Macau, 11th November 2013 - After a frantic season of racing in Europe in Formula 3, Indonesian talent Sean Gelael is getting set for the big one: the Macau Grand Prix.
Every year, the top Formula 3 drivers from around the globe assemble in a paddock just across the road from Macau’s ferry terminal, and get set to battle on a wonderful street circuit that is regarded as one of the finest in the world.
The track itself is virtually unaltered since the first running of the Macau Grand Prix, in 1954, but the surroundings have changed significantly as the city becomes more and more developed.
Since finishing his European season, Sean has had time to celebrate his 17th birthday in Indonesia with many of his racing friends, family and buddies from home, but he has not been able to become too distracted, as the ultimate challenge of the F3 calendar awaits…
Gelael will be one of 10 Macau rookies in the 28-car field, and the biggest task will be to keep his Double R Racing Dallara-Mercedes in one piece during the first practice and qualifying sessions on Thursday 14th November. That way, he can gain as much knowledge and experience of the track as possible in order to push harder in final practice and qualifying on Friday 15th November.
This sets the starting grid for the qualification race on Saturday 16th November, and the result of this in turn sets the order for the start of the final of the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday 17th November. Therefore, if you hit trouble at the beginning of the qualification race on Saturday, you start at the back on Sunday…
Sean’s Double R Racing team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, who also works as race engineer on Gelael’s car, has had wins in three runnings of the Macau Grand Prix. In 1989 he was a mechanic to David Brabham; in 2001 he was race engineer to Japanese star Takuma Sato; and in 2006 he was team boss and engineer to Mike Conway.
“Luckily we have got on-board footage from Macau, and a simulation model that Sean has used extensively,” says Hieatt. “But there is nothing like the culture shock of your peripheral vision being overtaken by walls once you get out on the track! Driving Macau is like driving in a tunnel, and there is an awful lot to take in.
“It is very difficult for all rookie drivers. Thursday is not important for lap times; you just need to stay focused on your braking and turn-in points. If you crash, your confidence goes down, so we will be telling Sean to drive within himself and to do the maximum number of laps possible.”
In other words, Macau is much tougher than the spacious circuits the drivers usually race on. “You do not get the option of making mistakes,” Hieatt says. “This makes drivers concentrate on precision and this is vital for their future careers. It is one of the last great circuits in the world, and one of the few that gives you the buzz of danger.”
As preparation for Macau, Hieatt has made sure that Sean, as well as team-mates Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Korjus and Sun Zheng, have been locked into Double R’s simulation apparatus. This advanced device, situated at the team’s base in Woking, just down the road from the McLaren Formula 1 team, is known as the Circuit Familiarisation Tool.
“The car and circuit model are very, very close to reality,” says Hieatt. “We find it very useful for the engineers and drivers, so they can talk about gear change points. For instance, normally you change up a gear at 6300rpm in a Formula 3 car, but at some points up the mountain section of Macau you need to keep it in the same gear and rev to 7000.
“The drivers have all done two solid days, so they have learned the corners and where to turn. Sean must have done around 120 to 140 laps.”
And here is the really tough part: the Double R engineers give the drivers 45 minutes in the Circuit Familiarisation Tool, and as soon as they hit the wall – even if they are 43 minutes into a run – they reset everything to zero and force the driver to do the whole run again!
“The drivers get so sick of doing it that it makes them concentrate!” laughs Hieatt. “After all, if you cannot concentrate on this, then you are not going to get very far on the real thing…”
Of course, once you get to Macau, it is racing in the raw, with no chance of a reset. Sean’s task?To get to the finish without too much drama. “If he could finish in the top 10, which I think he can if he has a clean week, then I would be very happy,” says Hieatt. (ms/arl)
