A unpredictable weekend of rain and sunshine created an even more challenging environment for the teams and drivers at the 71st Macau Grand Prix
McLaren junior driver Ugo Ugochukwu dominated the inaugural Macau Grand Prix – FIA Formula Regional (FR) World Cup race on Sunday as he pulled off four perfectly judged Safety Car restarts to beat Oliver Goethe and Noel León across the finish line. The American’s triumph was the first for his nation since Bob Earl took the chequered flag here in 1981.
“I can’t describe the feeling, but of course I am super happy. It was quite a tricky race – and I was pushing the whole way. But I was confident with the pace and we’ve had a great weekend,” said Ugo after the race.
With the race starting under the Safety Car because of damp conditions, Ugochukwu knew that getting away cleanly at the restart would be key to success, as that would prevent his pursuers from getting into his slipstream. That is exactly what he did, as he held a 0.8-second advantage over Goethe when the race got going at the start of lap two. But his efforts were for nought when the red flag was brought out after James Wharton crashed into the barriers at Lisboa Bend and was collected by a number of other drivers – including Jett Bowling and Kai Daryanani.
After a short delay to clear the track, Ugochukwu again got away with a decisive advantage for the restart on lap four, before the Safety Car was called out yet again just one lap later after Liu Ruiqi crashed at Post 15 Bend. For the third time at the start of lap eight, Ugochukwu again pulled off the perfect restart but, as the race developed, the pursuing Goethe appeared to start closing the gap before yet another Safety Car was called on lap 11 after Sota Ogawa’s car stopped on track just after Turn 1.
The race restarted for lap 14, with Goethe this time getting closer to Ugochukwu to get a much better slipstream – but it was still not enough for him to find a way through. The battle for the win was effectively decided on the final lap after the Safety Car was called out once more when Mattia Colnaghi hit the wall at Fishermen’s Bend, resulting in the race being finished under caution.
Behind the leading duo, León finished third following a race-long battle with Freddie Slater, who attempted to dive down the inside of Lisboa Bend on the final lap but locked up and ran straight on into the barriers. That meant Enzo Deligny came home fourth, ahead of Matteo de Palo and Rashid al Dhaheri.
Engel triumphs in thrilling Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup
Maro Engel took victory for Mercedes-AMG Team GMR in a thrilling Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup on Sunday after an incident-filled race in wet conditions that proved to be one of the most exciting ever seen on the Guia Circuit. The German came through from fourth place on the grid, and survived a collision with BMW driver Dries Vanthoor that resulted in him getting a five-second time penalty, to take a win that was helped by battling race-leaders Antonio Fuoco and Raffaelle Marciello tapping into each other and running off track on the penultimate lap.
The race begun under safety car conditions because of the soaking track surface, and when the action finally got underway at the start of lap six, the top two starters BMW duo of Marciello and Dries Vanthoor maintained their advantage early on. But the man on the move was AF Corse SRL Ferrari driver Fuoco, who started third and grabbed second from Vanthoor with a move down the inside at the final corner on lap eight – as he then set about closing in on Marciello. On lap nine, Vanthoor was tapped into the barriers at Towards Faraway after a clash with Engel and was out of the race.
At this stage Marciello was struggling for pace in the mountain section and found both Fuoco and Engel closing in behind him, with the trio separated by just a few tenths of a second. But with the Swiss driver’s BMW having a good straightline speed advantage, the rapid Fuoco realised that he would need to do something special to find a way past.
That moment came at the end of lap 14 when he made a decisive move past Marciello at the final corner to grab the front spot. But as the pair duelled it out at Lisboa Bend, Marciello appeared to brake just a little too late and tapped the back of the Ferrari ahead of him – with the momentum sending the lead two cars down the escape road.
Their clash opened the door for Engel to take the lead and, despite being handed a five-second penalty for the earlier collision with Vanthoor, he was still able to take the victory from Team KRC BMW driver Augusto Farfus who finished second and Team WRT BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde who finished third.
“It is incredibly emotional and was an incredible race. We didn’t expect this because in the dry we didn’t really have a chance to fight for the win, but I guess everything came together for us,” commented Engel.
Sensational Honda 1-2-3 in Guia Race
Dušan Borković headed a sensational Macau Guia Race 1-2-3 for the GOAT Racing Honda squad, as a fifth-place finish for Norbert Michelisz allowed him to clinch the 2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour title.
The victory was Borković’s first at an international level in more than seven years and the first Macau Guia Race triumph for a Serbian driver, as he mastered a late restart to beat team-mates Esteban Guerrieri and Marco Butti over the line.
Heavy rain as the field took to the grid forced officials to first delay the start and then postpone the race, which was restarted later once weather conditions had improved.
Borković quickly latched onto the back of the three leading cars and then passed first Andy Yan Cheuk Wai (Hyundai N) and then Lynk & Co Cyan Racing driver Ma Qing Hua on the approach to R Bend to run second.
It did not take long for him to gain the lead of the race – passing Martin Cao Hongwei on lap six of 12 with a confident move at Lisboa Bend.
A late safety car wiped out Borković’s four-second lead over Guerrieri, but ultimately he left his team-mate behind on the restart with one lap to go to seal the win.
The GOAT Racing Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR top-three lockout – inspired by a call for slick tyres on the rapidly drying track – was completed by Butti, who made excellent progress from 12th on the grid to clinch his third podium of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour season.
Michelisz came in fifth across the line, securing him back-to-back TCR World Tour drivers’ titles – and a first with FIA status.
Rainy conditions cancel the 56th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix
Davey Todd took pole position for the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix having set the fastest time during red flag-interrupted qualifying. Making his debut for the MGM FHO Racing BMW, he was fast throughout the session as he wrestled with former race winner, Finland’s Erno Kostamo, for top spot. He posted a time of 2m 25.563 secs to nudge his Finnish rival from P1.
“It’s a good way to start my career with the team,” said Todd after the qualifying session, his first time riding for the MGM FHO Racing BMW. “It’s satisfying to qualify ahead of the three guys who have won around here before. I was surprised by the time I set considering the track conditions. It’s also a very different BMW to the one I’ve been riding this season so a big thank you to my team for getting it just right for me today. I’m over the moon.”
Sadly for Todd, he was unable to capitalise on his top qualifying performance, as main race on Sunday had to be cancelled due to rain and unsafe track conditions.
Qualifying second on the front row was Erno Kostamo on his 38 Motorsport by penz13 Racing BMW.
Last year’s winner Peter Hickman posted his fastest time of the session on his very last lap which lifted him and the MGM FHO Racing BMW to third on the timesheets.
Meanwhile, the third MGM FHO Racing rider Michael Rutter, qualified fourth for the race. Rutter had held a provisional front row position throughout the session, but his MGM FHO Bathams Racing BMW suddenly stopped with time running out.
“Everything was going so well,” said the nine-time winner. “It’s been a very frustrating few days with everything that’s been going on so it was great to be on the bike around this wonderful racetrack,” Rutter noted after the qualifying session, this year celebrating his 30th year of racing in Macau.
