The race was first held in 1972 and quickly established itself as a showcase for some of touring car racing's most celebrated drivers. Among the notable names to have won the Guia Race are Tom Walkinshaw, Johnny Cecotto, Roberto Ravaglia, Emanuele Pirro, Joachim Winkelhock, and Andy Priaulx. Its setting on the streets of Macau gave the event a distinctive character; in its earlier years it was particularly popular because it featured cars recognisable from everyday roads in Hong Kong and Macau.
Before 2005, when the World Touring Car Championship began incorporating it as a round, the Guia Race operated as a standalone international touring car event, drawing competitors from across the globe for a one-off contest at one of Asia's most demanding circuits.
The race has been governed by a succession of different technical rulebooks, reflecting the broader evolution of touring car competition in Europe and Asia. In the early 1980s it ran to European Group 5 regulations, before switching to FIA Group A rules between 1983 and 1990. DTM regulations were adopted from 1991 to 1993, followed by Super Touring rules from 1994. From 2000 the race used Super Production regulations until 2004, when it briefly sampled Super 2000 machinery ahead of its integration into the WTCC in 2005. Since 2018 it has been contested to TCR regulations.
The race format has changed considerably over the years. In the Group A era it was run as a 30-lap contest. When operating under the two-leg format prior to its WTCC incorporation, the overall winner was determined by aggregated times across both legs. Under its current TCR identity, the event is structured as a double-race weekend, with each race running to nine laps.
The Guia Race has held FIA championship status at various points in its history. In 1994 it was a round of the Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship, and from 2000 to 2003 it scored points in the Asian Touring Car Championship. From 2005 to 2019 it served as the final round of the World Touring Car Championship, a high-profile season finale that regularly attracted local drivers alongside the WTCC regulars; André Couto and Ao Chi Hong were among the Macau-based racers who became familiar faces in the field.
Since 2018 the event has run under the TCR banner. It was initially a round of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR), then fell under China Touring Car designation from 2020 to 2022. From 2023 it has formed part of the TCR World Tour, serving as the series finale, with the top eight drivers from the TCR Asia Challenge standings earning places on the grid.
The Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) has sponsored the race since 2004. STDM chairman Stanley Ho became a familiar figure on the Guia Race podium, personally presenting trophies to winners throughout the sponsorship era.
The Macau Guia Race occupies a significant place in the history of Asian motorsport. Its longevity, its roll-call of distinguished winners, and its evolution through every major phase of touring car regulation make it one of the most historically layered events on the international touring car calendar. The race's position within the Macau Grand Prix weekend — alongside the Formula 3 and motorcycle events that define that fixture — has ensured it a global audience and a consistent ability to attract top-level international competition to the Guia Circuit.