Macau GT Cup, Dream Result for Mercedes

Motorsports

Published on November 17th, 2014 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez

0

Macau GT Cup, Dream Result for Mercedes

MacauGt12

Maro Engel took a resounding victory in the Macau GT Cup last weekend, dominating the 12-lap race on the legendary Guia street circuit and breaking Edoardo Mortara’s run of three race wins. Making it a dream result for the Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy team, Engel’s team mate Renger Van Der Zande crossed the line in second, 1.223 seconds behind the German.

MacauGt11

Mortara ensured a podium finish for the Audi Race Experience team in third, with his team mate, Laurens Vanthoor, fourth across the line in his Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

MacauGt10

Former FIA World Touring Car Championship driver Augusto Farfus of Brazil was fifth in a BMW Z4 GT3, ahead of Portugal’s Rui Aguas in the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. With the win, Engel put behind him the disappointment of a year ago, when a puncture on the penultimate lap cost him victory: “It’s amazing. It’s everything I dreamed of last year. The start worked out perfectly. We had a lot of torque, and that propelled me into Turn 1. We put in a lot of effort, and the 1-2 with Renger makes it really special.”

MacauGt9

For Van Der Zande, there was no disappointment in crossing the line behind his team mate: “I didn’t think we could go for a 1-2 after yesterday. Our pace wasn’t all that good all weekend, and the Audi’s have been quicker. At Macau it’s all about staying out of the wall and we stayed out of the wall! Well done to Maro, and compliments too to Audi, who have been fast all weekend. In Macau, it’s all about staying out of the wall, and we did that so I’m very happy.”

MacauGt8

Mortara was crestfallen at missing out on a seventh win in Macau: “I was focused on the lights, and got on the gas when they went out. We lost first position then. Mercedes were faster and then we had tyre degradation. Normally we’re much quicker than them in the mountain, but they were pulling away in the first and second sectors.”

MacauGt3

At the rolling start, pole-sitter Mortara and Vanthoor were set on closing the door to Earl Bamber in the LKM Racing Porsche GT3 R. However, while the pair ensured Bamber had no opportunity to grab the lead, they were taken by surprise by the pair of Mercedes which shot by and into the lead.

MacauGt7

Displaying superior top line speed and acceleration, the two Mercedes powered ahead while Mortara, Vanthoor and Bamber gave chase. Two laps from the flag, Farfus found his way past Bamber to go fourth.

MacauGt6

However, on the final lap, Bamber and Takeshi Tsuchiya, in another Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, ran wide two abreast at Lisboa Bend, the pair stopping just short of the barriers.

MacauGt3

That dropped them both down the order, with Bamber crossing the line in 8th, behind Marco Wittmann in a BMW Z4 GT3, and Tsuchiya down in 14th.

MacauGt5

With the best entry in the Macau GT Cup’s seven-year history, all 31 cars finished the 12-lap race, testament to the quality of the field. Mercedes’ dominance of the race has firmly thrown down the gauntlet to the other manufacturers, and the prospect of a rematch 12 months from now is a mouthwatering prospect.

Goodyear f1 650x85(DSF)


About the Author

www.dsf.my is a service to the public and other website owners. www.dsf.my is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within the site www.dsf.my. While the information contained within the site is periodically updated, no guarantee is given that the information provided in this website is correct, complete, and up-to-date. www.dsf.my is not responsible for the accuracy or content of information contained inside.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to Top ↑