Macau GT World Cup: Antonio Fuoco dominates qualifying…

Factory Ferrari driver Antonio Fuoco secured victory in the qualifying race for the FIA GT World Cup in Macau.

Starting from pole, the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours winner delivered a controlled lights-to-flag performance in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 over twelve laps and was never seriously threatened.

At the start, Fuoco immediately broke clear of the #83 Harmony Ferrari of fellow Ferrari driver Yifei Ye and opened up a 3.6s gap within two laps.

It puts Fuoco back in the same position he occupied last year, when the main race ended in controversy after a clash between he and Raffaele Marciello cost both drivers a shot at victory with Maro Engel having the last laugh.

Ye managed to bring the gap down to 2.543 seconds by the flag, but never came close enough to even consider a move.

Instead, he had to keep an eye on his mirrors, with Porsche’s Alessio Picariello applying pressure and leaving no margin for error.

Laurin Heinrich, Schumacher CLRT Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) (Photo by: Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee)

Picariello, in turn, was under attack from Marciello in the opening laps before the BMW dropped back.

Marciello’s hopes of a third Macau victory seemed to gain early momentum when he briefly challenged for second place heading into Lisboa Bend, only to run out of room on the outside line and being relegated back to fourth.

Behind the top four, Audi’s Joel Eriksson and Porsche’s Ayhancan Guven enjoyed largely uneventful races to finish fifth and sixth respectively.

In seventh, Luca Engstler in the best Lamborghini had to fend off sustained pressure from Laurin Heinrich for the entire race but held on to his position on a circuit that is notoriously difficult for overtaking.

The top ten was rounded out by Dorian Boccolacci, who stayed within reach of the Engstler-Heinrich battle, and Deng Yi, who put on a fantastic performance on his debut in the Ferrari.

Laurens Vanthoor and Adderly Fong came home 11th and 12th, both being delayed in a first-lap melee at Lisboa that took out three favorites.

The famous 90-degree right-hander was once again the focal point of the race’s only major incident. Edoardo Mortara, who had to start from tenth after getting his qualifying times deleted due to exceeding maximum power, outbraked himself while attempting to recover lost ground.

Chaos followed behind with several cars tangling, sending Christopher Haase’s Audi into the tyre barrier and forcing Benjamin Goethe’s McLaren and Sheldon van der Linde’s BMW into the escape road. All three continued, but they were left scrapping for the final positions.

The main race starts on Sunday at 12.35 local time and is set for a distance of 16 laps.