Macau GT Cup: Mortara on podium in Macau

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

• Edoardo Mortara finishes third in the Macau GT Cup, ahead of teammate Laurens Vanthoor in fourth.
• Adderly Fong had to settle for 20th after early pit stop
• Jacky Yeung seals 2014 GT Asia GTM title

Macau, November 16, 2014 – Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor finished third and fourth in the Macau GT Cup on Sunday. The Audi drivers started on grid positions one and two but lost the lead right after the lights turned green and were not able to regain it. Despite a promising qualifying, Italian Mortara, known as “Mr. Macau”, had to eventually settle for the final podium spot after five successive title wins at Macau in previous years.

Fans witnessed a historic and rare race of the Macau GT Cup, without a red flag or safety car period. The two Audi R8 LMS ultra race cars of Mortara and Vanthoor entered the race as favourites. However, in a storming start, Mortara and Vanthoor fell behind the two charging Mercedes, who snatched the lead by the first turn. The Audi drivers kept fighting, but despite numerous attempts they were not able to completely close the gap to the race leaders on the narrow and winding streets of Macau.

“It was not our day today. We came with high expectations. We were here to win. But we plan to come back next year and will try to do better. Macau is a very special race for us”, said Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.

Audi R8 LMS Cup driver Adderly Fong also endured an unpleasant start to the race. Taking off from position 10, the young Hong Kong driver had hoped to challenge the international stars, but was forced to make a pit stop for a tyre change after contact with another car in the first lap. After returning to the track, Fong finished in 20th. “We were a bit unlucky as we had the pace and could have ended up on a much higher position”, commented Ingo Matter, Director of Fong’s Team Absolute Racing.

The GT Cup was also the final round of the 2014 GT Asia season. Tiger Racing Team’s Jacky Yeung came to Macau leading the competition’s GTM class and another solid performance saw him seal the title with his Audi R8 LMS Cup car.

Driving their Audi R8 LMS ultra in the GT Asia GT3 class, Philip Ma and Jeffrey Lee had a solid race and finished in 23rd and 24th respectively.

Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup

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GT Asia: Jacky Yeung Tiger Racing Team Audi R8 LMS wins the GTM class title at Macau

By Johan Laubscher

The 2014 GT Asia series held its final round with the Macau GT Cup this weekend. A large number of entrants in the GT Cup race were also entered to score points in the GT Asia finale.

A total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars were entered for the Macau GT Cup two from Audi race experience and five from Absolute Racing. Three of the Absolute Racing entries were also entered as GT Asia entries. These included the Audi R8 LMS ultra cars of Jeffrey Lee (Audi #7) and Philip Ma (Audi #98), and the Absolute Racing run #77 Tiger Racing Team R8 LMS of Jacky Yeung.

Yeung arrived in Macau as the GT Asia GTM class championship leader, after having won his class in both of the races held at the penultimate round at Shanghai. His main opposition in the title chase, Thomas Fjordbach, withdrew from the event during the week leading up to the Macau Grand Prix. This meant that Jacky Yeung had an unassailable lead in the GTM class standings and was crowned as the class champion in Macau.

At the front of the overall field it was a case of Audi domination with Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor locking out the front row by the end of the two qualifying sessions. Within the GT Asia field it was a fourth and fifth place for Absolute Racing with Philip Ma and Jeffrey Lee. The pairing were twenty-second and twenty-third overall. Jacky Yeung qualified fourth within the GT Asia GTM class, eleventh within the GT Asia field and thirty-first overall.

The race got underway at 9h00 local time. Philip Ma (#98) was the highest Audi finisher within the GT Asia field. He finished fifth, twenty-third overall. Jeffrey Lee (#7) finished sixth, twenty-fourth overall. Jacky Yeung piloted his #77 Audi R8 LMS to fifth position within the GT Asia GTM class, thirty-first overall.

Up front it in the overall standings it was a dominant display by the Mercedes-Benz duo of Maro Engel and Renger van der Zande. They grabbed the lead at the start and took a 1-2 result for Mercedes-Benz. Audi race experience finished third and fourth with Mortara and Vanthoor.

Well done to Absolute Racing and Jacky Yeung for winning the 2014 GT Asia GTM class title.

Photo credit: 

GT Asia
AFOS

Audi R8 LMS Cup

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Macau GT Cup: Edoardo Mortara Audi R8 LMS ultra on the podium

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau GT Cup took place at 09h00 local time on Sunday morning. It was an Audi front row lockout with Edoardo Mortara on pole position alongside his Audi race experience teammate, Laurens Vanthoor.

A total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars lined up on the grid, the two from Audi race experience and four from Absolute Racing.

The twelve lap race got underway with the two Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 cars launching at the start and moving up to first and second, Maro Engel (#5) leading Renger van der Zande (#6). Mortara and Vanthoor held third and fourth and the chase began.

With a top speed advantage the Mercedes-Benz duo held their own in the first sector and the Audi race experience pairing were unable to make a pass in the mid-field where the Audi R8 LMS ultra was stronger. Edoardo Mortara drove very hard and remained within touching distance of Renger van der Zande’s SLS, but was unable to pass.

Ultimately Maro Engel won the 2014 Macau GT Cup with the #5 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, ahead of his teammate, van der Zande. The Audi race experience team finished third and fourth with Mortara and Vanthoor.

The Absolute Racing entries were led by Adderly Fong (Audi #17) who, despite an unfortunate pitstop for a front right puncture, was able to recover from last to finish twentieth.

Philip Ma (Audi #98) and Jeffrey Lee (Audi #7) finished twenty-third and twenty-fourth with the pair of white Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.

Jacky Yeung, who was crowned as the 2014 GT Asia GTM class champion, piloted his #77 Tiger Racing Team (Absolute Racing) Audi R8 LMS to thirty-first position.

Mak Hing Tak did not start the race in the #68 Audi R8 LMS after not qualifying within the maximum qualifying time.

It was a strong weekend from the Audi teams, but unfortunately it was not to be a fourth consecutive Macau GT Cup victory for Edoardo Mortara and Audi.

Photo credit: 
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Audi Communications - Motorsport

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Macau GT Cup: Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor lockout front row - Mr Macau on Pole!

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau GT Cup grid lined up for the second and final qualifying session on Saturday morning. Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, set a blistering lap time during the first qualifying session on Friday and claimed the provisional pole position with a lap time 2:18.230.

All was to play for during the final session and it did not disappoint. Laurens Vanthoor set an early fast lap with a 2:18.254, a mere 0.024 seconds behind Mortara. Traffic and a mid-session red flag was the story of the story of the day. A second red flag less than four minutes from the conclusion of the session brought about an end to the proceedings with the session not being restarted. Mortara's pole time from Friday remained untouched and it was an excellent 1-2 result for the Audi race experience team, as Mortara and Vanthoor will be lining up on the front row on Sunday.

The Absolute Racing entries were lead by the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup champion, Adderly Fong, who qualified eleventh. Philip Ma (Audi #98) qualified in twenty-second, ahead of Jeffrey Lee (Audi #7) in twenty-third. Jacky Yeung (Audi #77) thirty-first and Mak Hing Tak (Audi #68) was outside of the qualification maximum time.

The race is scheduled for 09h00 local time on Sunday morning. We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.

Will Mr Macau be able to make it four consecutive GT Cup victories?

Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup

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Macau GT Cup: Edoardo Mortara storms to provisional pole position

By Johan Laubscher

The first of two qualifying sessions for the Macau GT Cup took place on Friday afternoon. The large GT Cup field, including the seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries, took to the track at 13h10 local time.

Practice had shown close times between the front runners and very fast times were expected from qualifying. The Audi race experience duo of Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor had placed third and second respectively during the Free practice session on Thursday.

Friday’s thirty minute qualifying session saw a tight battle at the front with the times coming down throughout the session. By the end of the proceedings the top three had all dropped below the 2:20.000 barrier.

It was again a case of traffic and timing during this qualifying session. Edoardo Mortara found a clear lap and set a blistering time to secure provisional pole position, lowering the qualifying lap record from 2:18.651 (2013 Maro Engel) to a 2:18.230. He was half a second clear of the rest of the field.

His teammate, Laurens Vanthoor, set the fourth fastest time in the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The Audi race experience pairing were split by Earl Bamber in the #72 Porsche and Maro Engel in the #5 Mercedes-Benz.

Adderly Fong again led the Absolute Racing run Audi entries by taking tenth position on the grid with the #17 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Philip Ma (Audi #98) qualified in twentieth, ahead of Jeffrey Lee (Audi #7) in twenty-first. Jacky Yeung (Audi #77) was in thirtieth and Mak Hing Tak (Audi #68) unfortunately did not set a lap time during qualifying.

The second qualifying session will be taking place on Saturday, followed by the Macau GT Cup race on Sunday morning.

We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.

Photo credit: AFOS

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Macau GT Cup: Mortara aims for sixth successive title at Macau

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

• Final round of the GT Asia series is part of the Macau GT Cup
• Seven Audi entries, including “Mr. Macau” Edoardo Mortara
• Class leader Jacky Yeung has his sights on the GT Asia GTM title

Macau, November 13, 2014 – Audi driver Edoardo Mortara will be looking to take his sixth successive title at the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday. He will be joined by an additional six Audi entries at the GT Cup race on the famous Guia street circuit. The final round of the 2014 GT Asia series will be part of the GT Cup.

Going into the race on Sunday, November 16, Mortara aims to defend his title in the GT Cup which he won on the previous three occasions from 2011 to 2013. In 2009 and 2010 he had already been victorious in the Formula 3 race at the Macau Grand Prix.  In 2013, “Mr. Macau” also won the final round of the Audi R8 LMS Cup on the narrow and spectacular street circuit.

With Mortara (#1) and Laurens Vanthoor (#2), Audi Race Experience will be fielding two star drivers. Vanthoor was the youngest ever driver to compete in the Macau GP, finishing fifth in 2008 aged only 17. This year he won the Blancpain Endurance Series in Europe.

“I know what works and what doesn’t at this difficult track. But you’ll never achieve 100 percent. I’m working on getting as close to perfection as possible. For instance, I watch videos of Macau races in order to visualize the track over and over”, commented Mortara, adding, “Having a strong teammate is a positive. Laurens Vanthoor is very talented and has made an enormous leap in his career in the past two or three years. I think he’s going to be my fiercest competitor in Macau.”

After back-to-back victories in the previous Rounds 11 and 12 at Shanghai, Tiger Racing Team’s Jacky Yeung goes to Macau leading the GTM class of the 2014 GT Asia series and a good result could see him seal the championship. Yeung will drive his customary #77 Audi R8 LMS Cup car. Returning to his home circuit, KAMLUNG Racing team owner Mak Hing Tak (#68) will also compete in the GTM class with the team’s Audi R8 LMS Cup car.

Team Absolute Racing is fielding three Audi R8 LMS ultras in the GT Asia GT3 category. “We hope to finish with all cars, and give the international field some serious competition,” commented Ingo Matter, Director of Absolute Racing.

Audi R8 LMS Cup 2013 champion Adderly Fong aims to score a high place finish in his Audi R8 LMS ultra #17 against the international stars. In the GT Asia class, Jeffrey Lee (#7) and Philip Ma (#98) will be hoping for a strong finish to the season.

The Guia Circuit is 6.2 km long, running through the streets of Macau, with 19 turns. It features an ultra-long straight, tight turns and very narrow sections. An altitude change of 30 metres means the drivers have to deal with hill climbs as well.

“Sometimes, Macau is like a gamble”, said Matter, “The demanding street circuit does not allow for any mistakes. It is unforgiving with any slip ups being very costly. A lot depends on the important qualifying sessions, where traffic can slow down drivers.”

The qualifying sessions will be held on Friday November 14 and Saturday November 15, with the race taking place on Sunday November 16. 

Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup

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Macau GT Cup: Vanthoor and Mortara in Top 3 for Audi race experience in Free Practice

By Johan Laubscher

The 61st Macau Grand Prix proceedings got underway with practice sessions on Thursday. The Macau GT Cup held its practice session at 12h35 local time.

Seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars have been entered this weekend, two from Audi race experience and five from Absolute Racing.

The Free practice session was stopped after only four laps due to an accident and restarted with less than ten minutes remaining.

Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, is aiming for his seventh consecutive victory in Macau and he picked up where he left off by topping the times early during the practice session, before the stoppage. Maro Engel, in the in the #5 Mercedes-Benz, set the fastest time with a 2:20.976 when the session restarted. Laurens Vanthoor then set the second fastest time of the session, 0.396 seconds behind Engel, followed by Mortara in third, 0.730 seconds behind the leader. The top three were the only drivers to break under the 2:22.000 barrier.

The Absolute Racing entries were led by Adderly Fong in the #17 R8 LMS ultra, setting the ninth fastest time, ahead of Jeffrey Lee in twenty-ninth (#7 Audi R8 LMS ultra) and Philip Ma in thirty-fourth (#98 Audi R8 LMS ultra).

The two older Audi R8 LMS entries run by Absolute Racing placed thirty-fifth with Jacky Yeung (Tiger Racing #77 R8 LMS) and twenty-sixth with Mak Hing Tak (KAMLUNG Racing #68 R8 LMS).

The Free Practice results can be seen HERE.

The first of two qualifying sessions will be taking place at 13h00 local time tomorrow, followed by the second qualifying session on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

Pole position for the 2013 Macau GT Cup was a 2:18.651 set by Maro Engel in a Mercedes-Benz, who shared the front row with Edoardo Mortara, a 2:19.492. It will be very interesting to see what transpires during the two upcoming qualifying sessions, as the times from Free Practice are expected to be eclipsed.

We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers in Macau.

Photo credit:
Laurens Vanthoor
Adderly Fong

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Macau GT Cup: Onboard lap with Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara in an Audi R8 LMS ultra

By Johan Laubscher

The 2014 Macau GT Cup will be taking place this upcoming weekend. Seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be taking part, headlined by Audi race experience with Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor. Absolute Racing will also be out in force with a total of five Audi GT3 machines.

Below we have included an onboard lap video with Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara driving an Audi R8 LMS ultra at Macau in 2012. The video clearly shows the very special tight and twisty street circuit.

This video was originally shared on the official Edoardo Mortara Facebook page:

Post by Edoardo Mortara.

Photo credit: Screenshot

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Audi history at Macau Part 2: Macau GT Cup 2010 - 2014

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau Grand Prix is a very special annual race event held on the streets of Macau. The 61st edition of the event is coming up this weekend. The Macau GT Cup will see a total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries taking part, including Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara, who is aiming for his seventh consecutive victory in Macau.

This year will mark the ninth time that Audi race cars will be taking part in events at the Macau Grand Prix. As a preview to the race coming up this weekend we decided to take a look back at the Audi history at Macau, which began all the way back in 1993 with touring cars, all the way through to 2014 with GT racing.

Audi history at Macau Part 2: Macau GT Cup 2010 - 2014

2010

After the 1999 victory of Michael Bartels in the Super Touring Audi A4, the Audi brand would not be seen at Macau for over a decade. The drought finally came to an end with the introduction of the Audi R8 LMS in 2009. At the end of 2010 the FIA GT3 specification race car from Audi made its Macau debut with United Autosports and Absolute Racing. The cars were competing in the Macau GT Cup. It was a successful debut with two podium places.

2011

In 2011 the victory was the clear goal, and Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, did not disappoint. Absolute Racing and Mortara were untouchable on their way to victory. Along with the victorious #66 Audi R8 LMS, two more Audi entries were also entered by United Autosports and Hitotsuyama Racing.

2012

The entry list for the 2012 Macau GT Cup included three Audis on the grid. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from the Audi R8 LMS Cup team were entered, which included Edoardo Mortara and Jeffrey Lee. The third Audi R8 LMS ultra was the Team Hong Kong Racing entry of Phillip Ma. Mortara qualified on pole but lost the lead at the start. He went on to win his second Macau GT Cup after an impressive pass for the lead halfway through the race.

2013

Six Audis lined up on the grid in 2013. Edoardo Mortara and Marchy Lee competed in two factory supported Audi entries and they were joined by three R8 LMS ultra cars from Absolute Racing and on R8 LMS from the IMS team. It was an extremely exciting race. Mortara qualified second on the grid and dropped to fourth during the race. Mortara then moved forward and won the race by taking the lead on the final lap.

2014

 

A total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries are entered for the 2014 Macau GT Cup, headlined by the Audi race experience squad with Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor. Absolute Racing will also be out in force with five cars, including drivers: Jeffrey Lee, Adderly Fong, Philip Ma, Mak Hing Tak and Jacky Yeung.

The Touring Car (1993 - 1999) era of Audi at Macau can be read in Part 1 of our Audi history at Macau HERE.

Photo credit: 
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Absolute Racing

Laurens Vanthoor

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Audi history at Macau Part 1: Touring car era 1993 - 1999

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau Grand Prix is a very special annual race event held on the streets of Macau. The 61st edition of the event is coming up this weekend. The Macau GT Cup will see a total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries taking part, including Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara, who is aiming for his seventh consecutive victory in Macau.

This year will mark the ninth time that Audi race cars will be taking part in events at the Macau Grand Prix. As a preview to the race coming up this weekend we decided to take a look back at the Audi history at Macau, which began all the way back in 1993 with touring cars, all the way through to 2014 with GT racing.

Audi history at Macau Part 1: Touring car era 1993 - 1999

1993

The famous Macau Guia Race (touring car event) was the scene for the first four Audi appearances at Macau. The first Audi to take to the streets of Macau was an Audi V8 DTM entered by a Belgian team in 1993, driven by Bernard Winderickx.

1996

Following the debut in 1993, there were entries of Audi A4 STW teams at Macau in 1996, 1998 and 1999. 1996 saw Frank Biela taking the overall victory ahead of Brad Jones from Australia, an Audi 1-2 overall finish. It was a terrific battle of Biela vs BMW.

1998

After missing the 1997 event, Audis returned to the streets of Macau in 1998 with the Australian Audi team consisting of Brad Jones and Frank Biela. Jones achieved a third place overall finish.

1999

The 1999 Macau Guia race had a total of four Audis entered by Phoenix Racing and Mayer Motorsport. It was a dominant display by Michael Bartels, who stormed to the second Audi victory at Macau.

1999 was the last time that Audi teams took part in Touring Car racing at Macau and it would be eleven long years before a car bearing the Four Rings would race again at Macau. In 2010 the Audi R8 LMS debuted at Macau and three years of Audi dominance ensued from 2011 onwards.

The Macau GT Cup (2010 - 2014) era of Audi at Macau can be read in Part 2 of our Audi history at Macau HERE.

Photo credit: 

Old Michael Bartels website (cover photo)

Screenshots from the included videos

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