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SCMP Sport

Veteran British racer Michael Rutter holds the record for the most wins at the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, and believes there is no race like it in the world.
The 52-year-old is making his 30th appearance at the gambling hub’s weekend of racing and will start Sunday’s 56th edition of the race in fourth position, seeking a record-extending 10th victory on the famed street circuit.
And the leader of the city’s sports bureau said the four days of racing that started on Thursday showed Macau was more than a gambler’s paradise.
“When I first used to come over here and start racing, nobody knew Macau … Now it’s so big, everyone wants to come to watch racing because it’s so unique with the car racing and with the motorcycle racing,” Rutter said.
“The most exciting thing for me is going out of the pit lane at the gear circuit because there’s nothing else like it in the world. Barriers are six feet high and when you’re on a motorcycle, the colours of the barriers really stand out. It makes you feel like you’re doing twice the speed that you are doing normally. It’s so exciting”

Rutter, who first came to Macau 30 years ago, said while the city had changed “massively”, the notoriously difficult racing track was still the same.
“When I came over originally, we landed at the old [Kai Tak Airport] in Hong Kong, and so I was lucky enough to do that, and then obviously it’s changed so much, and … I love coming back, and that’s why I have done [for] so many years.”
President of the Sports Bureau of Macau, Luis Gomes, said the gambling hub’s signature event, had not only enhanced its international recognition but also served as an example of economic diversification, which Beijing has tasked the city to do to cut reliance on the gaming industry.
“We had collaborated with nearly 30 small and medium-sized enterprises in Macau, inviting them to create and sell cultural products linked to the event, and meet service demands in dining and accommodation,” he said.
“This experience promotes a moderately diversified economic development in Macau.”
According to the sports chief, tickets to the four-day event were “almost sold out” with only “a small amount” available for walk-in participants. The venue can host about 14,500 spectators.
Gomes also believed that Hong Kong and Macau should team up to benefit from hosting large-scale sports events.
He cited this month’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau road cycling race and road cycling test event for the 15th National Games, which will be held on November 24 and start in Zhuhai.
Additional reporting by Willa Wu in Macau


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Sport

Motorsport

Briton Michael Rutter is chasing a record-extending 10th win on the famed street circuit


Briton Michael Rutter is chasing a record-extending 10th win on the famed street circuit.


MotoGP

Macau Grand Prix: veteran rider Rutter hails ‘exciting’ race that’s unlike anything else

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Briton Michael Rutter is chasing a record-extending 10th win on the famed street circuit

Briton Michael Rutter is chasing a record-extending 10th win on the famed street circuit