Theodore Racing, the most famous team in Macau Grand Prix history, is returning to the event for its 60th Anniversary celebrations in association with Prema Powerteam.
Theodore Racing by Prema has entered two Dallara-Mercedes Formula 3 cars for young talents Alex Lynn, from Great Britain, and Lucas Auer, from Austria, marking the return of the Theodore name to Macau after 21 years.
They will both compete in a retro red-and-white livery in homage to the Theodore entries of the 1980s and 1990s. This year’s event also coincides with 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s victory for Theodore Racing in the very first Macau GP run for F3 cars, in 1983.
Prema Powerteam won this season’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship teams’ title, and carried Daniel Juncadella to victory in the 2011 Macau GP.
Theodore Racing became synonymous with the Macau Grand Prix thanks to its founder Teddy Yip, who competed as a driver in 11 Macau Grands Prix between 1956 and ’75. He then entered or sponsored leading Macau GP teams up to 1992, scoring five Macau victories.
Lynn and Auer join a long-line a famous Theodore alumni: as well as Senna, Theodore Racing entered future Formula 1 stars in the Macau GP such as Mika Hakkinen, Rubens Barrichello, Stefan Johansson, Alan Jones, Eddie Irvine and Martin Brundle.
The decision for Theodore Racing’s return was taken by Yip’s son Teddy Yip Jr, who wanted to pay tribute to his late father’s Macau legacy in the event’s 60th year.
Yip Jr, who is the team principal of GP3 Series and Le Mans 24 Hours team Status Grand Prix, said: “Macau is an extremely important part of the Yip family history, and my father always wanted to play his part in helping out young drivers on the way to the top. This year’s event marks two important anniversaries, and it’s fitting that the Theodore name is an active part of those celebrations. Joining up with Prema makes perfect sense. They are the champions of European Formula 3 this year, and with Alex and Lucas I know we have two guys who have the talent to continue the Theodore Racing legacy.”
Prema team manager Rene Rosin said: “My father Angelo Rosin, who founded Prema in 1983, is very aware of the great history of Theodore Racing. There were a lot of battles in that era of Formula 3 and the team was always a very important part of Macau. We are delighted to have the opportunity to be part of Theodore’s latest chapter.”
Lynn and Auer are provisionally third and fourth respectively in the FIA F3 European Championship standings. Both will be making their second Macau GP starts, with Lynn having claimed pole position and third place in 2012. Auer is the nephew of Gerhard Berger, who finished third in 1983 behind the Theodore Racing cars of Senna and Roberto Guerrero.
The 2013 Macau Grand Prix takes place on Sunday November 17, with free practice and qualifying on Thursday November 14 and Friday November 15, and the qualification race on Saturday November 16.
Driver quotes:
Alex Lynn “It’s absolutely amazing. To be going there with a Senna-liveried car is incredible. Now I hope to live up to it! I took pole and finished third last year, and I guess there’s always pressure going back. It’s an unpredictable place, but I’ll be confident and ready to do the job when the time comes, and that I should be on the pace.”
Lucas Auer "Macau is very special and the most spectacular race in the Formula 3 calendar. It’s a nice enough event to go to, and with Theodore Racing it will be even nicer! Last year wasn’t so great for me, but now I am in a good team, with good team-mates, and I’ve grown up a lot as well. We should get a much better result.”
[23.10.2013]