Preview GT World Cup – Big names seeking major achievements

This year’s FIA GT World Cup, one of the headline events of the Macau Grand Prix, will count as participants many of the big names that made history on the Guia Circuit and beyond.

Seven former winners, some of whom have won Macau races multiple times, will take part in this year’s event.

Big names like “Mr Macau”, Edoardo Mortara, a living legend of the street circuit with no fewer than 10 wins under his belt, will rub side mirrors with well- known challengers and previous winners including Maro Engel, Augusto Farfus Junior, Darryl O’Young, Laurens Vanthoor and Earl Bamber.

Despite the noticeable reduction in participating brands – from seven in 2017 to only five this year – the event looks promising, with major manufacturers such as the “four German giants” Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, and BMW, who will throw their hat in the ring. For the first time, the challenger Japanese manufacturer Nissan will participate via KCMG, which had previously also represented it in the Blancpain GT Series Asia.

KCMG is not relying on luck to put the GT-Rs in the spotlight. Its line-up includes Nissan factory driver Tsugio Matsuda, Alexandre Imperatori – who has already conquered two podiums in the Macau GT Cup – and Oliver Jarvis who will return to the streets of Macau 11 years after claiming victory in the 2007 Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix.

Moreover, Mercedes will be returning to Macau to fight for the title earned last year by Mortara in the AMG Racing Academy car.

This time, Mercedes’ bid will be in the hands of Mortara, Engel and Raffaele Marciello in a three-car field by Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing. Marciello won the overall Blancpain GT Series title in Europe this year.

If Mercedes wants to defend its crown, they must beat the competition presented by “heavyweight” contenders. This year’s participants, for example, include Audi, which is known as the most successful manufacturer in the history of the competition and will be represented by three cars in two factory-backed teams: Audi Sport Team WRT Speedstar, which won the race back in 2016 and will bring two cars to Macau, and Zun Motorsport Crew customer team, with Hong Kong driver Adderly Fong racing in the third car.
Following the severe damage caused by the “famous” Moorish Hill corner crash pileup on Laurens Vanthoor’s car last year, which was removed from the competition due to damage to the safety roll cage, Porsche is well-prepared for its return with a collaboration between the Manthey Racing team and Craft Bamboo Racing.

Manthey will list a pair of 911 GT3-Rs which will be in the hands of Laurens Vanthoor and Earl Bamber, Porsche’s House driver and two-time Le Mans winner.

Featuring a total of four cars, Porsche’s field will be completed by Craft Bamboo’s entries with Hong Kong’s Darryl O’Young and Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet, one of the most successful Porsche “youngsters”.

Despite sending only one car, expectations are high for BMW’s 2018 run after an acclaimed debut last year.
For the second run, the German manufacturer chose the trusted Schnitzer team, a multiple winner of the Macau Guia Race, to bring the BMW M6 GT3. The BMW M6 GT3 will be driven by Brazilian racer Augusto Farfus Junior, who has promised not to fall short of the high expectations placed upon him.

The FIA GT World Cup will be on track starting tomorrow, with the qualifying session to take place on the following day.
The race action will start with a two-lap Qualifying Race on Saturday that will determine the final grid line-up for the Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup, which is currently expected to be run over 18 laps at lunch hour on Sunday.

In line with this year’s regulations, the manufacturer’s title will be attributed directly to the manufacturer of the car driven by the winning driver, as the five competing manufacturers will be represented by varying numbers of cars and drivers.