Saturday’s qualifying race for the FIA GT World Cup at Macau saw a change to the starting order after an investigation into the performance of 10-time Macau (GT and F3) race winner Eduardo Mortara’s Absolute Corse Lamborghini after qualifying confirmed that the #63 Huracan had exceeded its maximum permitted power in the Qualifying session.
This came after both Lamborghinis benefited from a pair of changes to the allocated BoP, a 10 kilo weight reduction (down to 1315 kg) and a marginal power gain adjustment.
Mortara then would start tenth on the grid, with Alessio Picariello moved up to third on the grid, with Joel Eriksson’s Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom Audi completing the second row.
It would be a win from the front for Antonio Fuoco in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 in a lights-to-flag masterclass pressed only in the early seconds of the race as Raffaele Marciello got a great run around the outside but was forced to cede positions back to Yifei Ye and Alessio Picariello as the train approached Turn 3.
Behind, there was drama for Haase, Mortara, Goethe, and Sheldon Van der Linde, all four delayed with a tangle and avoidance into T3. This though, would be the only significant drama of the race, and all would finish.
Fuoco rapidly built up a lead of over 2 seconds, which he would manage to the flag.
Behind Ye was under pressure from Picariello and, initially at least, from Marciello, the BMW man, though, would drop back from the fight inside 5 laps.
The battle for second ebbed and flowed, but Ye prevailed and even nibbled a little into Fuoco’s advantage, an impressive run from the Chinese driver in what was only his fifth GT3 race with Ferrari.
Eriksson, Güven, Engstler, and Heinrich were next up, the latter pair battling throughout, the Schumacher CLRT Porsche looking the quicker car but unable to find a way by.
They’d be joined by Dorian Boccolacci in the closing stages after the Phantom Global Raving Porsche driver had passed both Adderly Fong and Andy Deng to get to 9th.
Laurens Vanthoor had noted that his repaired Tempo by Absolute Porsche lacked bite after its major repair; he dropped back in the early stages but recovered to 11th, closing right up on Deng’s Winwhere Ferrari by the flag.
The best news of all though, was that all 16 cars finished without damage!
The 16 Lap FIA GT World Cup race starts tomorrow at 12:25 local time – Live and free on YouTube with David Addison and Alan Hyde.
Picture top Copyright FIA
