Written by Lorenzo Baer & Aaron Carroll, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Rain, accidents, red flags, unpredictability and glory…well, that's Macau!
In another year of disputes on the Guia circuit, the Macau race weekend did not disappoint, presenting the public with intense battles, major incidents, and the typical unpredictability that has for long been a hallmark of the treacherous route that follows the streets of the former Portuguese colony.
Despite the challenges and obstacles, one of the best-known racing venues in the East does not lose its crown. The Macau GP has once again proven to be one of the most interesting events on the international motorsport calendar in 2024.
The main support event: The FIA GT World Cup
The weekend began on Friday with the practices, which set the grid for the qualifying race on Saturday morning. Raffaele Marciello took pole position from Dries Vanthoor, but the headline of the session was the monumental accident involving Lamborghini driver Luca Engstler, which ended the session.
The 24-year-old German was taken to hospital after the crash. Fortunately, the driver escaped major injuries; however, in a sensible decision by the driver and his team, Engstler decided to withdraw his entry for the rest of the weekend.
Moving on to the qualifying race, it was dry the whole way as Marciello led the field away for 12 laps of racing. Vanthoor got the jump on his fellow BMW driver at the start, but ran deep into the first braking zone, allowing Marciello to go back through.
The order remained the same for the rest of the race, Marciello leading Vanthoor, with Antonio Fuoco in third followed by Maro Engel, Augusto Farfus and Sheldon Van Der Linde. The top six traded lap times all race long, but each did just enough to stay ahead of the next driver.
Marciello was looking to sweep the weekend with a win in the 16-lap race on Sunday. Heavy rain cancelled the motorcycle race beforehand, but as conditions got better, the GT race was ready to go.
Despite the nicer conditions, the rain still required a safety car start, which stayed out for four laps before getting underway. As the green flags waved, Vanthoor once again had a look at Marciello, but had to settle in second place.
Meanwhile behind the leading pair, Engel tried to hang a move around the outside of Fuoco, but couldn't quite get ahead, the two only separated by a piece of paper.
As the race went on, Fuoco in the Ferrari began to catch Vanthoor in the BMW, looking for a move to get past the Belgian. Then at the final corner on lap eight, the Le Mans winner sends the Ferrari down the inside to take second place.
Then on the next lap, Engel tapped the back of Vanthoor in the tight middle section of the track, sending the BMW racer wide into the wall, forcing Vanthoor to limp back to the pits and retire from the race.
Soon the top three closed in together, nose to tail — as the stewards investigated Engel for the incident with Vanthoor. Even a single mistake would prove fatal.
On lap 14, Fuoco tried the same move into the final corner on Marciello for the lead, making it stick, but as they powered down the flat out section towards Lisboa, they both outbraked themselves, going down the runoff area. This allowed Maro Engel to swoop past to take the lead with two laps left.
Despite a five-second penalty for the incident with Vanthoor, Engel won the FIA GT World Cup at Macau, with Augusto Farfus in second, Sheldon Van Der Linde rounding out the podium and the Porsche duo of Alessio Picariello and Laurens Vanthoor in fourth and fifth.
Despite the weather's best efforts, the Macau Guia circuit still managed to give us some excellent racing and enthralling action throughout the GT weekend.
The Macau Grand Prix
All drivers on the grid opted to start the race on dry tires, but with parts of the circuit still quite damp, the race organising committee decided that the first of the 15 tours for the race would be run under the safety car.
When the green light was finally given on lap two, Ugo Ugochukwu led the field, followed by Oliver Goethe, who tried to displace the American ahead for the lead.
The first major incident of the race happened on the second lap, when James Wharton, whilst trying to overtake Matteo De Palo on the Lisboa curve, ended up hitting the protective barrier on the outside of the track.
Evan Giltaire was caught in the melee, as was Jett Bowling, who crashed into Wharton. Also caught in the pileup were Kai Daryanani, Tiago Rodrigues and Kanato Le. The accident caused a red flag, and a 20-minute interruption.
Once the race restarted, Ugochukwu managed to hold on to the lead, followed by Goethe who, this time, was pressured by Noel León at the Lisboa curve.
Due to the skirmish between the German and the Mexican driver, the New York native managed to regain his advantage of one second in the lead at the end of the lap. The race was interrupted once again after another accident, this time with Ruiqi Liu on lap four.
The safety car was activated until the end of lap 7, when Ugochukwu once again made a great restart to stay in the lead. Two laps later, the American already had the fastest lap, with a second-and-a-half advantage over Goethe.
However, the safety car had to be brought up to the track once again on lap 10, when Sota Ogawa touched the outside part of Mandarin Oriental Bend, damaging his car's suspension and coming to a stop on the middle of the track.
With two laps to go, Goethe threw all his cards to take the lead from Ugo Ugochukwu. However, what could have been a great free-for-all in the final laps did not materialise, due to yet another sequence of accidents, which would bring the end of the race.
Mattia Colnaghi collided on the penultimate lap at turn 22 (Black Sands), while Freddie Slater, in a last-gasp attempt to take third place from León on the last lap, was another one to leave his mark at the Lisboa curve.
For the last time in the race, the safety car was back again into action, definitively sealing the victory for Ugochukwu, who led from start to finish in the big race of the weekend in Macau.
Goethe finished second for MP Motorsport, and León rounded out the podium for KCMG. Only 15 of the 27 cars that started the race saw the chequered flag.
Other positive highlights of the race were the Finn Tuuka Taponen, who started from 26th position, but made an excellent recovery race to finish 10th, and the Spaniard Mari Boya who, starting last, climbed the pack in spectacular fashion, crossing the line in seventh.
Ugochukwu now joins Bob Earl as the only US-born drivers to have won the Macau GP, with Earl achieving his triumph in 1981.
Other support races
Macau Roadsport Challenge: Macau driver Lei Kit Meng secured the victory in the five-lap race, taking his second consecutive victory around the circuit. Lei drove a Subaru BRZ, and his companions on the podium were Jerónimo Badaraco and Mou Chi Fai.
Macau Sar Establishment Cup: Damon Chan Tat Man led from start to finish the event, driving a Toyota GR86. Cheang Kin Sang and Ivan Szeto Wing Shun finished second and third on the podium respectively.
Greater Bay Area GT Cup: Han Lichao in a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO took victory in the GT4 event, winning ahead of Yang Xiaowei in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS, and Kevin Tse Wing Kin, who was racing a Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Kumho FIA TCR World Tour: It was a 1-2-3 finish for the GOAT Racing Honda squad, who fielded Civic Type R FL5 cars. First was Dušan Borković, followed by Esteban Guerrieri in second, and Marco Butti in third.
Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix - 56th EDITION: This race was not contested, due to rain and considerations about the safety of riders in the race.
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