Wales’top racing driver, Hywel Lloyd, has been tuning up for next month’s trip to the Macau Grand Prix close to home.
The 26-year-old from Corwen has spent two days testing at Anglesey’s Trac Mon circuit ahead of the big race in the Far East.
The Formula Three Macau Grand Prix is one of the biggest races outside Formula One and is held in China, on the former Portuguese colony of Macau.
That’s right across the bay from Hong Kong which is home base for Lloyd’s Sino Vision Racing team and for Lloyd’s team-mate Adderley Fong.
Lloyd said: “It will be quite something. For one thing we’ll probably be the most popular team on the grid and will have plenty of local support.
“It’s a brilliant place to race as well. It’s a street circuit which is always different and presents plenty of unusual challenges and a special atmosphere as well.
“We did pretty well there last year and hopefully we can do well again – we’re not going there to make the numbers up.”
Lloyd’s F3 Dallara Mercedes will be flying out next week with Lloyd following a week later in time for the meeting which runs from November 17 to 20.
The race weekend is a real racing circus with cars and motorbikie staking part over the four days of the event but the highlight is the Macau Grand Prix.
Previous winners read like an F1 who’s who and include greats like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher while David Coulthard, Riccardo Patrese and Ralf Schumacher have also taken the chequered flag there.
Names like Carl Fogarty, Steve Hislop and Ron Haslam also appear on the list of motorbike winners to make it one of motorsport’s biggest weekends.
Lloyd’s manager, his father, Harry Lloyd, of CF Racing, said: “Hywel impressed Sino Vision Racing there last year and that’s what earned him the drive this year and we know that if the car is right then he can do well again.
“It’s a major event in the racing calendar. Drivers from F3 classes from all over the world will be there.
“It’s invitation only so the people taking part are good and know what they’re doing. It’s a race of champions really so it’s very exciting to be part of it.”
Lloyd and his team booked Trac Mon for two days to give the car a shakedown ahead of the trip and he said: “We need to work through a few things, particularly with the tyres.
“We will be using Yokohama tyres rather than the Cooper tyres we use in the F3 International Series and there are different compounds which we need to get used to and set the car up for.”
Harry Lloyd added: “We are looking forward to the weekend and we can offer places out there to any sponsors who would like to back us.”
For more on Hywel Lloyd go to www.f3racing.co.uk
