Maro Engel and Renger Van der Zande
Double Macau GT winners in 2014 the duo Maro Engel and Renger Van der Zande are already showing that they can repeat the feat this year. To learn about the team and its ambitions in the FIA World GT Cup the Times spoke to the racers on the sidelines of yesterday’s free practice session.
“I think we set our goal pretty clear doing P1 and P2 again in the first session, we did it last year [in the Macau GT Cup race] and we want to do it again. We are on a roll again to start this year the same way we finished last year,” Van der Zande said.
However, the Dutch race-car driver expects to be challenged, since he believes that the Audi team will start to push stronger during today and tomorrow’s sessions and he expects other teams to show their strengths too. “They will get closer at some point but we still can improve ourselves too. There is only one mission and that’s is the 1-2 again.”
Asked about his opinion on the new competition scheme – a World Cup to be raced in one single event – the Dutch driver has no doubts exclaiming, “It is great! It is very competitive and it is also a more promoted event. We know that Macau always been about the Formula 3 and now we are reaching the same level competition-wise.”
Van der Zande also sees in this competition a much more interesting way for the manufacturers to participate – the main point for it to grow. “Next year will be even stronger. It’s a big race and everybody is watching the GTs. We are on primetime of the timetable and that says a lot.”
Last year’s champion Maro Engel sees this race in a very positive way, “I have a lot of positive memories from last year and I’m back with the same team to do the same.”
For the racer this year there are a lot of extra motivations with the World Cup trophy in dispute and the fact that every car is racing on the same tires, admitting that this last factor forced the team to do some “technical adjustments”.
“Winning in Macau last year was a dream come true and I will do everything to repeat that again,” he said.
Like Van der Zande, Engel expects the competition to be strong and to win he is certain that he needs to put a very good set of laps during the full length of the race.
Questioned if more manufactures will want to join after a positive result running the competition this year, he has no doubts: “This is the ultimate track, the event is amazing and the competition is super strong so I am sure that they would want to come and compete against the best. This will be the place where all the best manufacturers in the world want to be, would be nice to see them all here,” Engel said.
Sharing the thoughts of Van de Zande, Engel thinks that this GT World Cup is pairing the Formula 3. “We do not need to overtake the Formula 3. There is space in Macau for two great races, two main headline events, side-by-side to make it even greater.”
‘I’m loving every minute of it’
The AMG Mercedes-Benz duo that won last year’s Macau GT Cup edition – Renger van der Zande and Cup winner Maro Engel – set an early pace for the first-ever FIA GT World Cup in the free practice session.
This time, van der Zande topped the timesheets with a lap of 2:20.796, just 0.242 of a second quicker than his teammate.
“It’s fantastic, such a thrill! Every second, even coming out of the pit lane, is a challenge but I’m loving every minute of it. The only shame is that [the Macau GT Cup] is only four days every year,” he commented.
Completing the Top 3 was three-time race winner Edoardo Mortara in the maiden run of the Audi R8 LMS.
The 2015 GT Asia Series champion Darryl O’Young set the fourth fastest time in the Craft Bamboo Aston Martin Vantage GT3, ahead of 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Earl Bamber, completing a very competitive Top 5.
Macau’s Andre Couto had a good first contact with the car in the Guia circuit and was the fastest of the three McLaren 650s GT3s, clocking in seventh overall behind O’Young’s teammate Stefan Mucke.
Many possibilities remain for today’s runs, with two sessions on the way: practice in the morning and the qualifying round in the afternoon.
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