For CRAFT Racing AMR team-mates Frank Yu and Stefan Mücke, the chance to compete in the diamond jubilee 60th Anniversary of the Macau Grand Prix was too good to pass up. Partners in the longer races, the City of Dreams Macau GT Cup presented a unique challenge for the CRAFT team; how to provide both drivers an opportunity to compete..

“Easy,” team-leader Frank Yu admitted matter-of-factly. “We got a second car.. To be honest we have a big program planned for 2014, and that would mean either missing a number of events by having a car in transit, or committing to buying a second newer car so that we can complete both our Asian program, and our extended international campaign.”

Despite arriving only two weeks prior to Macau, and with only a handful of systems checking laps in the UK by Prodrive prior to its delivery, Mücke and the team soon had the gorgeous new Vantage up to speed during the opening practice session, the German star improving by more than three second in opening qualifying despite a string of red flag laps and constant traffic.

“I have to say that I’m happy with the position I’m in considering the short number of laps we’ve had under green flag conditions,” he admitted. “Really we’re under no pressure here this weekend. It’s a new car, for me a new circuit and we’re not after pole position or the win. The main aim is to complete all the laps and not scratch the car.

“So far getting a clear lap has been difficult, and with the red flags it’s hard to get a good run and a timed lap, so to have found three seconds between the limited laps we did in practice and now, is good.

“You have to be cautious though and remind yourself as a driver to step back sometimes and not push too hard because the penalty for what can be a minor error, can be immense. Macau is all about experience and you can see that with the guys that are quick.

“For me though, it’s just so special to be here and be a part of such an amazing event. For sure we’ll push again tomorrow and in the race, but we’re looking at the big picture, and that’s next year!”

Sadly for Mücke, he and the bulk of the field were caught up in what appeared to be Audi strategy, with four time Macau winner (twice F3, twice GT Cup) Edoardo Mortara leading the field out in both practice and qualifying, but after banking the field up in the opening laps and charging away to a quick lap, he was quickly back off the pace and holding up cars behind him.

“I get the impression that he’s already had a visit from the stewards over it,” Mücke shrugged. “That’s not the intent of racing, but unfortunately on a circuit like this, if someone uses that strategy it’s hard to get past them – I know for me it certainly cost me a number of laps when we were banked up in the pack, but I guess that’s Macau.”

Classified eighth, just over two seconds in arrears from back-to-back Macau GT Cup winner Mortara, Mücke showed the kind of natural ability that has seen him contracted as a factory Aston Martin driver over recent years by steadily moving forward on the timesheets. With the third row of the grid just under a second away, there is still more left in the car, and more left in the driver, suggesting that tomorrow’s second 20-minute qualifier will provide plenty of interest for the fans.

And whilst the team was celebrating Mücke’s fine performance, they were also waiting patiently post session for the results of an inspection on Frank Yu’s Vantage, the popular Hong Kong-based team owner clipping the tyre barrier at San Francisco which created mostly superficial damage to the left side of the car and spun him across the track and effectively out of the session.

“These red flag periods really put the pressure on,” he admitted with a shrug surveying the damage afterwards. “The first one came as the tyres were at their peak temperature so we lost that edge, and I was working hard to get some temperature back when I just clipped the tyres at San Francisco which spun me around. I could have kept going but the officials directed me to the escape road and that was the session done.

“Every lap takes a big commitment, and I was keen to qualify at the front of the GT Asia field to earn some valuable extra championship points, but I pushed just that little bit too hard.”

Despite the retirement Yu was classified as third of the GT Asia Series regulars, just eight tenths behind pace-setter Jeffrey Lee, with fellow GT regular Li Zhi Cong splitting them.

“There’s still tomorrow,” Yu added. “A little thing like this isn’t going to deter me..”

Whilst for the drivers it’s time to regroup and prepare for the second qualifier on Saturday afternoon, for the team it’s down to business and repairing the #30 Yu Aston.

“Fortunately despite a very second-hand looking left rear rim, it appears that there isn’t any structural damage to the car at all,” team manager Mark Goddard confirmed.

“We’ll do the standard service and replace wheel bearings and things like that, but apart from superficial cosmetic things, the car looks okay. The team will have a long night ahead of them, but most of that I think will be returning the CRAFT Aston to its pristine best, then it’s back into the thick of things again tomorrow.

“So far I’d say it has all been positive. Stefan has the new car running perfectly, John Gaw who has come across for the event with Aston is doing an outstanding job in the #97 car, and Frank is a couple of seconds a lap faster than he was here last time, so in essence, especially considering a garage littered with wounded sports cars, we’ve had a pretty good day!”