Marchy Lee returns to Macau.

Chinese racing sensation Marchy Lee returns to Macau for the 51st edition of the gruelling street race later this month, but this time he will be in the headlining Formula 3 race, where the best F3 drivers in the world come together for a world final.

After finishing first runner-up in last year's Asian Formula Renault Challenge in Macau, Lee had an successful season in Formula BMW Asia, winning 12 of the 14 races, breaking the previous record of ten wins.

This prompted Lee to step up to the F3 event this year, where he will be racing with the Monarch Lubricants Red Bull Meritus team - the same team that helped him win the F-BMW Asia championship. Lee's car will be managed by British F3 outfit Promatecme, who have had great success in Macau including Jenson Button's runner-up finish in 1999.

"I am thrilled to be racing in the F3 event this year," Lee said. "Although I have not had any running in an F3 car this year, I am still confident because the Formula BMW Asia series was very competitive, and I also know the Macau circuit quite well because I have raced it many times before."

Lee has already been busy in the build up to the event, both in race preparation as well as sponsor commitments. Lee was chosen as an Oris Watch ambassador for their 100th year celebrations in Hong Kong, where he was presented with an Oris Williams F1 chronograph watch and took part in a conference call with another Oris racer, Ralf Schumacher.

Lee will also be heading to the UK for some testing, then back to Beijing for a press conference and TV advert shoot for his sponsor Monarch Lubricants. The advert will be shown on CCTV in China over the next few months.

"I have been quite busy, but that is because I have found good support for this event, so all this hard work will help me in the race in a few weeks time," he said. "We have been talking to some major teams for next year, and so a good result in Macau will give me a huge boost and hopefully secure a good drive."

Peter Thompson, founder and president of Meritus Racing, hopes that Lee will be able to impress enough people to help him move up the motorsport ladder.

"We have a few interested parties in formulae between F3 and F1 for next year, so we are confident that we will find a good package to further Marchy's career," he said. "As Marchy moves into higher championships, the level of support required increases, so we hope that more companies will see the value of supporting probably the best Chinese driver around today."