Riding shotgun with Macau’s fastest racer, Patrick Brzeski learns the breaks, bends and blowouts of the infamous Guia Circuit in anticipation of the 56th Macau Grand Prix.

Michael Ho is aggressively friendly. On a recent evening in Macau, I met the gregarious veteran F3 racer to talk about his experiences driving the infamous Guia Circuit. Drivers generally agree that the Macau road course is one of the most challenging in all of F3 racing. With an intensity that no doubt serves him well in the driver’s seat, Michael pumped my hand and instantly began regaling me with race-car stats and stories. “This will be my eleventh year driving Guia,” he beamed. “I know this circuit as well as anybody.”

Ho was the first Macau driver to win entry to the Macau F3 race, and he’s the only local driver competing this year. He sees it as his duty to hold down a spot for the home team. “For these past few years I’ve been waiting for a young guy to step up to take my place, but I’m still the fastest in Macau,” he told me, with mock resignation belied by a sly smile. “I’ll keep going until someone outraces me.”

Shortly after we met, Michael invited me into the back of his custom London Taxi – one of the more comfortable rides in his collection of imported cars – for a street-level tour of Guia. As his personal driver took us through the bends and bumps of the circuit, Michael showed me race footage on his iPhone and pointed out the open windows, offering a steady stream of insight on this most fickle of race courses. “With so many race cars running through the course every day, the conditions of the road are changing constantly, so no matter how much you have practiced, it’s unpredictable,” he told me while I hung out the window enjoying the wind in my hair. “There are walls on both sides of the road at all times. If you bump a wall your car’s alignment will change; if you hit it with a wheel, you can flip. The slightest mistake can be catastrophic. With so many turns and elevation changes, the driver must be supremely confident,” he said with sudden solemnity (as I settled back into my seat, wondering how confident our current driver was feeling). 

Michael Ho on the Guia Course: "There isn’t a moment to relax. It’s exhausting. You’re constantly downshifting, up-shifting, and your body is fighting against the G force. When I finish a race, my suit is soaked with sweat, my face is sunken, and I’ve usually lost four to five kilos."

56th Macau Grand Prix, November 19-22, for tickets see:

www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo