HWA RACELAB makes debut at legendary Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix with Sophia Flörsch, Keyvan Andres and Jake Hughes

: on 01 November 2019

After a successful maiden season in the FIA Formula 3 championship, HWA RACELAB is on the brink of another highlight. The team from Affalterbach will contest the Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix (14 to 17 November) for the first time. Jake Hughes (Great Britain), Keyvan Andres (Iran) and Sophia Flörsch (Germany) will be on the starting grid of the FIA F3 World Cup, which will be held as part of the 66^th edition of the Macau Grand Prix. The race is particularly special for Sophia Flörsch, just one year after her accident.

Debut for HWA RACELAB at motorsport highlight
Jake Hughes: “Macau is the most important race of the year for me.”
Keyvan Andres: “Macau is the most intense and exciting race on the racing calendar.”
Sophia Flörsch: “After the accident, I knew I definitely wanted to return to Macau!”
Ulrich Fritz: “Competing with our own team for the first time ever in Macau is another milestone for us.”

Affalterbach, 01 November 2019 – The Macau Grand Prix is one of the highlights on the racing calendar every year. The drivers rave about the unique track and atmosphere, and it is an event linked with a lot of history and prestige for the teams as well. In the FIA F3 World Cup, held as part of the Macau Grand Prix, the teams in the current Formula 3 championship will compete with this year’s cars – however, some of them will have a different driver line-up.

For Sophia Flörsch, after the events of last year it will be a very special race. The images of her accident back then circulated around the world as she was catapulted through the air metres off the ground in her car and crashed through a barrier. Despite several vertebral fractures, the Munich-born racer fought her way back onto the racetrack this year and contested the Formula Regional European Championship season. Now, exactly twelve months later, she is set to return to the track in Macau again, in the HWA cockpit. HWA has been supporting Sophia Flörsch with her career for some time now – in her 2018 Formula 3 season, she raced with a Mercedes-Benz engine built by HWA. Last week, she took part in the official Formula 3 tests in Valencia for HWA RACELAB.

It will be Jake Hughes’ third start at the spectacular Guia Circuit. With sixth place and fourth place, he has already achieved promising results in 2016 and 2018. Keyvan Andres will also be taking on the legendary race for the third time.

The drivers will take to the 6.1-kilometre track for the first time on Thursday, 14 November. After two free practice sessions and two qualifying sessions, there will be a 10-lap qualifying race on Saturday, before the winner of the 2019 FIA F3 World Cup is crowned in the main race (15 laps) on Sunday, 17 November.

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Jake Hughes (25, Great Britain)
“I can’t wait to get to Macau. It’s the best racetrack that I have ever driven on. Even other drivers who have much more experience in the world of motorsport than I do are always telling me that they would love to return to Macau. After my two starts there, I know why that is: The feeling of driving there, particularly in the hilly sector, is unparalleled. This is the feeling that makes us fly 13 hours each year to get to the other side of the world, just to drive a lap through these streets. It is incredible. In my opinion, it is the biggest race in the world in the junior racing sector. No matter whether you’re in Formula 1, Formula E, DTM or the Indy Car series – people everywhere look at the Macau results in detail. Those in charge remember the winner, but the top five drivers also receive a great deal of respect. Macau is the most important race of the year for me. We are preparing for it in the same way as for every other race weekend, and are involved in intense discussions with the engineers, since we have a new car compared with last year. That changes a lot, from the driving to the set-up. We formed a good basis during testing in Valencia. But at the end of the day, one thing is always true in Macau: You can prepare yourself as well as you can, but when you are on the track for the first time during free practice, everything is very different.”

Keyvan Andres (19, Iran)
“Macau is always a very special race, probably the most intense and exciting race on the racing calendar. Everyone who has driven there is impressed. I love races on street circuits and it is the only one of its kind on the Formula 3 calendar. I’m really looking forward to it already. With the new Formula 3 car from this season it will be an even bigger challenge due to the difference in performance compared with last year. I’m preparing myself with my usual training programme; plenty of endurance training, as well as meditation exercises to keep a balance.”

Sophia Flörsch (18, Germany)
“I’m delighted to be driving in Macau again. It was my first race there last year. Until my accident it was the most amazing event I had ever contested. The track is incredible! It is so much fun to drive. It’s incredible in a Formula 3 car, I had a smile on my face every lap. After the accident, I knew I definitely wanted to return to racing and to return to Macau! The fact that I achieved that this year already shows that you can make your dreams come true when you believe in yourself and work hard at them.”

Ulrich Fritz, CEO HWA AG
“The race in Macau is a real highlight on the motorsport calendar. The fact that we are now competing there with our own team HWA RACELAB for the first time ever in Macau is another milestone for us. We’re already eagerly awaiting the race. Our line-up makes it all the more special. I’m delighted to have Sophia in the team, for whom the track has special significance. Jake has already delivered good races here and is highly motivated – he should be able to be up there fighting for the top spots. And not forgetting Keyvan: experience counts here, and he has plenty of it, and I’m confident that he will put in a good performance.”

Guia Circuit Schedule:

Thursday, 14 November:
Free practice 1 03:05 – 03:45 (CET)
Qualifying 1 07:30 – 08:10 (CET)

Friday, 15 November:
Free practice 2 04:30 – 05:10 (CET)
Qualifying 2 08:10 – 08:50 (CET)

Saturday, 16 November:
Qualifying race 02:00 – 03:00 (CET)

Sunday, 17 November:
Race 08:30 – 09:30 (CET)

About HWA AG
HWA AG is an independent, 360° engineering specialist in the fields of automobile racing and high-performance cars. Formed in 1998 by Hans Werner Aufrecht, the company is based in Affalterbach (Germany) and employs roughly 300 highly-qualified members of staff. HWA AG offers all its products and services under the motto ENGINEERING SPEED: The company’s objective is to develop the best possible, high-quality solutions, in order to get its partners and customers to their destination quicker. The portfolio of services ranges from designing all vehicle components to assembling complete cars, together with the relevant logistics, after-sales and support services.

About HWA RACELAB
HWA RACELAB is HWA AG’s operations team in motorsport. It brings together experienced specialists in high-quality race engineering and the associated services, in pursuit of success on the motorsport scene. HWA RACELAB was active as a new team in the 2018/19 season, adding a future-oriented string to HWA’s wealth of racetrack expertise. Since 2019, HWA RACELAB contests the FIA Formula 3 Championship and in 2020 the FIA Formula 2 Championship as well. With eleven Drivers’ titles and over 180 race wins as a works team for Mercedes-AMG in the DTM, the company is one of the most successful players in international motorsport. HWA RACELAB also draws on the company’s other core areas of expertise, such as the development, assembly and running of GT cars for customer racing, as well as the assembly of Formula 3 race engines.

Annette Hörsch
Presse

tel: +49 (0) 7144 8717 – 215
email: a.hoersch@hwaag.com

Volker Glaser
Investor Relations

tel: + 49 (0) 7144 8717- 279
fax: + 49 (0) 7144 8718- 111
email: presse@hwaag.com