FIA GT World Cup, Guia Circuit, Macau

20-22 November, 2015

 

Just as the qualifying race was full of drama and intrigue, so too the ‘main event’ at Macau, the inaugural FIA GT World Cup was a race of challenges that concluded with a red flag and a blocked circuit, the event classified four laps short of its proposed race distance but with an emphatic back-to-back victory for Maro Engel and Mercedes Benz.

 

Off pole position Engel was beaten into turn one by arch-rival Edoardo Mortara - the Audi driver perhaps anticipating a repeat of the Mercedes driver’s start in 2014 - although his anticipation ultimately led to his downfall, the Italian penalised ten seconds post race, dropping him off the podium and down to sixth place.

 

For Engel though, no such dramas, the German was through on Mortara by Mandarin corner (turn two) with team-mate Renger van der Zande tucked under his rear wing, the power of the mighty 6.3-litre Mercedes V8 overcoming the drive of the Audi to be first and second by Lisboa (turn three) with Stefan Mucke through to third by turn four, taking advantage of the demise of team-mate Richard Lyons.

 

The GT Asia Series front-runner had made a blistering start from the third row and was looking for a way around Mortara and Rast into Lisboa, but was hit from behind by FFF Racing Team by ACM star Kevin Estre, who in turn was hit by Earl Bamber, forcing all three into retirement as a result.

 

Lyons was understandably annoyed by the outcome in what was his debut on the Guia circuit, having admitted pre-race that he felt more than capable of making the podium.

“It has been a really tough end to a really great weekend,” he admitted with a shrug. “We built speed with me and my debut weekend gently. We got the car tuned up for the main feature race starting sixth. We were up to third or fourth by turn three but out of nowhere a McLaren driver ran out of talent and hit the back of me and that was it.”

 

Estre too was disappointed having made a strong start. “Today I had a really good start and overtook two or three cars into Mandarin, but coming into Lisboa, I braked at the point I thought it was okay, then suddenly the Aston [Lyons] broke really hard so that he could make the corner, and I had too much speed, so when he stopped to turn in I hit him, and the same thing happened from behind with Bamber hitting me.”

 

Behind the leaders GT Asia Series champion Darryl O’Young and 2015 title rival Keita Sawa made solid starts to be holding down seventh and eighth, with former round winners Marchy Lee and Pasin Lathouras completing the top ten.

 

From there it was relatively processional until lap 12 when van der Zande was tapped in the rear by Mucke at the Melco hairpin as the duo negotiated one of the slower Porsches who was gathering himself up after a moment on the exit. That forced the bodywork onto the left rear tyre, creating a heavy plume of white smoke as the Dutchman started down the hill towards the end of the lap.

 

By Lisboa, the two Audis made a move as Mucke - who had been locked under the rear wing of the #2 SLS - tried to take a run down the outside of van der Zande, the Craft-Bamboo driver though forced back to fifth as first Mortara and then Rast made their way down the inside, taking the Mercedes at turn four in the process.

 

Mucke ultimately made it through on the run up to San Francisco, as van der Zande did what he could to carry on despite the mounting damage to his left-rear Pirelli.

 

Whilst the Audis and Mucke battled with van der Zande, up front Engel stretched his lead out to more than eight seconds, but just a lap later his advantage was negated after Vuttikhorn went into the barriers on top of the hill, blocking much of the circuit.

 

As the field circulated behind the safety car, a second incident involving John Shen and a number of the GT Asia Series regulars blocked the track at Moorish Hill, the race director having little choice but to red flag and ultimately declare the race, much to the pleasure of the #1 Mercedes driver.

 

“It’s unbelievable, I’m overjoyed as the best GT drivers were up against each other in this race, so I’m proud to be the first winner of the FIA GT World Cup,” Engel admitted with a wide smile. “I’m especially proud of my team. I made a big mistake in qualifying on Friday and I thought right there, standing on the wall, that my weekend might be over and I blew the opportunity we had here. To win this race is amazing because I just love this place and I love this track.”

 

Mortara was initially classified second with team-mate Rene Rast third, the two Audi drivers taking to the podium with Engel, before Mortara was handed his ten second penalty for jumping the start. That elevated Stefan Mucke to third, the German though lamenting what could well have been another great 2015 victory for the Craft-Bamboo Racing team.

 

“Tough race today, the start was a bit of nightmare,” Mucke admitted. “I went on the green but everyone went a bit earlier but I was able to get to P3 by Lisboa. I tried to pressure the Mercedes but they played the game very well, blocking us all the time in the hairpin. I tried my best, pushed as hard as I could and got the fastest lap. Unfortunately there was no chance of passing. Then, out of the hairpin on full throttle the Mercedes lifted again and there was contact. I had a better run onto the straight so I tried to out brake him as this was my only chance but he was constantly hitting my car and almost pushed me into the barrier, so I lost some more places. I am incredibly disappointed, the team deserved more and Aston Martin deserved more.”

Van der Zande held on for fifth at the flag, but was ultimately promoted to fourth with Mortara’s penalty, whilst reigning GT Asia Series champion Darryl O’Young was fifth.

 

“After the first corner incident one of the Porsches had a crash and drove slowly around the whole lap and didn’t pull over, so I lost 15 seconds,” O’Young explained post-race. “I was able to find my way past the McLaren and the gap closed up under the safety car but there was a red flag which ruined a good finish.”

 

FFF Racing’s Alvaro Parente was seventh, the McLaren GT factory favourite admitting that he just couldn’t take the fight to the leaders.

 

“To be honest it was frustrating, and I’m going to just say it - it was super unfair, because sector one and sector three, we had absolutely no chance compared to other manufacturers,” a visibly frustrated Parente admitted. “Normally I never complain or ever comment about the BoP (Balance of Performance) but I think that anyone that understands motorsport saw it, but anyway, considering all the time we lost in sector one and sector three, I’m happy with my performance this weekend, I couldn’t do any more.”

 

Former GT Asia Series front-runner Marchy Lee was eighth on his debut with the new Audi R8 LMS, just clear of 2015 GT Asia Series runner-up Keita Sawa.

 

“I was looking for a top ten, because I felt we just didn’t have the pace this weekend,” the multiple GT Asia Series race winner admitted. “The car was great, which gave me more confidence, but I didn’t feel like I was capable of making the top five this year. It’s a pity the race ended early, I might have been able to gain another position late in the race, but it’s okay, I’m happy with the result.”

 

Pasin Lathouras crossed the line in tenth position, whilst for Andre Couto, his tough weekend in the FFF McLaren came to a premature end after throttle failure on top of the hill on the final competitive lap, the local hero hit by Jacky Yeung in the #77 Bentley.

 

“I saw him and got on the brakes hard, but just clipped him,” Yeung explained post race.

 

The FFF team admitted that Couto had lost all power on the run up San Francisco and had no throttle, coming to a stop with no way of moving, much to the frustration of Yeung who himself was having a solid run despite having been out of the seat for almost four months.

Ultimately though Couto was credited with 11th place after officials declared the race at 14-laps, with the circuit blocked at Moorish Hill, whilst GT Asia regulars Jeffrey Lee, Mok Weng Sun, John Shen, Philip Ma and Yeung were classified in positions 12 through 16.

 

Gulf Racing JP Porsche star Dylan Dedaele was a late race casualty, the Belgian GT star and GT Asia Series GTM class round winner stopping at Lisboa with a suspected driveline failure after just seven laps.

 

Whilst Derdaele failed to finish, he at least made a start, unlike Bentley’s Adderly Fong who was forced to endure the race from pit lane after his #8 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental was withdrawn on Saturday night thanks to contact with the barriers during the qualifying race.

 

“I had a bit of emotion and a bit of nerves coming into a home race, but after seeing what we could do in practice and qualifying it gave me hope,” Fong explained. “The [qualifying] race pace was good, from lap one the car was on it so I was pushing and I got past Darryl [O’Young] and Earl [Bamber] whilst they were fighting each other, and I saw I was catching Lyons so I took risks and was on the limit and scraped the car on both sides but unfortunately on top of the hill I was just an inch too close and I hit the barrier. I tried to save the car but there was a bump where I counter-steered which shot me across to the inside wall which unfortunately punched the wishbone through the chassis and bent slightly the front sub-frame, so we couldn’t repair it overnight which was a huge pity.”

 

For many of the GT Asia Series regulars, Macau represents the end of the season, with a long break until the opening round of the 2016 season, which is expected to begin in April. Keep an eye on the GT Asia Series website - www.gtasiaseries.com - and the Facebook page; www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries for details of the new calendar which will be released very soon.

 

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SJM Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup (22 November, 2015)

1. 1. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 14-laps

2. 7. Rene Rast (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

3. 97. Stefan Mucke (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* 

4. 2. Renger van der Zande (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) 

5. 55. Darryl O’Young (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* 

6. 6. Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

7. 25. Alvaro Parente (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* 

8. 30. Marchy Lee (Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS GT3)

9. 88. Keita Sawa (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* 
10. 10. Pasin Lathouras (AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) 

11. 5. Andre Couto (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* 

12. 33. Jeffrey Lee (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)*


13. 3. Mok Weng Sun (Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3)* 

14. 68. John Shen (Modena Motorsport Porsche GT3-R)* - 13-laps

15. 98. Philip Ma (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)* - 13-laps

16. 77. Jacky Yeung (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 13-laps

17. 9. Vuttihkorn Inthraphuvasak (Est Cola Racing Porsche GT3-R) - 12-laps

DNF. 20. Dylan Derdaele (Gulf Racing JP Porsche GT3-R)* - 7-laps

DNF. 19. Earl Bamber (LKM Racing Porsche GT3-R)* - 1-lap

DNF. 15. Kevin Estre (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 0-laps

DNF. 99. Richard Lyons (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 0-laps

DNS. 8. Adderly Fong (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)*

* GT Asia Series regulars


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Rnd#1/#2, 15-17 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 26-28 June - Okayama International Circuit (Japan)

Rnd#5/#6, 17-19 July - Fuji International Speedway (Japan)

Rnd#7, 4-5 September - Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) - 3-Hour

Rnd#8/#9, 25-27 September - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#10/#11, 23-25 October - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

NON-CHAMP, 20-22 November - Guia Circuit, Macau (MGP)

FIA GT World Cup, Guia Circuit, Macau

20-22 November, 2015

 

For 2015 the annual GT Cup at Macau features not just an FIA ranking as the GT World Cup, but an additional race to the traditional single-race format, with teams facing a 12-lap qualifying raceon Saturday to set the grid for the all important 18-lap ‘main event’.

 

That made Saturday’s race critical to ensure a strong position on the grid at a venue that despite it’s 6.12-kilometre length, is incredibly difficult to overtake on, but drivers would need to balance heroics with conservation..

 

For reigning champions Mercedes-Benz their day started early, with mechanics and the technical team working through the night to repair both the #1 car of Maro Engel and the #2 of Renger van der Zande, finishing just hours before the all important qualifying race.

 

GT Asia Series round winners FFF Racing Team by ACM were also forced to work well into Saturday morning, incredibly returning Andre Couto’s heavily damaged McLaren 650S GT3 to the grid, despite at one point considering retiring the car after Friday’s qualifying session contact with the barriers at Mandarin Bend.

 

For reigning GT Asia Series champions Craft-Bamboo Racing, there was no such trouble, the team lining former series round winner Stefan Mucke up in P1, a position from which he would command the race and drive away to claim the win.. but then the race stewards stepped in.

 

Despite a clean start and a field that had begun to settle into a rhythm behind Mucke’s #97 Aston Martin Vantage, lap three claimed its first victim, with 2015 GT Asia Series runner-up Adderly Fong clipping the fence in the Solitude Esses, bringing the field under the control of the safety car.

 

Sadly Isabelle suffered terminal damage in the contact despite it appearing mostly superficial, the Absolute Racing team forced to withdraw the car from Sunday’s final after a close inspection post-race.

 

It took officials a number of laps to clear the Bentley from the circuit, with the drivers working feverishly to get temperature back into their control Pirelli tyres before the restart.

 

Mucke looked to have made the most of the restart, getting a good jump on Engel as they came through the final corner, but post-race, stewards judged that Mucke’s restart had come at too high a cost..

 

Officials declared from article 39.12 of the Sporting Regulations of the event: “In order to avoid the likelihood of accidents before the safety car returns to the pits, from the point at which the lights on the car are turned out drivers must proceed at a pace which involves no erratic acceleration or braking or any other manoeuvre which is likely to endanger other drivers or impede the restart.”

 

Data from the car showed that Mucke braked on the straight before the turn, then accelerated to near full race speed into the final turn. Mucke explained that this was to warm his tyres and did not consider that he was in the area of the restart.

 

Ultimately, despite the penalty - 10-seconds added to his race time, which will force the German to start from P4 in the main race - Mucke had comfortably dominated the race from start to finish, carrying on the pace that saw him top second practice and the qualifying session ahead of Saturday’s race.

 

“Stefan was slightly caught out by the restart; he didn’t realise how far the Safety Car was ahead and was still in the tyre warming phase,” Craft-Bamboo CEO Richard Coleman explained. “The stewards have given what we believe to be a very harsh penalty; we were fastest in free practice, fastest in qualifying, fastest in the qualification race and we also won the qualification race. To get a ten second penalty for tomorrow’s world cup is gutting for the whole team. Having said that, we’re quick and we will definitely not be giving up. If there is any justice in the world we will be winningtomorrow."

 

That handed the win to reigning Macau champion Engel, with arch-rival Edoardo Mortara across the line second, whilst Engel’s team-mate and 2014 runner-up Renger van der Zande was third. Mucke’s penalty dropped him back to fourth, ahead of Audi’s Rene Rast.

 

Craft-Bamboo’s Macau rookie Richard Lyons was an impressive sixth, the Ulsterman admitting that he was very happy with his pace.

 

“For my first time here, I’m pretty happy with that,” he explained. “I got nine laps in P1, then suffered a gearbox issue in P2 which gave me one lap, then it was on to qualifying. I was very happy with my qualifying pace, and the goal for the race was to hold station, which would be good, or maybe move a spot further forward - which would be fantastic. I managed that off the start, although it came at the cost of my team-mate Darryl O’Young, but we used the older tyres for today so we have a good set for tomorrow - I think we’re capable of a podium!”

 

O’Young held station behind his team-mate early, but was ultimately forced back to eighth behind hard-charging Le Mans champion Earl Bamber in the LKM Porsche.

 

“It wasn’t the easiest race, I struggled with tyre warm up until the second lap and lost a couple of positions but I was then able to bring the car back,” the recently crowned GT Asia Series champion explained. “It was unfortunate to lose those positions for tomorrow’s race but we are doing some fine tuning and we will be focusing on better results tomorrow.”

 

FFF Racing’s Alvaro Parente led home McLaren team-mate Kevin Estre to close out the top ten, with 2015 GT Asia Series runner-up and two-time Macau GT Cup winner Keita Sawa taking eleventh place.

 

“I’m not 100% comfortable yet with the car and the tyres, but we’re improving all the time. Adderly has had great pace all weekend, so I think it is more finding comfort in the setup and myself for the speed to come - I had quite bad understeer after the safety car due I think to build up on the tyres, so I took it a little easier. My goal for the weekend is to finish inside the top ten, so we’ll see what comes tomorrow, but it’s certainly a very competitive field.”

 

After some lurid spins and a couple, of instances where he made contact with the barriers, Gulf Racing JP’s Dylan Derdaele had a relatively trouble-free run in the Porsche GT3-R, although he was lamenting a lack of pace on his run to 14th, just ahead of Vutthikorn in the similar Est Cola Racing machine.

 

Jeffrey Lee’s smile continues to broaden with every session in the new Audi R8 LMS GT3, the Absolute Racing driver crossing the line in 16th place, ahead of three-time GT Asia Series champion Mok Weng Sun in the Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3, John Shen - who did an impressive job on his debut in the Porsche GT3-R - and Jacky Yeung in the third of the Bentleys.

 

After working through the night to repair the #5 FFF Racing McLaren of Andre Couto, the team were on target to achieve a finish with the car before the local hero pulled off the circuit on top of the hill with throttle failure forcing him to start the main event from rear of field.

 

Now it’s on to the business end of the weekend, with the running of the inaugural FIA GT World Cup, with teams facing a daunting 18-laps around the Guia Circuit which gets underway at 12:55pm[CST].

 

Details of live-streaming will be available on www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries

Live timing for the 18-lap main event is available via; http://www.mstworld.com/motorsport/livetiming

 

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SJM Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup - Qualifying Race (21 November, 2015)

1. 1. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 12-laps

2. 6. Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

3. 2. Renger van der Zande (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) 

4. 97. Stefan Mucke (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* 

5. 7. Rene Rast (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

6. 99. Richard Lyons (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* 

7. 19. Earl Bamber (LKM Racing Porsche GT3-R)* 

8. 55. Darryl O’Young (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* 

9. 25. Alvaro Parente (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* 

10. 15. Kevin Estre (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* 

11. 88. Keita Sawa (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* 

12. 30. Marchy Lee (Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS GT3)

13. 10. Pasin Lathouras (AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) 

14. 20. Dylan Derdaele (Gulf Racing JP Porsche GT3-R)* 

15. 9. Vuttihkorn Inthraphuvasak (Est Cola Racing Porsche GT3-R) 

16. 33. Jeffrey Lee (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)*


17. 3. Mok Weng Sun (Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3)* 

18. 68. John Shen (Modena Motorsport Porsche GT3-R)* 

19. 77. Jacky Yeung (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* 

20. 5. Andre Couto (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 11-laps

21. 98. Philip Ma (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)* - 11-laps

DNF. 8. Adderly Fong (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2-laps

* GT Asia Series regulars

 

All the action will be played out online this weekend, with Twitter, Facebook and the new GT Asia Series website  - www.gtasiaseries.com - hosting information, images and video from every day. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries for more details and involve yourself in the conversation through www.twitter.com/GTAsiaSeries

 

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Track length: 6.12-kilometres

Corners: 22

Rotation: clockwise

Circuit first used: 1954

2:20.441 - Race (Renger van der Zande - Mercedes- SLS AMG GT3 - November, 2014)

2:18.032 - Qualifying (Stefan Mucke – Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - November, 2015)

Support classes: Formula 3 Grand Prix, TCR Series, Motorcycle Grand Prix, Lotus, Macau Touring Car Cup, Macau Road Sport Challenge

 

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62nd Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit, Macau (19-22 November, 2015)

 

Schedule: [CST - GMT +8]

12:55pm - Race (18-laps)

 

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Rnd#1/#2, 15-17 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 26-28 June - Okayama International Circuit (Japan)

Rnd#5/#6, 17-19 July - Fuji International Speedway (Japan)

Rnd#7, 4-5 September - Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) - 3-Hour

Rnd#8/#9, 25-27 September - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#10/#11, 23-25 October - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

NON-CHAMP, 20-22 November - Guia Circuit, Macau (MGP)

FIA GT World Cup, Guia Circuit, Macau

20-22 November, 2015

 

The opening day of action at Macau for the FIA GT World Cup may have been relatively trouble free, but qualifying for the 22-strong GT field more than made up for that, with three high profile casualties, including reigning champions Mercedes-Benz, and GT Asia Series regulars FFF Racing, who lost local hero Andre Couto in a monster crash at the fastest part of the circuit.

 

Ultimately it was reigning GT Asia Series champions Craft-Bamboo Racing who claimed the top spot in both practice two, and qualifying, with Germany’s Stefan Mucke putting the #97 Aston Martin Vantage on the top spot in the dying seconds of a qualifying period that saw three safety car interventions.

 

Fortunately none of the incidents saw injury to the drivers, but forced the retirement of the #5 FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren of Couto late in the session, after a big hit on the exit of Mandarin Bend, the fastest part of the circuit.

 

By that stage the qualifying session had been red-flagged twice, both times for the reigning champions, with the #1 car of Maro Engel the first casualty at Mandarin, a spin at around 250kph ending in the barriers, although fortunately without the significant damage that Couto would suffer late in the session.

 

By that stage Engel was fastest ahead of team-mate Renger van der Zande, who at that time was second, but on a flyer when he just clipped the barriers on the run up to the top of the hill, with predictable consequences for the #2 SLS.

 

“I was pushing, it was qualifying so I was going after it. It was a good lap too, but I just clipped the barrier and it threw me across the track,” van der Zande explained post-session. “It was a reasonable hit which you never want at Macau, but it is repairable.”

 

Engel’s situation was similar, forcing the the Mercedes-Benz mechanics to work well into the night to ensure the #1 and #2 AMG Driving Academy SLS GT3s would be on the grid for Saturday’simportant qualifying race.

 

With the two SLS AMGs off the circuit, attention turned to five-time Macau winner Edoardo Mortara in the new Audi R8 LMS GT3 which will debut in GT Asia in season 2016.

 

‘Mr Macau’ and his factory team-mate Rene Rast were quick, with Macau rookie Rast applying plenty of pressure to his high-profile team-mate, but in the end it was Mortara who displaced Engel at the top of the timetables, before Mucke once more put Aston Martin back on top, with a stunning lap of 2:18.032 - a new qualifying lap record - in the final moments of the session.

 

“I am incredibly happy, big thanks to Craft-Bamboo Racing,” Mucke said afterwards. “I am a little surprised by the result as it is only my second time in Macau and I am still learning the track. The car was just fantastic today and a mega result for us. I expect a tough race tomorrow but starting from pole is nice as I can be a little more relaxed for tomorrow’s race, but we need to remember that Sunday is the important day and we need to finish tomorrow without any damage.”

 

Mucke’s comments were echoed up and down pit lane, with the new Macau GT format adding a second challenge for the GT Asia Series regulars who are more accustomed to the single 12-lap feature race on Sunday, 2015 presenting them now with a 12-lap ‘qualifying’ race on Saturday to set the grid for Sunday’s 18-lap feature race, the SJM Macau GT Cup.

 

Despite being unable to complete the session and regain their status as pace-setters, the two AMG SLS GT3s were able to qualifying third and fifth, with Engel starting right behind Mucke, the result actually better than their 2014 qualifying results, which were fourth and sixth, with the Mercedes pair charging through to be 1-2 before turn one off the start.

 

This year there is no question that their rivals will be aware of their starting pace, and move to counter, which will make for an interesting battle down to Lisboa at turn three, then onto turn four which claimed a large number of victims off the start in 2013.

 

For the GT Asia Series teams, Macau is somewhere they enjoy experience, something invaluable on the tight and demanding 6.1-kilometre, 22-turn Guia Circuit, a factor which played into the pace of newly crowned champion Darryl O’Young who qualified sixth, and team-mate Richard Lyons who was seventh.

 

“The session was a bit disruptive, at the end I was able to pull a lap together but I knew I could have gone quicker,” O’Young admitted. “We didn’t get the maximum today but we are happy for the team to be on pole. We want to try and move up tomorrow but we have to be careful to finish without incident. Macau is always tricky for this but we will try our best.”

 

Lyons concurred.. “I knew we were going to have a fast car, I was confident that we were going to do something but really my target was to break into the top ten given my lack of experience at the circuit. The red flags made it really difficult but on the final run I gave it everything and scored P7. I think this was a really good job and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

 

Adderly Fong was ninth after setting a stunning pace to be third in practice two, and split the two Mercedes drivers, but like title rival O’Young, traffic thwarted his run in qualifying.

 

“We had a quick car, but I couldn’t catch a break on my qualifying runs,” Fong explained. “Each time I was on a hot lap, the red flag came out - just unlucky - but ‘Isabelle’ is running brilliantly, not only does she look good, but the balance is great and we’re quick, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s qualifying race.”

 

Like his team-mate, two-time Macau GT champion Keita Sawa was lamenting traffic and red flags, whilst the FFF Racing team were lamenting the loss of Couto, despite having claimed positions eight and nine for Parente and his McLaren GT factory team-mate Kevin Estre.

 

“The main thing is that Andre is okay,” FFF Racing’s high-profile team principal Andrea Caldarelli confirmed. “He just hit a bump on the run into Mandarin on what was going to be his quick lap, and it threw him into a spin. He almost caught it, but it spun the car into the barriers. That’s one of the inherent challenges at Macau, balancing being fast with being able to stay off the barriers, and fortunately both Alvaro and Kevin were able to do that, but with Alvaro returning for the first time since 2004, and Kevin making his debut here, they’re both showing plenty of caution, but I’d expect to see them move forward during the opening race.”

 

Dylan Derdaele led the remainder of the GT Asia Series regulars, the GTM Class Team’s Champions recording the 17th fastest time, just ahead of Absolute Racing’s Jeffrey Lee who was making his return to the Audi fold in the new LMS GT3 after a season behind the wheel of the Bentley Continental.

 

“I’m enjoying being back behind the wheel of the Audi, although not so much that my first drive is in Macau,” the experienced Taiwanese campaigner laughed. “It’s certainly different to the old car, but an improvement on the GT3 ultra I ran in 2014, no question.”

Three-time GT Asia Series champion Mok Weng Sun continued to improve on his return to Macau in a McLaren, the most successful driver in the history of the category battling with old foes Lee, Philip Ma, the returning Jacky Yeung and John Shen in his ‘new’ Porsche GT3-R, a car which claimed back-to-back Australian GT titles in 2012-2013.

 

For the teams, the weekend steps up another gear on Saturday with the all-important 12-lap qualifying race which begins at 12:15pm [CST], ahead of Sunday’s ‘main event’ the FIA GT World Cup at 12:55pm.

 

Details of live-streaming will be available on www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries

 

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SJM Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup - Practice#2 (20 November, 2015)

1. 97. Stefan Mucke (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:20.082

2. 2. Renger van der Zande (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 2:20.103

3. 8. Adderly Fong (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:20.203

4. 1. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 2:20.309

5. 19. Earl Bamber (LKM Racing Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:20.489

6. 55. Darryl O’Young (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:20.637

7. 6. Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:20.696

8. 25. Alvaro Parente (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:21.245

9. 15. Kevin Estre (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:21.392

10. 7. Rene Rast (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:21.445

11. 5. Andre Couto (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:21.870

12. 30. Marchy Lee (Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:22.108

13. 88. Keita Sawa (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:22.121

14. 10. Pasin Lathouras (AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 2:22.604

15. 99. Richard Lyons (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:25.225

16. 9. Vuttihkorn Inthraphuvasak (Est Cola Racing Porsche GT3-R) - 2:25.749

17. 20. Dylan Derdaele (Gulf Racing JP Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:27.161

18. 33. Jeffrey Lee (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)*
- 2:29.568

19. 3. Mok Weng Sun (Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3)* - 2:31.201

20. 98. Philip Ma (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)* - 2:31.383

21. 77. Jacky Yeung (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:37.885

22. 68. John Shen (Modena Motorsport Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:39.965

 

SJM Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup - Qualifying (20 November, 2015)

1. 97. Stefan Mucke (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:18.032

2. 6. Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:18.144

3. 1. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 2:18.168

4. 7. Rene Rast (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:18.315

5. 2. Renger van der Zande (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 2:18.746

6. 55. Darryl O’Young (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:19.427

7. 99. Richard Lyons (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:19.637

8. 19. Earl Bamber (LKM Racing Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:19.687

9. 8. Adderly Fong (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:19.972

10. 25. Alvaro Parente (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:20.048

11. 15. Kevin Estre (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:20.255

12. 5. Andre Couto (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:20.584

13. 88. Keita Sawa (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:21.136

14. 30. Marchy Lee (Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:21.679

15. 10. Pasin Lathouras (AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 2:22.249

16. 9. Vuttihkorn Inthraphuvasak (Est Cola Racing Porsche GT3-R) - 2:25.318

17. 20. Dylan Derdaele (Gulf Racing JP Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:26.550

18. 33. Jeffrey Lee (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)*
- 2:26.952

19. 3. Mok Weng Sun (Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3)* - 2:28.204

20. 98. Philip Ma (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)* - 2:30.907

21. 77. Jacky Yeung (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:34.703

22. 68. John Shen (Modena Motorsport Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:35.302

* GT Asia Series regulars


WHERE TO WATCH..

All the action will be played out online this weekend, with Twitter, Facebook and the new GT Asia Series website  - www.gtasiaseries.com - hosting information, images and video from every day. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries for more details and involve yourself in the conversation through www.twitter.com/GTAsiaSeries

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Track length: 6.12-kilometres

Corners: 22

Rotation: clockwise

Circuit first used: 1954

2:20.441 - Race (Renger van der Zande - Mercedes- SLS AMG GT3 - November, 2014)

2:18.230 - Qualifying (Edoardo Mortara - Audi R8 LMS ultra - November, 2014)

Support classes: Formula 3 Grand Prix, TCR Series, Motorcycle Grand Prix, Lotus, Macau Touring Car Cup, Macau Road Sport Challenge

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

62nd Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit, Macau (19-22 November, 2015)

 

Schedule: [CST - GMT +8]

12:15pm - Qualifying Race (12-laps)

 

12:55pm - Race (18-laps)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 15-17 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 26-28 June - Okayama International Circuit (Japan)

Rnd#5/#6, 17-19 July - Fuji International Speedway (Japan)

Rnd#7, 4-5 September - Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) - 3-Hour

Rnd#8/#9, 25-27 September - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#10/#11, 23-25 October - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

NON-CHAMP, 20-22 November - Guia Circuit, Macau (MGP)

FIA GT World Cup, Guia Circuit, Macau

20-22 November, 2015

 

Despite one of the strongest fields of factory supported drivers entering Macau for the FIA GT World Cup, it was experience that shone through during the opening day of practice at the demanding Guia Circuit, with recently crowned GT Asia Series champion Darryl O’Young leading the charge of the series regulars.

 

O’Young was immediately the fastest of the three Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martins, the Macau ‘veteran’ admitting that experience and a fast field allowing clear laps was a distinct advantage, but that it was only day one, and he was expecting a challenge at the top of the leaderboard heading into Friday qualifying.

 

“The main thing for me early on was to get used to the tyres, so I really took it easy - first time using the Pirellis. I feel like there’s more time to find to the leaders, but first session is really just to take it easy and get a feel for the car,” O’Young explained.

 

“Experience makes a big difference, it gives you a lot more confidence right from the beginning, but most of the guys at the front of the field have raced here, although I feel that drivers like my team-mate Richard Lyons - who hasn’t ever raced here - did a brilliant job, but I feel like he’s going to make a big step forward running into qualifying.

 

“There’s a lot of gold [rated] drivers competing here this year, so there isn’t a lot of traffic which gives us a lot of clean laps to push, which is quite unusual here at Macau.”

 

Typically the battle over the top spot was waged between the two factory-supported outfits that have dominated the last two Macau GT events - with last year’s first and second placed finishers Maro Engel and Renger van der Zande fighting over the top spot in the two Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG’s with ‘Mr Macau’, Audi Sport’s three-time winner Edo Mortara.

 

Engel was on the pace immediately, but mid-session it was Mortara who sat at the top of the timesheets in the new Audi R8 LMS GT3, before the two Mercedes fired back to claim the top two positions, with the Dutchman putting in a late final charge to end the session a quarter of a second up on his team-mate, and a second faster than Mortara.

 

O’Young’s pace towards the end of the session was impressive, whilst his ‘rookie’ team-mate Richard Lyons too took advantage of the Craft-Bamboo Racing Team’s immense experience at Macau to grab the tenth fastest time, immediately behind Mortara’s Audi team-mate - LMP1 prototype star - Rene Rast, himself a rookie at Macau.

 

Reigning Le Mans 24-Hour race LMP1 champion Earl Bamber was typically impressive in the LKM Porsche, with fifth, ahead of Craft-Bamboo’s third entry, 2014 GT Asia Series race winner Stefan Mucke, the German just a quarter of a second slower than team-mate O’Young, with former F3 Grand Prix winner Andre Couto an impressive seventh in the FFF Racing McLaren.

 

Two-time Macau GT race winner Keita Sawa put the #88 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 into eighth late in the session after GT Asia team-mate Adderly Fong ran with the leaders during the early laps, the Hong Kong driver ultimately 12th in the gorgeous matte black ‘Spark’ liveried Bentley affectionately known as ‘Isabelle’, that the team used to claim second in the GT Asia Series championship.

 

McLaren factory driver Alvaro Parente - one of the stars for the FFF Racing team in the closing rounds of the 2015 season - set the 11th fastest time, the Portugese driver returning to the Macau circuit for the first time in 12 years, admitting that he’d use the opening session to reacclimatise himself with the circuit.

 

“There’s nothing really to gain going out too hard too early here at Macau,” FFF Racing Team by ACM’s high-profile team principal Andrea Caldarelli admitted.

 

“Alvaro was just getting a feel for the car on the new Pirelli, and Kevis [Estre] has never been here before, so spent the session adapting what he’d learnt on the simulator to the circuit. We think we’ll do quite well here, but it’s only early, we’ll get a better indication tomorrow during qualifying of the real pace.”

 

In the end there were no real dramas on circuit, reigning Belgian GT champion Dylan Derdaele - a regular over the closing rounds of the GT Asia Series - made contact with the tyre barriers on the exit of the final corner looking to shave some more time off what had been an impressive run, the Macau rookie fortunately doing little more than cosmetic damage to the Gulf Racing JP Porsche.

 

Friday sees the teams gain two more opportunities to experience laps on the iconic 22-turn Giua circuit, with a second 30-minute practice session at 10:40am, leading into qualifying at 2:55pm.

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

SJM Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup - Practice#1 (19 November, 2015)

1. 2. Renger van der Zande (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 2:20.796

2. 1. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3) - 2:21.038

3. 6. Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:21.736


4. 55. Darryl O’Young (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:22.733

5. 19. Earl Bamber (LKM Racing Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:22.838


6. 97. Stefan Mucke (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:23.094

7. 5. Andre Couto (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:23.326

8. 88. Keita Sawa (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:23.466

9. 7. Rene Rast (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:23.509


10. 99. Richard Lyons (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)* - 2:23.624

11. 25. Alvaro Parente (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:23.850


12. 8. Adderly Fong (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:23.888


13. 30. Marchy Lee (Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 2:24.433


14. 10. Pasin Lathouras (AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 2:25.139

15. 15. Kevin Estre (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren GT3)* - 2:27.061


16. 20. Dylan Derdaele (Gulf Racing JP Porsche GT3-R)* - 2:29.641

17. 9. Vuttihkorn Inthraphuvasak (Est Cola Racing Porsche GT3-R) - 2:30.229

18. 33. Jeffrey Lee (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)*
- 2:33.387

19. 3. Mok Weng Sun (Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3)* - 2:33.712

20. 77. Jacky Yeung (Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)* - 2:40.856


21. 98. Philip Ma (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)* - NTR


22. 68. John Shen (Modena Motorsport Porsche GT3-R)* - NTR

* GT Asia Series regulars

 

All the action will be played out online this weekend, with Twitter, Facebook and the new GT Asia Series website  - www.gtasiaseries.com - hosting information, images and video from every day. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries for more details and involve yourself in the conversation through www.twitter.com/GTAsiaSeries

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Track length: 6.12-kilometres

Corners: 22

Rotation: clockwise

Circuit first used: 1954

2:20.441 - Race (Renger van der Zande - Mercedes- SLS AMG GT3 - November, 2014)

2:18.230 - Qualifying (Edoardo Mortara - Audi R8 LMS ultra - November, 2014)

Support classes: Formula 3 Grand Prix, TCR Series, Motorcycle Grand Prix, Lotus, Macau Touring Car Cup, Macau Road Sport Challenge

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

62nd Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit, Macau (19-22 November, 2015)

 

Schedule: [CST - GMT +8]

10:40am - Practice #2 (30-minutes) 

2:55pm - Qualifying (30-minutes)

 

12:15pm - Qualifying Race (12-laps)

 

12:55pm - Race (18-laps)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 15-17 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 26-28 June - Okayama International Circuit (Japan)

Rnd#5/#6, 17-19 July - Fuji International Speedway (Japan)

Rnd#7, 4-5 September - Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) - 3-Hour

Rnd#8/#9, 25-27 September - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#10/#11, 23-25 October - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

NON-CHAMP, 20-22 November - Guia Circuit, Macau (MGP)

FIA GT World Cup, Guia Circuit, Macau

20-22 November, 2015

 

Although it may not be included in the 2015 GT Asia Series calendar for the first time in five years, the entry list for the inaugural FIA GT World Cup includes a big selection of the top teams and drivers from the region’s leading GT series.

 

Typically the Macau event has been the closing round on the GT Asia Series program, but for 2015 the decision was made to conclude the championship prior to the single driver event, providing teams the first opportunity to contest the title battle with team-mates in contention for the crown.

 

Just three weeks ago, local hero Darryl O’Young was crowned the 2015 GT Asia Series champion after defeating Bentley’s Keita Sawa and Adderly Fong by just four points, the Hong Kong veteran will return to Macau this weekend to lead the Craft-Bamboo Racing assault as one of three Aston Martin Vantage entries with team-mates Richard Lyons and Stefan Mucke. 

 

Also providing three entries for the GT World Cup will be 2015 GT Asia Series debutantes FFF Racing Team by ACM, with McLaren’s Alvaro Parente and Kevin Estre joined by former Macau F3 Grand Prix winner and local hero, Andre Couto.

 

Both Couto and Parente made cameos for the team during the 2015 GT Asia Series season, Parente instrumental in the team claiming second place in Thailand, to add to their round win in Japan earlier in the season.

 

The three McLarens will be well supported by the FFF Racing team and their high-profile team principal, Andrea Caldarelli who will come to the Macanese event the week after concluding his SuperGT season in GT500, a series which crowned Couto the 2015 GT300 champion.

 

Bentley will again be present at Macau, with GT Asia Series runners-up Adderly Fong and Keita Sawa sharing a pair of Bentley Team Absolute Continental GT3s with 2015 Bentley recruit - and two-time GT Asia GTM class champion - Jacky Yeung making it a trio of Bentleys in the field.

 

Three-time GT Asia Series champion Mok Weng Sun will return to Macau for his fifth GT event, the former series pole-sitter and race winner at the event will be representing Ferrari for Clearwater Racing, alongside former series round winner and newly crowned International GT Open runner-up Pasin Lathouras who will be looking to make amends for an early exit in 2014.

 

Former winners Audi will be well represented by factory stars Edoardo Mortara and René Rast, who will be joined by a trio of experienced GT Asia Series veterans, former round winners Jeffrey Lee and Marchy Lee in their new Audi R8 LMS GT3s, and experienced Macau competitor Philip Ma in his current Audi R8 LMS ultra entry.

 

Porsche will again feature strongly, represented by a trio of drivers with GT Asia Series credentials, including reigning Le Mans 24 Hour LMP1 champion Earl Bamber, back in the LKM Racing GT3-R, the New Zealander will be joined by 2015 GT Asia GTM Class Teams Champions Gulf Racing JP, who have entered reigning Belgian GT champion Dylan Derdaele in their GT3-R. Thailand’s Vuttikhorn Inthraphuvasak will drive a third GT3-R with GT Asia veteran John Shen campaigning a fourth Porsche under the banner of long-time campaigners Modena Motorsport.

 

For the GT Asia Series regulars on the Guia Circuit, 2015 will present a different challenge to past years, with a second - longer - feature race added on Sunday, giving teams two opportunities to compete on the challenging 6.12-kilometre 22-turn street circuit, whilst they will also be faced with a new tyre this year, with Blancpain Series provider Pirelli making their debut as control tyre supplier for the event.

 

All the action will be played out online this weekend, with Twitter, Facebook and the new GT Asia Series website  - www.gtasiaseries.com - hosting information, images and video from every day. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries for more details and involve yourself in the conversation through www.twitter.com/GTAsiaSeries

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Traditionally Macau has been the host of the final round of the GT Asia Series, in fact over the last four seasons, Macau has crowned the series champion with some incredible races to close out the season. 

 

1. Maro Engel (Mercedes AMG Driving Academy Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3)

2. Renger van der Zande (Mercedes AMG Driving Academy Mercedes SLS AMG GT3)

3. Mok Weng Sun (Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)*

5. Andre Couto (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren 650S GT3)*

6. Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3)

7. Rene Rast (Audi Sport Team Pheonix Audi R8 LMS GT3)

8. Adderly Fong (Bentley Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)*

9. Vuttikhorn Inthraphuvasak (Est Cola Racing Team Porsche GT3-R)

10. Pasin Lathouras (AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)

15. Kevin Estre (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren 650S GT3)*

19. Earl Bamber (LKM Racing Porsche GT3-R)*

20. Dylan Derdaele (Gulf Racing JP Porsche GT3-R)*

25. Alvaro Parente (FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren 650S GT3)*

30. Marchy Lee (Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS GT3)

33. Jeffrey Lee (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)*

55. Darryl O’Young (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)*

68. John Shen (Modena Motorsports Porsche GT3-R)

77. Jacky Yeung (Bentley Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)*


88. Keita Sawa (Bentley Team Absolute Bentley Continental GT3)*

97. Stefan Mūcke (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)*

98. Phillip Ma (Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra GT3)*

99. Richard Lyons (Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3)*

* GT Asia Series competitors

 

-----------------------------

 

GT3 Class (after round 11 of 11)

1. Darryl O’Young (155-points), 2. Adderly Fong/Keita Sawa (151), 3. Anthony Liu/Davide Rizzo (134) 4. Piti Bhirom Bhakdi (104), 5. Duncan Tappy (96), 5. Carlo Van Dam (94), 7. Daniel Lloyd (92), 9 Hiroshi Hamaguchi (79), 8. Mok Weng Sun (76), 10. Richard Lyons/Frank Yu (72)

 

GTM Class (after round 11 of 11)

1. Jerry Wang (144-points), 2. Hisashi Kunie (130), 3. Kenneth Lim/James Cai (75), 4. Dylan Derdaele (74), 5. Takuma Aoki/Ken Urata (61), 6. Kimihiro Yashiro (58), 7. Craig Liu (50), 8. Warren Luff (36), 9. Tetsuya Makino, Ryo Fukuda (34), 10. Melvin Moh/Keong Wee Lim, Keiichi Mori (32)

 

GT3 Teams Trophy (after round 11 of 11)

1. Bentley Team Absolute (261-points), 2. Craft-Bamboo Racing (234), 3. Clearwater Racing (152), 4. BBT Racing (136), 5. FFF Racing Team by ACM (122), 6. Singha Motorsport Team (104), 7. Team OD Racing (48), 8. NB Team (31), 9. Dilango Racing (22), 9. Absolute Racing (22), Gulf Racing JP (22), 10. Spirit of Race (14), 10. Nexus Infinity (10)

 

GTM Teams Trophy (after round 11 of 11)

1. Gulf Racing JP (164-points), 2. Absolute Racing (144), 3. Taiwan Top Speed (93), 4. Dilango Racing (62), 5. GDL Racing (60), 6. Golden CMT RT (50)

 

The GT Asia Series is sanctioned by the FIA as an International Series and is clearly recognised as the Region’s leading GT Championship. It is jointly managed and promoted by Motorsport Asia Ltd and the Supercar Club Hong Kong and is backed by Michelin, GRAHAM London, KW Automotive, Motul, Auto Art, Race Room, Panta and SEL.

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Track length: 6.12-kilometres

Corners: 22

Rotation: clockwise

Circuit first used: 1954

2:20.441 - Race (Renger van der Zande - Mercedes- SLS AMG GT3 - November, 2014)

2:18.230 - Qualifying (Edoardo Mortara - Audi R8 LMS ultra - November, 2014)

Support classes: Formula 3 Grand Prix, TCR Series, Motorcycle Grand Prix, Lotus, Macau Touring Car Cup, Macau Road Sport Challenge

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

62nd Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit, Macau (19-22 November, 2015)

 

Schedule: [CST - GMT +8]

12:30pm - Practice #1 (30-minutes)

 

10:40am - Practice #2 (30-minutes) 

2:55pm - Qualifying (30-minutes)

 

12:15pm - Qualifying Race (12-laps)

 

12:55pm - Race (18-laps)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 15-17 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 26-28 June - Okayama International Circuit (Japan)

Rnd#5/#6, 17-19 July - Fuji International Speedway (Japan)

Rnd#7, 4-5 September - Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) - 3-Hour

Rnd#8/#9, 25-27 September - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#10/#11, 23-25 October - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

NON-CHAMP, 20-22 November - Guia Circuit, Macau (MGP)

FFF Racing Team by ACM

FIA GT World Cup, Guia Circuit, Macau

20-22 November, 2015

 

With the inaugural FIA GT World Cup fast approaching at the iconic Guia Circuit in Macau, McLaren have revealed that two factory drivers and a former Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix champion will join the Asian-based FFF Racing Team by ACM operation for the demanding event.

 

The three experienced campaigners, will form arguably the strongest combination in the field against an entry list that includes some of the best GT3 drivers in the world.

 

Debuting earlier this year as part of the six-event GT Asia Series program, the FFF team were winners after just their third start with Tonio Liuzzi and experienced GT3 campaigner Hiroshi Hamaguchi sharing driving duties. Just a month ago they concluded their debut season in the region’s leading GT series with another podium shared between Hamaguchi and factory star Alvaro Parente, laying the foundations for what promises to be a strong debut at Macau.

 

Parente will be making his third start at Macau, but his first in a GT car, whilst local hero Couto is the only Macanese driver to have ever claimed victory in the hotly contested Formula 3 Grand Prix, the 38-year old the veteran of more than a dozen starts in Formula 3 and Touring Cars around his home circuit.

 

Couto is also likely to be the new Japanese SuperGT GT300 champion heading into the Macau event, with the Nissan GT3 driver comfortably leading the points heading into the final round of the season just a week out from Macau.

 

As the final member of the team, Estre is no stranger to the McLaren GT, and perhaps the most decorated of the three drivers in the F1-inspired supercar, having taken the new 650S GT3 to victories in both the Blancpain Endurance Series in Europe and the Pirelli World Challenge in the USA.

 

Macau will be the Frenchman’s debut on the challenging 6.12-kilometre 22-turn Guia Circuit, but he will have plenty of experience to draw from sharing data with Couto and McLaren GT factory team-mate Parente.

 

“We are very honoured to have been given the opportunity to represent McLaren GT in Macau, and I think from the pace of the MP4-12C at Macau in past years, and our pace in GT Asia this year, we will have three cars capable of competing for the win,” team-principal Andrea Caldarelli acknowledged.

 

“Andre and Alvaro have past experience at Macau, and both have already competed with our team this year, whilst Kevin is McLaren’s most successful driver this year, and that will be a big advantage with such limited practice available during the event.



 

The FFF Racing Team by ACM - 2015 FIA GT World Cup driver lineup;

 

#5 Andre Couto [MAC] - 38

2015 - points leader Super GT - GT300 (Nissan GT-R)

2013 - 2nd Audi R8 LMS Cup (Macau)

2008-2012 - WTCC - Macau

2001-2015 - SuperGT
2000 - Macau Grand Prix Champion (Formula 3)

1995-2000 - Macau Grand Prix (Formula 3)

 

#15 Kevin Estre [FRA] - 27

2015 - 4th Blancpain Endurance Series (McLaren - 2 wins from 5 races)

2015 - 5th Pirelli World Challenge (McLaren - 4 wins from 10 rounds)

2014  - 3rd Gulf 12-Hours (McLaren GT3)

2013 - Porsche Carrera Cup Germany Champion

2011 - Porsche Carrera Cup France Champion

 

#25 Alvaro Parente [POR] - 30

2013 - 4th FIA GT Series (McLaren MP4-12C)

2007 - Formula Renault 3.5 Champion

2005 - British Formula 3 Champion

2003-2004 - Macau Grand Prix (Formula 3)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

62nd Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit, Macau (19-22 November, 2015)

 

Schedule: [CST - GMT +8]

12:30pm - Practice #1 (30-minutes)

 

10:40am - Practice #2 (30-minutes) 

2:55pm - Qualifying (30-minutes)

 

12:15pm - Qualifying Race (12-laps)

 

12:55pm - Race (18-laps)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

The FFF Racing team by ACM is proudly supported by Epicuro, FrontiArt, Alpinestars and Info Agency.

 

About FFF Racing Team by ACM; FFF Automobile is a global leader in the Chinese Automotive market and is managed by Fu Songyang. The other - ACM - is owned by Andrea Caldarelli. The Italian, a world-renowned racer, has successfully competed in Asia and Europe in a career that has ranged from single-seaters to GT cars.