CONWAY TOP BRITISH DRIVER TO FINISH AT MACAU GP EVENT

Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix
November 21, 2005
Macau, China

British Formula 3 ace Mike Conway showed his world class credentials by being the top British racing driver home in Sunday's blue-riband Macau Grand Prix event in China .

Conway , 22, from Sevenoaks, was in the hunt for a top six finish in the classic Chinese event against the best F3 drivers from around the world, only for an incident in the final to thwart his chances.

Mike had been running very strongly all weekend in the Macau GP, having immediately adapted brilliantly to his new mount, a Manor Motorsport-run Dallara-Mercedes F3 car.

The Kent man impressed in practice and qualifying, working his way up to a fantastic second in the latter of two practice sessions, and finishing eighth and fourth in the two qualifying sessions, which put him in a superb third place on the grid for race one.

In the qualifying race, Conway only narrowly missed out on a podium finish, with Brazilian Lucas di Grassi passing him off the grid into the first corner. Although he harried di Grassi, who would eventually go on to win the event outright, Conway could not find a way past on the tight and twisty street course.

However, although he had to settle for a fine fourth place, Conway was clearly quicker than Macau veteran Paolo Montin, who was fifth and Joao Paolo de Oliveira, the Japanese F3 champion.

In the longer feature race, Conway was running strongly at the front of the pack before Karl Reindler squeezed past him, and then a puncturet saw him drop down the order after pitting for a new front left, eventually claiming 14 th spot ahead of assorted Macanese runners.

"It was a real shame to drop down the order after running so strongly all the way through practice, qualifying and race one," admitted Conway . "But the Macau GP is all about staying on the track, it's a real race of attrition. I felt I could put up a serious challenge for the podium so it is disappointing to come away with only a 14 th place but to be the top Brit in the field is a real boost. There was only one British F3 driver ahead of me too.

"The Macau GP is a fantastic event and I enjoyed taking part in it. With any luck, I'll get a chance to have another crack at it next year."

Conway is still considering several interesting options ahead of the 2006 season and hopes to make an announcement about his future in due course.

Media contact: Andy Bothwell 07944 651166