been showing enormous potential during this season.

Include among them riders who are Macau and road-race regulars like Gary Johnson and Stephen Thompson (T&R Motorsport Suzuki), as well as Americans Mark Miller (Splitlath Redmond Racing Honda) and Jeremy Toye - time-served riders who know enough about the Guia Circuit to be quick from the outset, and that might be vital if wet weather makes a return visit as well.

The same is true of regulars such as Horst Saiger of Austria (Saiger-Racing.com Kawasaki), but the European element of the entry list is packed with names which are relatively new to the streets of Macau though not to road-racing in general, starting with the new International Road Racing Championship (IRRC) winner Didier Grams of Germany, making only his third visit on a Heidger-Motorsport.de BMW, while Miller’s team mate Brandon Cretu returns for a second time, adding a Romanian name to the entry list again, though he was born in the USA.

Other likely candidates for a surprise performance could well include the likes of Dean Harrison, after another strong year on the roads, the irrepressible Lee Johnston, and the Supertwin star Jamie Hamilton, Irish Road Racing Champion this year and hopefully fully fit after a fall just before he claimed his second title of the year, this time in Supersport.

In addition to Harrison, fellow Britons making their debuts this year are: Dan Cooper, part of a two-rider DMR Racing entry with Scotsman James Storrar, 8th at Macau last year; Graham English (BMW TIVA Engineering Ltd – Fix Auto Collision); and Ben Wylie who teams up with Paul Shoesmith at ICE VALLEY by Motorsave Trade. Irishman Brian McCormack debuts at Macau on a TAG Racing Honda.

Other newcomers are Roman Stamm of Switzerland with Team Bolliger and fellow countryman Hervé Gantner, who partners Toye at Penz13.Com BMW Racing Team, while from Portugal comes André Pires on a SBK/INCORTCAR Suzuki.

South African newcomer Allann-Jon Venter makes his debut as part of a four-rider entry from Quattro Plant Motorsport. Fourth place finisher last year Gary Johnson leads the charge on a Honda after an impressive season of racing which has included podium finishes at the Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix. Steve Heneghan, who made his Macau debut last year, will be aboard a Kawasaki, as will seasoned road racer Sandor Bitter of Hungary and Venter, who made his first appearance at the Isle of Man TT this year.

There are plenty of riders for the highly-respected Macau invitational but so few places on the grid, and as always there's the possibility of a surprise from the ranks of riders whose names we know but have yet to deliver on this most challenging circuit.

One thing is certain - no-one is here for a holiday, competition will be fierce, and anyone who wins a place in the top ten will have earned it the hard way. And yet it would be a brave man who bet against Rutter adding number nine before he rounds out his Macau career with a tenth next time.


1 Michael Rutter GBR SMT Racing (Honda)
2 John Mcguinness GBR Honda TT Legends (Honda)
5 Gary Johnson GBR Quattro Plant Motorsports (Honda)
7 Dean Harrison GBR RC Express Racing by MSS Performance (Kawasaki)
8 Roman Stamm SUI Team Bolliger Switzerland (Kawasaki)
10 Mark Miller USA Splitlath Redmond Racing (Honda)
11 Stephen Thompson GBR T&R Motorsport (Suzuki)
12 Ian Lougher GBR ILR / Barnes Racing (Honda)
15 James Storrar GBR DMR Racing (BMW)
17 Nuno Caetano POR KD Team of Portugal (Kawasaki)
18 Lee Johnston GBR East Coast Racing (Honda)
19 Marc Fissette BEL Heidger-Motorsport.de (Suzuki)
20 Dan Cooper GBR DMR Racing (BMW)
22 Horst Saiger AUT Saiger-Racing.com (Kawasaki)
26 Didier Grams GER Heidger-Motorsport.de (BMW)
39 Allann-Jon Venter RSA Quattro Plant Motorsports (Kawasaki)
40 Martin Jessopp GBR Riders Motorcycles BMW (BMW)
44 Jamie Hamilton GBR KMR Kawasaki (Kawasaki)
47 Brandon Cretu USA Splitlath Redmond Racing (EBR)
48 Hervé Gantner SUI Penz13.Com BMW Racing Team (BMW)
54 Steve Heneghan IRL Quattro Plant Motorsports (Kawasaki)
55 Dan Kneen IOM Marks Bloom Racing (Suzuki)
57 Jeremy Toye USA Penz13.Com BMW Racing Team (BMW)
60 Ben Wylie GBR Ice Valley by Motorsave Trade (BMW)
68 David Johnson AUS PR Racing (Kawasaki)
69 Paul Shoesmith GBR Ice Valley by Motorsave Trade (BMW)
71 Davy Morgan GBR CSC Racing (Suzuki)
77 Sandor Bitter HUN Quattro Plant Motorsports (Kawasaki)
83 Graham English GBR TIVA Engineering Ltd – Fix Auto Collision (BMW)
111 Brian Mccormack IRL TAG Racing (Honda)
114 Andre Pires POR SBK / Incortcar (Suzuki)
115 Steve Mercer GBR TTC 115 (Suzuki)

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