Italian-Swiss driver Raffaele Marciello clinched his champion title with ease in the final race of the Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup yesterday, the last day of the 70th Macau Grand Prix.
Ahead of his compatriot Eduardo Mortara and Brazilian Augusto Farfus, the 28-year-old racer celebrated his triumph for the second time at the local racetrack since his last win in 2019.
Having taken pole position by leading a Mercedes one-two in qualifying on Saturday, Marciello had seemingly not encountered any threat at the head of the field over the course of yesterday’s 16-lap race, winning ahead of the second placed Mortara by a margin of 2.5 seconds with his Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3.
With Marciello taking the commanding lead from start to finish, yesterday’s GT race started with German racer and last year’s winner Maro Engel in second on the grid, and Mortara in third. However, with nine laps to go, mainland Chinese driver Chen Weian – who was in 14th place –crashed his Ferrari 488 GT3 on the Lisboa Bend forcing a safety car lap and subsequently a restart, in which Engel’s Mercedes-AMG suffered from mechanical problems that inevitably slowed it down, while Mortara jumped to second being closely chased by South African Sheldon Van Der Linde, whose car later also encountered technical issues. Ultimately, Farfus took over the last podium spot after overtaking Van Der Linde.
“[The race] in Macau is never easy because there is almost zero tolerance for mistakes,” Marciello told the media at the post-race press conference, adding that it was “a great race” and that he was glad to complete it successfully. Meanwhile, he expressed pity for Engel who could have had a “nose-to-tail race with him, but was forced to slow down in the restart due to technical problems of his car.
Runner-up Mortara said that the race was a thrilling battle from start to finish. He added that overall, he was unable to give his best performance in acceleration, especially on the hill-climbing and twisty corners, and thus it was effort-demanding to secure his second spot.
Third on the podium Farfus said he was excited to see the city fully reopening and welcoming racers from around the world again after the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the Macau Grand Prix as one of the world’s most prestigious motorsport competitions where the “greatest racers on the planet come together and compete with each other”, he added that he looked forward to competing next year again.
Raffaele Marciello, winner of the Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup, kisses his trophy at the prize-giving ceremony on the podium yesterday.
– Photos: Rui Pastorin
Raffaele Marciello competes in his No.48 Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 car in the final race of the Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup yesterday.
