Ahead of the final round of the GT Asia Series on the streets of Macau, the atmosphere was electric with the title combatants separated by just seven points. Based on the dramatic events of the 2013 Macau GT Cup, the expectation of red flags and Safety Car periods was high, a number of drivers divided about whether there would be two or three Safety Car periods during the race, an event which included some of the best GT drivers in the world.
12-laps later though, the flag fell on arguably the most ‘pedestrian’ Macau GT race in recent memory, with the bulk of the action happening at turn one on the opening lap – from there it was relatively incident free all the way to the chequered flag.
By the time the dust had cleared though, the GT Asia Series had a new champion, in fact a three-time champion – Singapore’s Weng Sun Mok. The Clearwater Racing Ferrari driver ran a conservative race to cross the line second behind title rival Anthony Lui, but with enough points to claim the 2014 title.
“What a brilliant result.. I didn’t have a very good day yesterday, with the qualifying incident,” Mok explained. “The car was quite badly damaged, and I’ve always yelled at Arj [Clearwater Racing team-boss Arj Kulasegaram] for buying so many spare parts, but last night I was really thankful we had nine flight cases worth of parts here so we managed to rebuild the front of the car, rebuild the rear of the car and as a result – the team gave me an absolutely fantastic car to drive today.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the result. A race win would have been too far way for me because Anthony [Lui] was just too quick for me here so the goal was to stay out of trouble. Once I made it through turn one I saw a big gap to P3 behind me, so I just kept my head together and drove to a comfortable pace to keep ahead of the group behind.
“I could have comfortably gone quicker, but there was no need to – I was just managing the pace to the guys behind.
“So P2.. I’ll take it, especially at Macau.. more importantly though we have the championship. When I started the season in Korea with the first DNF I thought ‘oh boy, this is going to be a long one’ but thanks to Keita Sawa and the rest of the team, we’ve had many, many consistent finishes which has given me a chance to fight into Macau and take the win for the third time.. an unbelievable feeling.
“2014 was a brilliant year.. we won Merdeka for a third time, and to be able to do GT Asia for a third time was something I never dreamt would be possible, especially this year when you look at the grid and the way the series has developed. It’s a fantastic competition and I think it’s only going to get tougher next year. I don’t know if I’ll be able to win for a fourth time, but I’ll take the three and gloat on it for a year.. [laughs].”
Lui meanwhile was reflective on a season which saw him amass four round wins (including Macau), but fall short of the title by just five points.
“It was a fantastic weekend, but it just goes to show, you don’t always get what you want,” Lui admitted post-race. “It’s okay, it’s all part of the learning curve. The race though was extremely boring.. I had a gap of 30-seconds in front and about the same behind, so it was just like free practice. In the end I was waiting for a Safety Car that never came..
“Prior to Korea, no-one knew what to expect with the way the season would play out, but post-Korea [Lui and co-driver Davide Rizzo won both races] we were expecting a little bit more than what we achieved today. As you saw, we had the pace to win almost every single race – all year – but a series of unfortunate events saw us miss the title by just a handful of points.”
Whilst the title contenders enjoyed their own race amongst the outright contenders, further back 2013 series runner-up Frank Yu made strong gains through the race to be catching Mok for third before running too deep once more into Lisboa corner and ultimately out of contention for a podium.
“The first few laps were quite good,” Yu reflected. “I managed to pass the Audis, then it took a couple of laps to pass the Lamborghini [Malagamuwa], but after that I was pulling away and comfortably on the GT Asia Series podium and catching Mok.. then – I don’t know what’s happened to me this weekend – I overshot Lisboa.. again. I had a really good run on Mok at Mandarin, and I was getting closer and closer, so I guess instinctively I was just a little too eager and overshot and lost a lot of positions. From that point on – still feeling the effects of this fever – I just wanted to finish.”
Yu’s demise meant that former GT champion Dilantha Malagamuwa would make yet another Macau podium, although the Sri Lankan driver admitted that all was not well with the Dilango Racing Lamborghini.
“It wasn’t a pleasant ride,” he admitted. “There is an issue with the car bottoming out – we think it’s a valving issue with the suspension, so we had a stiff and low car which would often be airborne over the bumps which made hard braking difficult.. you don’t stop too well when the wheels are in the air!”
Phillip Ma came home as the leading Absolute Racing Audi R8 to claim fourth clear of team-mate Jeffrey Lee, Ma’s recovery a welcome result after the frustrations of practice and qualifying which saw the Absolute Racing mechanics working hard to repair broken bodywork.
Francis Tjia claimed the GTM class victory after a comfortable run to the flag, however the multiple GT Asia Series race winner admitted that after about eight laps he spent more time glued to the rear vision mirror than out the windscreen.
“We ask the crew to tell us when the leaders get to within 20-seconds of us so that we can plan where they’ll catch us,” Tjia explained. “There’s nothing worse than being monstered by the outright cars in the tight twisty sections, especially with so much on the line like this year with Mercedes and Audi, so we like to know where they are on the track.”
In the end Tjia claimed a relatively ‘lonely’ victory over ‘team-mates’ Wayne Shen and brother John, Wayne admitting that he had to change his driving style for the main race after the incident he had during opening qualifying on Friday.
“I think I might have bruised some ribs,” the outgoing GTM class champion admitted. “I was alright for the first eight laps or so, but after that it became a little uncomfortable.”
The last of the GTM class cars was new champion Jacky Yeung, the Hong Kong driver admitting that with the championship over ahead of Macau, that he was just ‘playing-it-safe’. “I didn’t want to get mixed up in any on-track dramas, because I’m also using this car in the Audi R8 LMS Cup Asia final in Abu Dhabi next month, so it was important I stayed out of trouble,” he explained. “I was just thankful the title had been settled ahead of Macau.. now I can go and celebrate!!”
Whilst the championship contenders enjoyed a relatively trouble-free run through the 12-lap journey, further forward in the field a number of GT Asia Series regulars were mixing it up with the established stars, including Rui Aguas (Spirit of Race Ferrari), Max Wiser (NB Team Aston Martin) and Keita Sawa (FUN88 Lamborghini).
In the end it was Aguas who was the star – not just of the GT Asia Series regulars – but arguably the event, after making his way through the field from 16th to sixth, the Portugese driver beaming from ear-to-ear post race having battled against some of the most established stars in global GT competition.
“Qualifying was a disaster yesterday, we had a very good car.. I was seven tenths faster than my best until Lisboa then the red flag was displayed so I didn’t get a chance to post a better lap than Friday,” Aguas explained.
“I just did a good start, scraped the walls a couple of times passing people – it was fair, everybody was fair – even though the Aston was very wide [O’Young] and fast on the straights, but the Yokohama’s behaved well against the Michelins, so I was happy even though we didn’t have the super-soft tyre, just the normal soft compound.
“I think if I’d started further forward, then I could have been in the fight for the top five, but nonetheless, starting from 16th, it’s great to finish in sixth place behind Farfus and with the new DTM champion behind me, plus all the big boys in their factory cars..
“I really appreciate Nasrat [Muzayyin] allowing me to race in his place – it was an excellent year racing with him, and I look forward to doing it again next year, and I hope to come back to Macau, it’s very nice, the most challenging circuit I’ve ever driven on.
Mercedes fight back to claim emphatic 1-2 in Macau GT Cup
Starting off pole, the expectation from the fans was that ‘Mr Macau’ – three-time GT Cup winner Edoardo Mortara – would be an almost certain bet to claim his fourth consecutive victory for Audi Sport, but whilst the team had locked out the front row in qualifying, no-one had told Mercedes Benz about the proposed script..
Storming through from the second row though, it was 2013 pole-sitter Maro Engel who led into turn one, with team-mate Renger van der Zande right behind him.
From there the event was relatively straight forward, the only surprise coming just a few laps from home when the battle for fifth between new Porsche Supercup champion Earl Bamber and AAI-Mercedes driver Takeshi Tsuchiya ended in the tyres at Lisboa corner. Both continued, but further down the order, the New Zealander recovering for eighth at the line in the LKM Porsche.
That elevated DTM star Augusto Farfus to fifth in the AAI-BMW Z4 from the super-impressive Aguas, reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann in the second AAI-BMW, Bamber, local hero – Craft-Bamboo Racing’s – Darryl O’Young and Bentley’s Jean-Karl Vernay.
Up front though it was all Engel, the Mercedes-Benz AM regular crossing the line comfortably clear of van der Zande, with the two Audi’s of Mortara and Vanthoor line astern in third and fourth.
With the 2014 GT Asia Series drawing to its dramatic conclusion at Macau, competitors now plan ahead for the 2015 season. Next season is expected to get underway with the opening round once more at Korea International Circuit in mid-May, with plans for a number of new initiatives for the 2015 season, all of which will be revealed in coming weeks.
WHERE TO WATCH..
Keep track of the final round of the 2014 GT Asia Series from Macau via the AFOS website – www.afos.com via Facebook; www.facebook.com/GTAsiaSeries and through YouTube; www.youtube.com/user/afosTV
You can review all the action from Macau via www.twitter.com/GTAsiaSeries
2014 GT Asia Series – Macau GT Cup
Race (12-laps) – 16 November, 2014
1. 5. Maro Engel (GER) – AMG Driving Academy Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 – 12-laps
2. 6. Renger van der Zande (NED) – AMG Driving Academy SLS AMG GT3 +1.223
3. 1. Edoardo Mortara (ITA) – Audi Race Experience Audi R8 GT3 ultra +6.623
4. 2. Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) – Audi Race Experience Audi R8 GT3 ultra +8.353
5. 91. Augusto Farfus (BRA) – Team AAI Rstrada BMW Z4 GT3 +18.915
6. 38. Rui Aguas (POR) – Spirit of Race by AF Corse Ferrari 458 GT3 +28.070**
7. 92. Marco Wittmann (GER) – Team AAI Rstrada BMW Z4 GT3 +30.033
8. 72. Earl Bamber (NZL) – LKM Racing Porsche 997 GT3-R +37.387
9. 55. Darryl O’Young (HKG) – Craft Bamboo Racing Aston Martin GT3 +40.354
10. 4. Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) – Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 +40.553
11. 13. Katsumasa Chiyo (JPN) – B-Max Racing Team Nissan GT-R GT3 +41.084
12. 9. Max Wiser (ITA) – NB Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 +41.774**
13. 10. Andre Couto (MAC) – Direction Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 +42.619
14. 90. Takeshi Tsuchiya (JPN) – Team AAI Rstrada Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 +49.294
15. 88. Keita Sawa (JPN) – FUN88 Racing Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3 +51.122**
16. 93. Carlo Van Dam (NED) – Team AAI Rstrada Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 +53.920
17. 33. Pasin Lathouras (THA) – AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 +54.123
18. 37. Anthony Liu (CHN) – BBT Team by AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 +1:21.706*
19. 23. Danny Watts (GBR) – United Autosports McLaren MP4-12C GT3 +1:44.790
20. 17. Adderly Fong (HKG) – Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra +1:51.406
21. 3. Weng Sun Mok (SIN) – Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 +2:00.848*
22. 24. Dilantha Malagamuwa (SRI) – Dilango Racing Gallardo FL2 GT3 +2:20.421*
23. 98. Phillip Ma (HKG) – Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra +2:20.925*
24. 7. Jeffrey Lee (TPE) – Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra +2:27.512*
25. 25. Richard Meins (GBR) – United Autosports McLaren MP4-12C GT3 – 11-laps
26. 97. Frank Yu (HKG) – Craft Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – 11-laps*
27. 21. Francis Tjia (HKG) – Open Road Porsche GT3 Cup Car [GTM] – 11-laps*
28. 16. Wayne Shen (HKG) – Modena Motorsports Porsche Cup [GTM] – 11-laps*
29. 28. John Shen (HKG) – Modena Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup [GTM] – 11-laps*
30. 20. Rodolfo Avila (MAC) – Porsche GT3 Cup Car [GTM] – 11-laps
31. 77. Jacky Yeung (HKG) – Tiger Racing Team Audi R8 LMS Cup [GTM] – 11-laps*
DNS. 56. Samson Chan (HKG) – Eurasia Motorsport Ford GT3*
(*GT Asia competitor registered for series points, **GT Asia Series regular driver)
2014 GT Asia Series – Championship points (after round 13 of 13)
Overall (best 11-round scores)
1. Mok Weng Sun (164-points), 2. Anthony Liu (159), 3. Keita Sawa (156), 4. Rob Bell/Hiroshi Hamaguchi (146), 6. Davide Rizzo (141), 7. Frank Yu (122), 8. Max Wiser (107), 9. Richard Wee (92), 10. Jeffrey Lee (83), 11. Jiang Xin (77), 12. Christoper Mies (62), 14. Nasrat Muzayyin/Rui Aguas (59), 15. Stefan Mucke (51), 16. Craig Baird (43), 17. Richard Lyons (40), 18. Dilantha Malagamuwa (38), 19. Alex Yoong (36), 20. Jonathon Venter (34), 21, Lucas Guerrero (30), 22. Matt Griffin, Phillip Ma (27), 24. Jacky Yeung, (26), 25. Warren Luff, Takuma Aoki, Sun Jing Zu (23), 28. Alessandro Guidi, Matt Solomon (22), 30. Daniel Bilski (20), 31. Carlo Van Dam/Tanart Sathienthirakul, Jian Wei Wang (18), 34. Vuttikhorn Inthraphuvasak/Piti Bhirombhakdi, Francis Tjia (17), 37. Tatsuya Kataoka, Taiyou Iida, Motoyoshi Yoshida, Ken Urata (16), 42. Nathan ANtunes, George Chou/Thomas Fjordbach (15), 45. Kevon Gleason (14), 46. Tacksung Kim/Natasha Seatter, Katsumasa Chiyo/Robert Hori (11), 50. Egidio Perfetti, Song Yang Fu (9), 52. Andrea Caldarelli, Marchy Lee, Wayne Shen (8), 55. Michael Chua/Bjorn Wirdheim (6)
GTM Class
1. Jacky Yeung (156-points), 2. Takuma Aoki (144), 3. Thomas Fjordbach (138), 4. George Chou (132), 5. Wayne Shen (100), 6. Ken Urata (98), 7. Francis Tjia (92), 8. John Shen (84), 9. Keith Vong (44), 10. Keo Chang (39), 11. Matt Solomon (36), 12. Robert Lee (30), 13. Craig Liu (27), 14. Samson Chan, Joe Hsu Cheng Chang (26), 16. Terry Fang, Ashraf Dewal (24), 18. Fukujirou (21), 19. James Cai (19), 20. Satoshi Hoshino, Scott Miau, Christian Chia, Marchy Lee (18), 24. Marcel Tjia (17), 25. Francis Hideki Onda (15), 26. Ryu Fukuda, Joseph Chua/Rick Cheang (14), 29. Ryu Ohtsuka, Nick Edwards, Ishihara Masayuki, Gamisan, Benjamin Rouget (10), 34. Juncheng Lin (9), 35. Dominic Ang/Anthony Chan (8), 37. Lin Tsung Han (6)
The GT Asia Series is sanctioned by the FIA as an International Series and is clearly recognised as the Region’s leading GT Championship. It is jointly managed and promoted by Motorsport Asia Ltd and the Supercar Club Hong Kong and is backed by Yokohama, GRAHAM, KW Automotive, Auto Art, Race Room, RacerLink and Tunewear.