[ad_1]
These days, in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes, the roar of engines is ringing in the ears. The 100th Spa 24 Hours is being held on the Spa circuit, which the locals proudly call “the best track in the world”, and in box 11 is the Chinese team Uno Racing Team. In collaboration with Landgraf, the sport management of his Mercedes AMG GT3 is handled by Macanese engineer Duarte Alves.
Duarte Alves, a well-known sports figure in the Macau SAR, will be participating in his fifth endurance race this year and the “third 24-hour race of the year”. Despite their prestige, the Dubai 24 Hours, Bathurst 12 Hours, Sepang 12 Hours and Fuji 24 Hours still cannot compare in status and position to the Spa 24 Hours, which is the largest GT3 race in the world today. A total of 66 cars from 9 brands are impressive. These “classic endurance” races always have a special taste for the pilots and all those who participate in them.
“The endurance test is more interesting because it demands more from the engineers in terms of planning and strategy. The sprint race is much easier”, Duarte Alves explains to HM as the team’s technicians prepare the Mercedes-AMG for the much-praised parade that takes the car from the track to the city center. “On the other hand, a 24-hour race is physically very demanding. Only it’s not just a 24-hour race. There’s a front and a back, and 38 hours without sleep is not easy!”
Indy Dontje, David Pun, “Rio” and Kevin Tse make up the four-man team of this year’s team, following the experience of Uno Racing Team, which finished 37th in the 2023 Audi R8 LMS GT3. version of the test. This time, the Chinese team chose not to take a person to the Belgian race, but to cooperate with the German team Landgraf, while the latter insisted on relying on the services of Duarte Alves, who participated this year in the GT World Challenge Asia with the Craft Bamboo from Hong Kong.
“Last year, the entire team came from Zhuhai to participate in the event, but the cost of visas and travel was prohibitive. On the other hand, European teams are always able to offer more competitive prices,” he clarified, adding that no matter what form it takes to participate, it is always “a great experience.”
Continental differences
Even before pursuing a professional career in Asia, Duarte Alves began his motorsport career in Europe, more precisely in the UK and then in the U.S. Almost twenty years later, the engineer and businessman from Macau still sees the differences between Western and Asian teams.
“Operationally, they are very different”, he explains, giving the example that “European teams have enough matches and tests to justify having full-time staff, whereas in Asia this model does not really exist, except perhaps in Japan where the industry is the most developed”.
Another important factor is that “logistics on the European continent also helps a lot. In Asia, teams don’t have trucks to transport equipment and vehicles, they work in containers throughout the season.” Therefore, “there is no doubt that in Europe we are at a more demanding level. This is an industry that has been around for more than a hundred years, and it is obviously more mature and can cultivate more talent.”
Duarte Alves, who has been involved in the Asian game since 2009, believes that “in Asia, we are still far from being able to have full-time professionals to develop the industry and, therefore, do not provide the necessary experience to be able to work at a level that requires greater professionalism. ” Despite these differences, “the most serious Asian teams have grown a lot in recent years”.
The FIA’s restrictions make sense
Alves, who regularly competes in the Macau Grand Prix, is aware of the 23-car limit set by the FIA for the FIA GT World Cup Guia Circuit sprint race.
“It was a World Cup where the best GT3 drivers in the world would come together,” the Macanese engineer recalls. “It didn’t make sense to mix them with regional drivers or others with less experience who might be five seconds slower per lap. Not even for safety reasons.”
Given that only drivers classified as “Gold” or “Platinum” can directly compete in the region’s GT3 competition, Duarte Alves recognises that it should not be easy for the FIA to “be able to accept more drivers” given last year’s figures, with drivers classified as “Silver” dependent on the race selection committee’s approval.
[ad_2]
Source link
