Edoardo Mortara and Mercedes-AMG have taken the win in the third edition of the FIA GT World Cup in Macau. Despite qualifying in 17th, 2017 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup champion and Macau rookie Robin Frijns (Audi) finished in second, with Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG) completing the podium.
The 2017 FIA GT World Cup, organized with coordination of the SRO Motorsports Group, proved again to be a hectic affair. After two eventful races, the most successful Macau competitor in modern history Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy) claimed a dominant flag to flag victory in the third FIA GT World Cup.
Mortara, podium finisher in this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa, qualified fastest, won the crash shortened qualifying race and converted both into his most satisfying ever victory at the 6.12km Guia track. He outpaced Macau debutant Robin Frijns (Audi WRT R8) and inaugural FIA GT World Cup winner Maro Engel (Gruppe-M Mercedes-AMG) with just 1.4 sec separating the top three.
Fourteen cars of an entry of 20 from seven manufacturers faced the starter after the Qualifying Race first lap incident, which blocked the track and damaged three quarters of the field. In the unusual circumstance officials allowed ten minutes of reconnaissance time before the main race to test cars after all-night repairs and started the race under safety car as an additional precaution.
Mortara added the FIA GT World Cup to three previous GT victories and two F3 Grand Prix wins to stake his claim to the title “ Mr Macau”.
Edoardo Mortara: “When I get in front my strategy is to go faster to ensure I maintain a gap, especially on a circuit like Macau when so much can go wrong. I have tried for three years to win this World Cup and it means so much to me to deliver it to my new team.”