62nd MACAU GRAND PRIX Thursday Report

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• Thursday Report |
• Friday Report |
• Saturday Report |
• Sunday Report |
• MACAU F3 Summary Report |

Formula3 Macau Grand Prix

“Suncity Group Formula3 Macau Grand Prix” is the main event of the Macau Grand Prix which YOKOHAMA once again supplies the Control Tires for each machine this year. The top competitors from the FIA European Formula3 Championships, Japan Formula3, and each countries’ F3 were gathered around to determine the best world champion of the year.

The forty minute practice was held from 9:35 am, and the forty minute first qualification was held from 2:20 pm.

The very first session, Free Practice of F3, started from 9:35 am as scheduled. The big time racers including last year’s Champion Felix ROSENQVIST, 2011 Champion DTW Driver Daniel JUNCADELLA, and third place winner of the 2014, Japanese F3 Champion Nick CASSIDY competed in this category. The first racer to mark under 2’20” was Antonio GIOVANAZZI, marking 2’18″432. However after 10 minutes from the opening, most of the drivers marked faster than 2’20” and in the end Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’16″630 making this the fastest lap at that time.

But then Jake DENNIS crashed at the mountain area on 9:49 am so then the red flag was waved.

The session restarted at 9:55 am, each driver gaining more speed. Felix ROSENQVIST marked the fastest lap at 2’16″522 but shortly after that, Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’14″750. But then 2 other crashes occurred at two areas so the red flag was waved again.

The session reopened at 10:12 am, however shortly after 3 minutes the session finished at 10:15 am. Most drivers timed out during the last lap, but Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’13″829 as the best time. Felix ROSENQVIST and Markus POMMER followed in third place.

It became sunny in the afternoon compared to the cloudy weather in the morning. The temperature increased from 2:20pm. The first 40 minute qualification started.

Shortly after the session started, Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’15″161 and became the top racer. However during the next lap, Felix ROSENQVIST marked 2’13″483 and this was the fastest lap until he beat it again at 2’12″735 and after that he pitted in and waited for the other drivers’ results.

At 2:36 pm, Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’12″824 but no one could beat Felix ROSENQVIST’s best time and then the session entered the final stage.

Several machines stopped at the mountain area, but the session went smoothly without any red flag interruptions and the race entered the last 3 minutes. Felix ROSENQVIST beat his best time with 2’12″579. With less than 2 minutes remaining, Callum ILOTT marked the second fastest time at 2’12″663. However Felix ROSENQVIST beat his best time at 2’11″841 and with 1 minute to go, he succeeded to leave the other drivers far behind.

The checker came out at 3 pm and the first qualification was finished. Felix ROSENQVIST obtained the Provisional Pole Position, Callum ILOTT came in second and Antonio GIOVANAZZI came in third.

Another practice and the second qualification for the “Suncity Group Formula3 Grand Prix” will be held tomorrow, and then the grid position of the Provisional Classification will be determined with the result of today’s result.

Macau Touring Car Cup

The “CTM Macau Touring Car Cup” was held at 1:23 pm with a 3 minute delay. The local drivers from Macau and the drivers from China, Hong Kong, and Singapore gathered and they drove 31 machines including Mini Cooper, Peugeot RCZ, Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Cruise. Of those machines, 27 used YOKOHAMA Tires.

Celia ALVES DIAS, driving a Mini Cooper S, was racing in first place during the second lap of the session. Then Celio ALVES DIAS became the fastest with 2’53″276 with only a 0.1″ difference from CHAO Chong In.

However Andy YAN, driving a Peugeot RCZ, marked 2’50″613 and became the fastest. Then CHAO Chong In marked 2’51″235 and came in second, and ALVES DIAS came in third marking 2’51″660.

Andy YAN who marked the fastest lap pitted in during the next lap and waited. No one marked a faster lap for a while and everyone thought this session will end as it is. But however Paul POON, driving a Peugeot RCZ, marked 2’47″826 at 1:46 pm, 2 whole seconds faster and came in top.

During the final stage of the session, a few machines stopped on the race track while other drivers had a hard time marking the best time. However Kenneth LOOK, driving a Peugeot RCZ, marked 2’50″742 and came in third place. With only 8 minutes left, all of the top 3 machines at that time were Peugeot RCZ.

The checker flag came out at 2:03 pm and Paul POON marked the top time with a 2’7″ difference from second place winner Andy YAN. Kenneth LOOK came in the third place. The top 4 drivers are all YOKOHAMA Tire users and this ended the session.

Macau Road Sport Challenge

Following the practice session of F3, the practice for the Macau Road Sport Challenge started from 10:30 am. Japanese cars like Nissan GT-R, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota 86, Subaru Impressa and European sports cars like Lotus, Citroen and Volks Wagen were registered in this category.

This category also has a tire competition and out of the 36 entries, 17 machines were using YOKOHAMA Tires.

This 40 minute practice started on time. SOU Ieng Hong, driving a Subaru Impressa STI, came in second place with 2’42″987. However his rival driver’s machine had a fire at the last corner. This caused the yellow flag to be waved so for this event, no one marked for a while.

More over, some machines hit the tire barrier at the Lisbore Bend and the mountain side, and some machines also stopped on the course. Despite all of this, the session continued. As the result, the fastest lap went up to 2’38″301 at 10:48 am, and LO Kai Fung, driving a Lancer EVO7, marked 2’39″649 coming in third place, and WONG Wan Long, driving a Lancer EVO10, came in forth place at 2’39″925.

During the last 10 minutes, the fastest time was marked at 2’37″908. Then LO Kai Fung followed in at second place at 2’38″072.

The session finished at 11:10 am. LO Kai Fung is the top qualifying driver using YOKOHAMA Tires in second place. All YOKOHAMA Tire users finished their first session with good results.