Asia Racing Team and Blackjack Racing will welcome two of Macau’s most promising young drivers to the F4 Chinese Championship at the 3.265 km, FIA Grade 2 Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit from 12–14 September.
Marcus Cheong Man Hei and Vernice Lao Si Lun are both supported by the Associação Geral Automóvel de Macau-China (AAMC) and will contest their first race weekend in the second-generation Mygale F4 chassis — the same car that will be used in the FIA F4 World Cup at the Macau Grand Prix in November.
Macau karting ace Marcus Cheong is already well known to the team, having raced for Asia Racing Team and Blackjack Racing during selected rounds of the 2023 F4 Chinese Championship, as well as in the year-end Macau Grand Prix Formula 4 race, where he finished 12th on his debut at the Circuito da Guia.
Fifteen-year-old Vernice Lao will be stepping up to single-seater racing for the first time. Like Marcus, Vernice began her motorsport journey in karting at the Coloane track and has been a standout talent in the local karting scene.
Both drivers have had the opportunity to test the French-made Mygale F4 car at Zhuhai International Circuit ahead of the new challenge in the circuit located in the Tianfu New Area of Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Rodolfo Avila, Team Manager for Asia Racing Team and Blackjack Racing, said: “We are delighted to welcome Vernice and Marcus to the team for this weekend in Chengdu. For Vernice, it will be a full weekend of learning and gaining experience, while for Marcus — who is already more familiar with single-seater racing — it will be a question of how quickly he can adapt to a new car against a field of more experienced drivers. It is fantastic to see both drivers supported by AAMC, which holds a special significance for me personally, as I also took my first steps in single-seater racing with their support. Seeing these young Macau talents follow a similar path is incredibly rewarding, and their participation is of particular importance to both myself and the team.”
This weekend, Marcus Cheong will join F4 podium finisher Andrei Dubynin in the 阿波罗RFN赛车队 by Blackjack entry, while Vernice Lao will team up with Master Class contender Viktor Turkin in the 阿波罗RFN赛车队 by ART entry. The team will also run a fifth car for Huang Chujian.
