The provisional entry list for the 2014 Macau GT Cup was released on Wednesday and it includes a world class entry. Multiple champions, star drivers and teams will be taking part in the prestigious GT event at Macau from 13-16 November 2014.
A total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars are included on the provisional entry list, headlined by the Audi race experience squad with Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor. Absolute Racing will also be out in force with four cars.
Audi entries on the provisional entry list [as of 2014/10/08]
#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Audi race experience – Edoardo Mortara
#2 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Audi race experience – Laurens Vanthoor
#7 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Absolute Racing – Jeffrey Lee
#68 Audi R8 LMS – KAMLUNG Racing (Absolute Racing) – Mak Hing Tak
#77 Audi R8 LMS – Tiger Racing Team (Absolute Racing) – Jacky Yeung
#98 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Absolute Racing – Philip Ma
United Autosports had mentioned on their Facebook page that their Audi R8 LMS ultra, along with other entries from the team, would be seen at Macau this year, but thus far only the team’s two McLaren MP4-12C cars are listed on the entry list.
The Macau Grand Prix is set for 13-16 November and six Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries have been confirmed for the Macau GT Cup, wherein Audi Sport customer racing has been unbeaten since 2011.
Audi Communication - Motorsport released details this past weekend regarding the Audi presence that will be at Macau in November. The headline news includes the return of Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, who has been unbeaten at Macau in every event that he has competed in since 2009. He won the prestigious Macau Formula 3 event in 2009 and 2010 and followed that up by taking the Macau GT Cup victories with Audi in 2011, 2012 and 2013, along with the Audi R8 LMS Cup support event victory in 2013, making it six out of six for the Italian at Macau.
Mortara will be entered in a two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team that will be racing under the Audi race experience banner. His teammate will be the young Belgian, Laurens Vanthoor, who has already won the Spa 24 Hours and the Blancpain Endurance Series title during 2014.
The Macau GT Cup will once again also be the finale of the 2014 GT Asia Series and three Audis, fielded by Absolute Racing, will be taking part in the finale. The team’s Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will be driven by Jeffrey Lee and Philip Ma. Jacky Yeung will be competing with an older Audi R8 LMS under his Tiger Racing Team banner, fielded by Absolute Racing.
The first version of the Macau Grand Prix entry lists is expected to be released soon, but it is great news that six Audi Sport customer racing team entries have already been confirmed so far.
The News in Brief press release from Audi Communications - Motorsport:
Audi Sport customer racing aims to win the Macau GT Cup for the fourth time in succession. The prestigious event, which at the same time is the finale of the GT Asia race series, is held on November 16 in the former Portuguese colony. Edoardo Mortara has won the spectacular GT race in the concrete jungle three times in succession since 2011 in the Audi R8 LMS ultra. This year, the Audi driver returns to his favorite track with the Audi race experience. His team mate is the Belgian Laurens Vanthoor, freshly crowned Blancpain Endurance Series Champion and winner of the 24 Hours of Spa. Team Absolute Racing fields three other Audis. Jeffrey Lee from Taiwan and Philip Ma from Hong Kong each drive an R8 LMS ultra, while Jacky Yeung from Hong Kong relies on the Audi R8 LMS, which he also drives in Asia in the Audi R8 LMS Cup.
United Autosports was out testing at Silverstone on Wednesday. The Anglo-American team took four of its race cars along for testing, their two Ginettas, McLaren and Audi R8 LMS ultra.
It was also announced that both of the team's GT3 machines, the Audi and McLaren, will be taking part in the Macau GT Cup later this year, 13-16 November 2014.
Edoardo Mortara wins third Macau GT Cup in a row for Audi
Team R8 LMS ultra clinch GT Asia team championship
Marchy Lee with excellent fourth place
Macau, November 17, 2013 – Edoardo Mortara won his third Macau GT Cup in a row in dramatic fashion today. Starting second on the grid, Mortara dropped to fourth after the first two corners, before eventually passing through the top of the field in the final three laps of the race. Marchy Lee produced a superb drive to secure fourth position after starting 11th on the grid. An excellent weekend for Audi was completed as Team R8 LMS ultra, with drivers Philip Ma, Francis Hideki Onda and Jeffrey Lee sealed the GT Asia team championship.
“The one person who can make this possible is Edo. Yesterday he said he could not do miracles – then today when he overtook one of his competitors in the narrow hills of Macau he said over the radio ‘see, I can do miracles’. To collect his 6th win in Macau at the 60th anniversary of the Macau GP and against this year’s very strong competition is outstanding. Marchy Lee was excellent for 4th place. It shows how strong Asian drivers can compete on an international level,” said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. He continued: “Additionally we won the team championship of the GT Asia season today. This is the icing on the cake. In only two years, we have established our Audi Sport customer racing activities in Asia as the benchmark of motorsport in the Asian region.”
Mortara’s race got off to a disappointing start when he dropped from second to fourth. And there were little opportunities to regain positions, as the safety car was out for the majority of the opening six laps because of two crashes. The first one involved a handful of cars after New Zealand driver Earl Bamber hit the wall and spun. The second incident saw Australian Ro Charlz lose control of his vehicle. The standing car was eventually hit by the Audi R8 LMS ultra of team IMS driver Shim Ching, who had to retire from the race.
The race came alive on lap 7, with Maro Engel leading the field before he was forced to retire in lap 9. Three enthralling final three laps followed. On lap 10 Mortara was able to move into second place by overtaking Renger Zande’s Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 on a very tight corner of the snake-like hill area of the circuit. He now had a clear run at race leader Alexandre Imperatori.
And with just two laps to go, Mortara took the lead with another spectacular move. Danny Watts in the McLaren MP4-12C climbed from fourth to second in the shadow of the Audi driver. Mortara kept his cool and opened up a safe gap between him and his rival to take the chequered flag. 2012 Audi LMS cup champion, Marchy Lee, drove excellently to cut through the field from 11th on the grid to 4th.
For Mortara it was the sixth victory in Macau and the second in just as many weekends. Last Sunday he had already won the final race of the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup season on Macau’s Guia Circuit.
Jeffrey Lee finished third in the GT Asia category. His Team R8 LMS ultra secured the overall GT Asia team championship for Audi in Macau. They finished the series on top of the standings on 236 points ahead of Clearwater Racing on 206 and Craft Racing on 188.
Edoardo Mortara:
“The car was unbelievable, especially in the hill part. I never give up and always give everything. Congrats to Marchy [Lee] for fourth place and thanks to all the people that made this weekend possible. I have never seen such a competitive field in the GT Cup, and to have first and fourth is fantastic. We were losing 7 to 8 tenths on the straights, so we had to make that up in the mountains where we were quicker. Many people say you can’t overtake in the mountain area. But it was the only chance, so I had to do it.”
Marchy Lee:
“I started the race very patient and waited for my opportunities. Edo [Mortara] has been fantastic all weekend and I have learnt a lot from the Audi Quattro team and from Edo’s driving style. This will help me going into 2014. I hope I can come back to Macau next year. ”
Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing:
“I am not sure if my nerves can take this every year. After the start of the race I didn’t think victory was possible. But Edo [Mortara] again did an outstanding job. He was fantastic. He made history today!!” Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website: www.audir8lmscup.com Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup
The 2013 Macau GT Cup was held during the early hours of this morning and it was certainly a very exciting race. Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara took his sixth straight win at Macau, his third consecutive GT Cup victory, after fighting back from fourth. As is always the case videos have begun to appear on YouTube and we have embedded two videos below, the full race and a highlights video. Full Race (Chinese Commentary)
The 2013 GT Asia Series concluded with the finale at Macau today. It was a day of celebration for Absolute Racing as they won the GT Asia teams’ championship title.
The GT Asia season finale was held alongside the Macau GT Cup, running together on track. A number of GT Asia entrants were in the field. Four of the six Audi entries were also entered for the GT Asia finale, which included: Jeffery Lee (#7), Shim Ching (#78), Francis Hideki Onda (#86) and Philip Ma (#98). The six Audi R8 LMS / ultra entries are listed below:
The big news this weekend was the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He was joined by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra. Absolute Racing was also present with their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry from IMS. Absolute Racing, who competed with the team name of "Team R8 LMS ultra," arrived as the leaders in the GT Asia teams' championship points standings and they were aiming to clinch the title this weekend. They were leading the standings ahead of Clearwater Racing and Craft Racing.
Qualifying was split over two days, with the first session on Friday and the second on Saturday. The first session concluded with Jeffrey Lee topping the times as the fastest GT Asia entrant in fourteenth overall. Philip Ma was fourth fastest, followed by Francis Hideki Onda in twelfth and Shim Ching in sixteenth. The second and final qualifying session again saw Jeffrey Lee as the fastest GT Asia Audi, but this time he was fourth fastest in the GT Asia standings, followed by Philip Ma in fifth. Francis Hideki Onda had been steadily improving during the weekend and was tenth fastest during the second qualifying session. Shim Ching placed fifteenth.
The final qualifying grid was determined by the fastest times from the two qualifying sessions. The GT Asia 'pole position' went to Mok Weng Sun in his McLaren MP4-12C, who qualified fourteenth overall. Jeffrey Lee was the highest GT Asia Audi qualifier and he lined up in fourth place, seventeenth overall. Philip Ma qualified in fifth, eighteenth overall. Francis Hideki Onda qualified in twelfth, twenty-sixth overall and Shim Ching lined up seventeenth, thirty-second overall.
The race itself got underway at 9:20 on Sunday morning and up front there was a battle between the front running Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Audi cars. Further back the GT Asia competitors were looking for passing opportunities and to stay clear of incidents. A large crash during the opening few corners unfortunately took out a number of the GT Asia runners. Fortunately the three Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra cars made it through the carnage and survived the opening laps. Their main challengers for the teams' title, Clearwater Racing, were unfortunately collected in the incidents that brought out the first two safety cars.
Jeffrey Lee and Philip Ma were running together and moved up into the top ten overall. They maintained their positions to the flag, with Lee finishing ninth ahead of Ma in tenth. This translated into third within the GT Asia runners for Marchy Lee and fourth for Ma. The GT Asia ranks was lead by Li Zhi Cong in the #2 Porsche ahead of Frank Yu in the #30 Craft Racing Aston Martin. Francis Hideki Onda finished seventeenth overall, taking tenth within GT Asia, ensuring that all three of the Absolute Racing Audis finished within the GT Asia top ten, vital for the teams' championship points standings. Shim Ching unfortunately retired from the race. These results were enough to crown Absolute Racing with the 2013 GT Asia teams’ championship title. Well done to the entire team, who competed as “Team R8 LMS ultra” during 2013. Up front in the overall classification it was another victory for Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara in his #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra, who celebrated the win ahead of his teammate, Marchy Lee, who had progressed up to fourth. It was a terrific weekend for the Audi teams. Race victory for Mortara and Absolute Racing secured the GT Asia teams' championship title.
The Macau GT Cup was a tremendously exciting race and Mr Macau reclaimed his title and then some.
The Macau GT Cup was held alongside the GT Asia season finale, running together on track this weekend. A number of GT Asia entrants were in the field. Four of the six Audi entries were also entered for the GT Asia finale. The six Audi R8 LMS / ultra entries are listed below:
The big news this weekend was the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He was joined by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra. Absolute Racing was also present with their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry from IMS. Absolute Racing, who competed with the team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," arrived as the leaders in the GT Asia teams' championship points standings and they were aiming to clinch the title this weekend.
Edoardo Mortara dominated practice on Friday by over two and a half seconds and he continued that form during the first qualifying session with a lap record setting provisional pole position, over half a second clear of the field.
The final qualifying grid was determined by the fastest times from the two qualifying sessions. The second session was dominated by Maro Engel in the Erebus Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3. Mortara was the highest Audi runner and qualified in second position on the grid. His teammate Marchy Lee qualified in eleventh, followed by Jeffrey Lee in seventeenth, Philip Ma in eighteenth, Francis Hideki Onda in twenty-sixth and Shim Ching in thirty-second.
The race itself got underway at 9:20 on Sunday morning and saw Maro Engel in the #36 Mercedes-Benz leading the way as Mortara dropped from second to fourth, being passed by Alexandre Imperatori in the #99 Porsche and Renger van der Zande in the #63 Mercedes-Benz. A massive crash collecting a number of competitors occurred on the first lap, thus prompting the first safety car. The race restarted a few laps later and the top four remained stagnant with another crash bringing out the safety car on the restart lap.
Marchy Lee had a good start to the race and had moved up to sixth by the second safety car. The pair of Absolute Racing Audis of Jeffrey Lee and Philip Ma had progressed well up to tenth and eleventh, well poised for the teams' championship title.
The race restarted for a second time and went green to the flag with racing. The top four remained stagnant until the fourth last lap when race leader, Maro Engel, slowed on track. This promoted Mortara up to third. He then managed a brilliant overtaking maneuver to take second away from van der Zande in the infield section of the track. Mr Macau then had two laps to try and pass Alexandre Imperatori in the Porsche for the lead.
Traffic came into play coming out of the hairpin on the penultimate lap and Mortara was able to grab the lead as chaos broke out behind him. Mortara continued to lead as Imperatori collected van der Zande going into Lisboa. Mr Macau continued to lead and brought his #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra home for his third consecutive Macau GT Cup victory, finishing ahead of Watts' McLaren and Imperatori's Porsche. Mortara also set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, a 2:19.550, the only driver to drop into the 2 minute 19 second bracket during the race.
Mr Macau had it all do and he was able to recover from fourth to first for victory. Marchy Lee rounded out the top four in fourth, ensuring that two Audis finished within the top four. Jeffrey Lee and Philip Ma rounded out the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively. Francis Hideki Onda finished seventeenth and Shim Ching unfortunately retired.
It was another terrific Macau Grand Prix weekend for the Audi entrants. This win for Mortara also marked his sixth straight victory at Macau, as he had won the previous five races that he had been entered for: the 2009 and 2010 Macau Formula 3 races, the 2011 and 2012 Macau GT Cup and the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup round at Macau. Edoardo Mortara continues to deserve his title of “Mr Macau”.
Audi driver Edoardo Mortara sets second fastest lap in qualifying
The Italian aims for three back-to-back wins at the GT Cup
Six Audi entries in one of Asia’s most prestigious races
Macau, November 16, 2013 – Edoardo Mortara will be on the front row of the grid after posting the second fastest lap during the qualifying session of the City of Dreams Macau GT Cup. The Italian won here for Audi in both 2011 and 2012. He will be hoping to make it three Macau GT race wins in a row, continuing his dominance in Macau which he began with two Formula 3 Macau GP wins in 2009 and 2010.
“Edo (Mortara) did a great job; he was pushing to the limit. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic, so we couldn’t realize our full potential. However, racing in Macau is like gambling so everything is possible tomorrow. The race is also important because it is the final of the GT Asia season, in which we lead the overall team championship with Team R8 LMS ultra. We will work hard tomorrow to secure the title,” said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia.
Driving an Audi R8 LMS ultra, Mortara will be determined to make a good start and early on overtake polesitter Maro Engel in his Mercedes SLS AMG GT3. Overtaking during the race is a challenge in the tight turns of Macau’s street race. Mortara’s car is run by Germany based Audi Sport customer racing. The prestigious competition, on the banks of the South China Sea, is an important mark in the calendar of the global Audi Sport customer racing program.
“Unfortunately, today was not that good day compared to the first qualifying session yesterday. I had pretty bad traffic and got slowed down significantly. But hopefully tomorrow will be better. It is very difficult because our competitors have a lot of power. But I will fight very hard until the very end”, said Edoardo Mortara.
Aside from Mortara, Audi has five additional entries in this year’s Macau GT Cup. Audi R8 LMS Cup 2012 champion, Marchy Lee, will start from grid position 11 tomorrow. He races for Team R8 LMS ultra, which is run by Audi Sport customer racing Asia. Jeffrey Lee, Francis Hideki Onda and Philip Ma are driving for points in the GT Asia series with Team R8 LMS ultra. Their three cars are run and serviced by Absolute Racing. The final Audi to start the race is driven by Shim Ching from Canada, who will be racing for team IMS.
The Macau GT Cup is the final race of the GT Asia series. Team R8 LMS ultra will be determined to secure the overall team championship. They currently lead the series on 212 points, sitting just six clear of second place Clearwater Racing, with third place Craft Racing a further 34 points back. “We are under great pressure to perform. But even under the BOP restrictions our cars perform very well. We are especially strong in the corners. We will have to take advantage of that and give it our all. We want the GT Asia team championship!” said Francis Hideki Onda of Team R8 LMS ultra. Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website: www.audir8lmscup.com
The 2013 GT Asia Series is hosting the final round on the streets of Macau this weekend. Four Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars have been entered for the season finale.
The GT Asia season finale is being held alongside the Macau GT Cup, running together on track. A number of GT Asia entrants are in the field. Four of the six Audi entries are also entered for the GT Asia finale, which includes: Jeffery Lee (#7), Shim Ching (#78), Francis Hideki Onda (#86) and Philip Ma (#98). The six Audi R8 LMS / ultra entries are listed below:
The big news this weekend is the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He is joined by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra. Absolute Racing is also present with their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry from IMS. Absolute Racing, competing with the team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," is currently leading the GT Asia teams' championship points standings and they will be aiming to clinch the title this weekend.
Up front in the overall standings all eyes were on the battle between Edoardo Mortara and the leading two Erebus Mercedes-Benz cars. Mortara may have dominated practice and the first qualifying session, but it was Maro Engel who took the overall pole position on Saturday. The leading two Audis were Mortara and Marchy Lee, however neither of them were entered as GT Asia entries.
Further back in the field the GT Asia competitors were battling amongst themselves for qualifying honours in the GT Asia ranks.
The first qualifying session was held on Friday and the session concluded with Jeffrey Lee topping the times as the fastest GT Asia entrant in fourteenth overall. Philip Ma was fourth fastest, followed by Francis Hideki Onda in twelfth and Shim Ching in sixteenth.
The second and final qualifying session took place on Saturday. This session again saw Jeffrey Lee as the fastest GT Asia Audi, but this time he was fourth fastest in the GT Asia standings, followed by Philip Ma in fifth. Francis Hideki Onda had been steadily improving during the weekend and was tenth fastest during the second qualifying session. Shim Ching placed fifteenth.
The final qualifying grid was determined by the fastest times from the two qualifying sessions. The GT Asia 'pole position' went to Mok Weng Sun in his McLaren MP4-12C, who qualified fourteenth overall. Jeffrey Lee was the highest GT Asia Audi qualifier and he will line up in fourth place, seventeenth overall. Philip Ma qualified in fifth, eighteenth overall. Francis Hideki Onda qualified in twelfth, twenty-sixth overall and Shim Ching will be lining up seventeenth, thirty-second overall. The qualifying results can be seen HERE.
The Macau GT Cup, along with the GT Asia finale, is scheduled to begin at 9:20 local time on Sunday morning. We wish the best of luck to the Audi drivers and teams, especially for Absolute Racing, who are in the fight for the GT Asia teams’ championship title.
The final qualifying session for the Macau GT Cup on Saturday morning concluded with Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara being relegated to second position.
The Macau GT Cup is being held alongside the GT Asia season finale, running together on track this weekend. A number of GT Asia entrants are in the field. Four of the six Audi entries are also entered for the GT Asia finale. The six Audi R8 LMS / ultra entries are listed below:
The big news this weekend is the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He is joined by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra. Absolute Racing is also present with their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry from IMS. Absolute Racing, competing with the team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," is currently leading the GT Asia teams' championship points standings and they will be aiming to clinch the title this weekend.
Edoardo Mortara dominated practice on Friday by over two and a half seconds and he continued that form during the first qualifying session with a lap record setting provisional pole position, a 2:19.774 lap time, over half a second clear of the field.
The second qualifying session got underway at 12:50 local time for a short twenty minute session on Saturday. Provisional pole man Mortara lined up first to get out on track. It may have been a short session, but it was certainly very eventful. Mortara did not set any very fast laps during the opening minutes, but Maro Engel in the Erebus Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 set a very fast time to take pole with a 2:19.659. A red flag then interrupted the session at half distance, thus the team’s had one last chance to go for a time.
The session resumed at 13:05 and Mortara had a clear goal of regaining pole position. Maro Engel then set an even faster time for pole with a 2.18.651. Mortara went for it and was able to improve to a 2:19.492, but this was not enough to challenge for pole position.
The final times for the second session saw Mortara in second position. His teammate Marchy Lee was in eleventh, followed by Jeffrey Lee in seventeenth, Philip Ma in eighteenth, Francis Hideki Onda in twenty-fourth and Shim Ching in thirtieth.
The final qualifying grid was determined by the fastest times from the two qualifying sessions. Mortara will be the highest Audi runner starting in second position on the grid. His teammate Marchy Lee will start in eleventh, followed by Jeffrey Lee in seventeenth, Philip Ma in eighteenth, Francis Hideki Onda in twenty-sixth and Shim Ching in thirty-second.
Top 4 combined qualifying results: 1 Maro Engel - #36 Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 - 2.18.651
4 Renger van der Zande - #63 Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 - 2.19.896 The qualifying results can be seen HERE.
The big day is scheduled for Sunday morning with the race taking place at 9:20 local time. Mr Macau has it all to do tomorrow morning in order to continue his winning streak at Macau. We wish the best of luck to the Audi drivers and teams for the race tomorrow.
Edoardo Mortara has continued his dominance during the first Macau GT Cup qualifying session this morning. Mr Macau has taken the provisional pole position.
The Macau GT Cup is being held alongside the GT Asia season finale, running together on track this weekend. A number of GT Asia entrants are in the field. Four of the six Audi entries are also entered for the GT Asia finale. The six Audi R8 LMS / ultra entries are listed below:
The big news this weekend is the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He is joined by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra. Absolute Racing is also present with their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry from IMS. Absolute Racing, competing with the team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," is currently leading the GT Asia teams' championship points standings and they will be aiming to clinch the title this weekend.
The first qualifying session got underway at 13:55 on Friday. It was a case of getting a clear lap in traffic during the red flag affected session. Mortara was stuck in traffic during the bulk of the session and was relegated to being outside of the top ten. Up front three of the competitors dropped into the 2 minute 20 second lap time bracket, with the two Erebus Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 cars leading the way. Mortara was the only driver to drop into this time bracket during practice yesterday.
In the closing minutes Mr Macau managed to put in a flyer and dropped the fastest lap into the 2 minute 19 second bracket, setting a 2:19.774 and taking provisional pole position by over half a second.
Mortara was the only Audi runner to provisionally qualifying within the top ten. His teammate Marchy Lee was in twelfth, followed by Jeffrey Lee in fourteenth, Philip Ma in eighteenth, Francis Hideki Onda in twenty-sixth and Shim Ching in thirtieth.
The first qualifying session results can be seen HERE.
The second and final qualifying session will be held on Saturday, followed by a warm up session and the race on Sunday morning. We wish the best of luck to all of the Audi drivers and teams.
The Macau GT Cup is taking place this weekend. The Audi squad got the weekend underway by performing well during the free practice session this morning. A total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars have been entered for this prestigious event at the annual Macau Grand Prix.
The Macau GT Cup is being held alongside the GT Asia season finale, running together on track. A number of GT Asia entrants are in the field. Four of the six Audi entries are also entered for the GT Asia finale. The six Audi R8 LMS / ultra entries are listed below:
The big news this weekend is the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He is joined by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra. Absolute Racing is also present with their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry from IMS. Absolute Racing, competing with the team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," is currently leading the GT Asia teams' championship points standings and they will be aiming to clinch the title this weekend.
The single free practice session began at 12:00 on Thursday. Edoardo Mortata immediately took control at the top of the time sheets and dominated the session. He set a fastest time of 2:20.138, bettering last year’s pole time by half a second, and blitzing the entire field by over two and a half seconds. Marchy Lee placed eighth, rounding out the two Audis within the top ten. The next Audi on the time sheets was the #98 of Philip Ma in sixteenth, followed by #7 Jeffrey Lee in eighteenth, #86 Francis Hideki Onda in twenty-seventh and #78 Shim Ching in thirty-first position.
Qualifying will be held over two sessions, one each taking place on Friday and Saturday, followed by the race on Sunday. We wish the best of luck to all of the Audi drivers and teams.
The Macau GT Cup will be taking place next weekend. A total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be taking part and all of them were on display this weekend.
The Macau Supercar and Road Sport Show is held annually on the weekend preceding the Macau Grand Prix. The Macau GT Cup field was on display, which included the six Audi entries. The headliner for the Audi teams is the return of Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara, the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion.
We have included a set of photos below, with all six of the Audi entrants at the Macau Supercars and Road Sport Show this weekend. Special thanks to Marco Da Silva Rosario for the great photos.
2013 Macau GT Cup Audi entrants:
#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec) - Edoardo Mortara - Audi R8 LMS Cup
#7 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Jeffrey Lee - Team R8 LMS Ultra / J-Fly Racing (Absolute Racing)
#38 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec) - Marchy Lee - Audi Hong Kong Team
#78 Audi R8 LMS - Shim Ching - IMS
#86 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Francis Hideki Onda - Team R8 LMS Ultra / Tunewear Racing (Absolute Racing)
#98 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Philip Ma - Team R8 LMS Ultra / Team Hong Kong Racing (Absolute Racing)
