Macau GP 2024          GT Worldcup

Macau Grand Prix - FIA GT Worldcup

2024, Finally back in Macau. My favorite event that is not an endurance Race.. no other Sprint Race on the GT calendar gives you these thrills.. not other Sprint has as much Meaning.

The list this year reads like a "who is who" in GT Racing, everbody sent out their Big gun Drivers to compete. At the same time there are teams that all are based in the Hong Kong- Macau Area, but they all

are reinforced by Works Engineers and Works Mechanics.

Arriving at the Ferry Terminal just next to the Paddock we were welcomed by a super busy crowd of Helpers, Marshals and Officials that , once again, made for a perfect organisation in a city, that in itself feels like a beehive. If you know Macau without the GP, the Work that is put into making this exceptional Event take place run as smooth as possible for the People living and working there is nothing short of amazing.

Add to this a late-in-the-year Taifun in the vicinity and the resulting Wet Weather... it was on.

The Rain unfortunately kept the Motorbike Drivers in the Pitlane for most of the time, which is the only Sad thing this year as they are truely the Kings of the Guia Circuit.. just go to the Macau GP Museum and see the history of these Madmen that ran here since the 60ies.

But back to the GT's.

To win here it all boils down to your Starting Position on the Main Sunday Race.. to get to the Front you need a good result in the Qualification Race.. and well .. for that you need to qualify on Friday ahead of everybody. That means the one Lap you clock in can decide how good your Chances are to bringing home the Trophy.

During the first Runs the young Belgian Alessio Piccariello in his Geeky Porsche was a big hopeful with his best times ( which was fun to me as i bet with him that if he wins this year he had to get Gel-fake Fingernails with Porsche logos), but you could already feel that the BMW's of Toro and WRT had immense Speed. That also resulted in an adjustment to the omnipresent BOP by SRO.

Nevertheless Marciello on the younger of the 2 Vanthoors proved on Friday that, in the Dry, the BMW's were top of the Class. This front Row was repeated in the qualirace with Dries just being slightly ahead.. once, just before Curva Lisboa, where Marciello held his inside line to retake the Lead into San Fransisco.

So there we are, the Sunday arrives and the good Weather we had on Saturday... was gone.. the Taifun turned back towards the Pacific but not without leaving us with more unwelcomed Rain.

BMW's were tricky to drive in the mixed conditions, so Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes felt like they might have a Chance.. We all remember in the previous Years that incidents and potential Red Flags could dictate the outcome of the Race.. so everybody adjusted their Tactics and Tyre Pressures accordingly.

But there were no incidents, nor Red Flags in the first 2 Laps of the Main Race, which had those that gambled on a slower, more Safety Car prone Race , have their Pressures too high. Marciello spurted away from the Field, Fuoco and Engel tried to find a way past Vanthoor, with mixed Results for Dries.

Fuoco showed that he probably had the best Setup in his AF Corse Ferrari as he flew past in R Bend.. and closed the Gap to Raffaele right away..

Maro trying to keep in touch with the 2 italians then hit the back of the Dragon-liveried M4 of Vanthoor just before Donna Maria that cost him a 5 second Penalty.. but had him in a front Row Seat to the Major Dram that unfolded... as usual.. in Curva Lisboa.

Fuoco did overtake the Toro BMW in R-Bend as the M4 was so unstable in the damp.. and after the mix of Straights and Mandarin Marciello dove  to the inside in the braking zone, only to find the Rear of a lane-switching Ferrari.That resulted in 2 things: Maro  could slip by the 2 Leaders cought in the emergency exit and also giving him enough Space towards the Back as the next 2 BMW's of Farfus and Sheldon weren't as ready to cope with their Teammate standing still at the most dangerous part of the Track.

Engel flew away, alone in front, the Penalty lurking, but with 10 seconds of a Gap, he finalized his 4th GT win, 2nd FIA GT World Cup Championship.

This means he equalized Mortaras record 4 wins in the GT category.. and kept Mercedes winning..

Yes there are controversies and discussions, as there are in most Races.. fact is the BMW was the best Car, and had the best Setup for the Dry..

Me personally i can't wait for the 72nd Macau GP, give me the same drivers, all the Car Manufacturers and the same organisation and the Racing will be awesome

Thank you Macau for being Macau.