Ferrari is now in the list of conquerors of the FIA GT World Cup, thanks to Antonio Fuoco delivering a masterclass to sweep the weekend at the streets of Macau with the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 despite the tough opposition that tried to chase the Italian for the whole Main Race.
Things started like in the Qualifying Race, with Yifei Ye covering Antonio Fuoco, all while Alessio Picariello’s Porsche lost the rear at the first corner and spun, opening the way for Raffaele Marciello to overpower Yifei and get second place, bringing Ayhançan Güven to neutralize the Chinese driver, only for Güven to be tapped by Laurin Heinrich at Lisboa, finding the barrier with Luca Engstler and Dorian Boccolacci crashing behind the Turkish driver’s Porsche.
It took two laps to clear the whole Lap 1 mess, but it was clear that Marciello would offer a challenge to Fuoco as he had clean air to do so, and Laurin Heinrich’s Porsche and Joel Eriksson’s Audi were on the chase to pile the pressure if Marciello’s BMW gets closer to Fuoco.
The problem came after five laps of racing, where it became clear that Marciello wasn’t keeping up with Fuoco’s pace, with Heinrich and Eriksson having Marciello more and more within striking distance. With five laps to go, Edoardo Mortara’s Lamborghini shuts off and crashes at Melco as the Italian driver had no brakes, with the yellow flag appearing as a lifeline for Marciello to get another shot to attack Fuoco.
While Marciello gained on Fuoco for a while, it was clear that the Ferrari 296 GT3 was at leisure pace to just bring it home, with Fuoco being the first to see the checkered flag, with Raffaele Marciello and Laurin Heinrich completing the podium.
FIA GT World Cup - Main Race results
Ferrari still had Yifei Ye nearly getting a podium, as he was promoted to fourth following a post-race penalty for contact to Joel Eriksson, while Deng Yi flirted with the top 5 until he dropped off in pace, although he still finished in eighth.
Four manufacturers finished in the top 5 positions, proving a certain balance between them, with the negatives going to McLaren, as Benjamin Goethe couldn’t do much the whole race, finishing in tenth as the 720S GT3 Evo simply couldn’t compete with the frontrunners, and to Lamborghini, which had a Sunday to forget as the two Absolute Corse Huracán GT3 Evo2s written off in front impacts in the barriers, a sad ending for the model as the new Temerario GT3 might be the choice if the manufacturer appears at Macau next year.
PHOTO: Macau Grand Prix
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