62nd MACAU GRAND PRIX Friday 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 battling with the top ranking drivers from the worldwide Formula3. This F3 Championship is held with YOKOHAMA’s control tires used by each machine. The forty minute second free practice started at 9:35 am and also the forty minute qualifying race started at 3:55 pm and the starting grid of the Saturday Qualification Race was determined.

At 9:35 am, the same time as yesterday, the second free practice started in fair condition with a few clouds in the sky.

All machines sped into the course as soon as the session started. And not surprisingly, Felix ROSENQVIST who entitled the provisional pole position in the first qualifying session yesterday showed superb driving as he ranked at the top with 2’13”781 at 9:42 am. He then marked a better time at 2’13”128 in the next lap. Charles LECLERC emerged on top of the free practice at 2’13”104, however Felix ROSENQVIST marked the fastest time at 2’12”483 and moreover he marked 2’12”185 and took the initiative of the practice.

Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’12”849, however Markus POMMER marked 2’12”794 at 9:52 am and jumped up to second place. Markus POMMER also marked 2’11”688 at 9:57 am and became the top driver of that session.

Felix ROSENQVIST made moves and increased his time to 2’11”936 but he ranked in second. Then the red flag was waved for a crash at the San Francisco bend at 10 am and the session was interrupted.

The session reopened at 10:05 am with only 10 minutes left and Markus POMMER marked 2’11”329, then 2’11”102 in the last 3 minutes. He defended his best time and took the chequered flag and he marked the best lap time twice during the session.

Felix ROSENQVIST followed in second place, and Charles LECLERC in third.

The time schedule was delayed and the qualifying 2 race started at 4:25 pm. All drivers dashed into the course right after the qualifying 2 race started and tryed to mark the best time. However four minutes from the start, Callum ILOTT who marked the second fastest lap yesterday crashed in the entrance of San Francisco Hill and his machine was stopped at the scene.

Because of this crash the red flag was waved for safety, and the session restarted at 4:34 pm with 35 minutes remaining. After restarting the session, Felix ROSENQVIST beat his best lap yesterday with 2’11”707 at 4:38 pm and Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’12”536 and jumped up to second. However Charles LECLERC beat his fastest lap at 2’11”869 and took over in second place.

At 4:43 pm, Gustavo MENEZES was hit into the guardrail at Melco Hair Pin. The machines behind him couldn’t pass him and the course turned into a major traffic jam. Despite that, the session wasn’t interrupted and the qualifying 2 race continued.

During this collision, most of the leading machines returned to the pit. Then Charles LECLERC who remained on the scene marked his best lap at 2’11”378 and went up to the top at 4:48 pm. Felix ROSENQVIST returned to the course and marked 2’10”641 at 4:58 pm and regained top position again. Just after that, Antonio GIOVANAZZI marked 2’11”,034 and followed in second place.

Daniel JUNCADELLA and Markus POMMER marked 2’11” and battled for third position. Daniel JUNCADELLA marked 2’10”687 on the next lap and pressed hard against Felix ROSENQVIST, co-leader of the qualifying 2 race. Charles LECLERC marked 2’10”796 at 5:04 pm and jumped to third place and the battle of the qualifying 2 race became a fierce battle in the 2’10” time zone. However Felix ROSENQVIST remarked 2’10”474 and left the other drivers far behind.

Right after that, Antonio GIOVANAZZI crashed on the mountain side and the red flag was waved and the session was finished after that incident.

As a result, Felix ROSENQVIST got the pole position for the Qualification Race tomorrow and Daniel JUNCADELLA finished in second place and Charles LECLERC finished in third place. Antonio GIOVANAZZI who crashed in the late stage of the session will start in fourth place.

Macau Touring Car Cup

27 out of 33 machines used YOKOHAMA tires, and the CTM Macau Touring Car Cup Qualification Race started with dry conditions at 1:55 pm.

Each machine moved into the course of the 30 minute session on time. At 2:01 pm, CHOU Keng Kuan, driving a Peugeot RCZ, marked 2’52″134 on the first lap and CHAO Chong In, driving a Mini Cooper S, marked the fastest lap at 2’51″619 soon after that.

Moreover Paul POON, driving a Peugeot RCZ, blew away that lap time with 2’49″328 and LEONG Chi Kin, driving a Mini Cooper S, became the second place driver with 2’51″187. However Paul POON marked his best at 2’47″295. Then Andy YAN, driving a Peugeot RCZ, jumped up to second place with 2’48″676, and Samson FUNG, driving a Peugeot RCZ, marked 2’49″915 in third place, and these top 3 battled under the 2’50” time frame.

Paul POON beat his best time with 2’47″126 at 2:09 pm. Samson FUNG marked 2’47″610 and brought himself to second, however Paul POON resisted his efforts and marked his best again at 2’46″229 and kept this best time.

In the remaining 10 minutes, Paul POON went back to the pit stop. During this period, Samson FUNG beat his best with 2’47″591 but couldn’t be faster than Paul POON.

During the last stage of the session, the top 3 drivers went in and out of the pit stop while other machines created multiple collisions at the Donna Maria Bend. Because of this crash, the red flag was waved and the session finished. As a result, Paul POON grabbed the pole position and Samson FUNG finished in second and Andy YAN in third.

The top 3 in this category was all obtained by Peugeot RCZ drivers as well as YOKOHAMA tire users. The final race of CTM Macau Touring Car Cup will start at 8:30 am on Saturday.

Macau Road Sport Challenge

More clouds came out in the sky at 11:35 am. The Macau Road Sport Challenge Qualification Race started on time for a 30 minute trial.

17 out of 36 machines chose to use YOKOHAMA tires like yesterday and LIO Kin Chong, driving a Subaru Imprezza STI and also using YOKOHAMA tires marked 2’40″569 in third place. However 10 minutes after the start, WONG Wan Long, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO10, marked 2’39″353 at 11:45 am and jumped to third place. Then LO Kai Fung, driving a Lancer EVO7, marked 2’37″225 and became the second place racer. They fiercely battled against other rivals to obtain the fastest lap.

However, in the middle stage of the session, one machine stopped at the mountain side and other machines had to stop to avoid the collision. Because of this incident, each machine couldn’t get enough time for their time trial so most of top time holders were returned to their pit stops.

With less than 10 minutes remaining, the machines started to return to the course but unfortunately another crash between 2 machines occurred again in the mountain side in the last 6 minutes. Then other machines got stranded again at the scene. They couldn’t get enough time for the time trial and the session went into the final stage.

In the last two minutes, some drivers started to time up and LO Kai Fung marked 2’36″865 and became the third place racer. WONG Ka Hong, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO10, marked 2’36″630 in the final lap and kept this position as the chequered flag ended the session at 0:05 pm.

In this qualification race, WONG Ka Hong using YOKOHAMA tires is the top finalist in fourth place, and LO Kai Fung in fifth place. The final race of the Macau Road Sport Challenge will start from 8:40 am tomorrow and YOKOHAMA tire users will surely show us one of their best races tomorrow.