Marciello Controls Field to FIA GT World Cup Win

Photo: Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee

Raffaele Marciello ended his career at Mercedes-AMG with a commanding victory in Sunday’s FIA GT World Cup in Macau.

Marciello took his No. 48 Landgraf Motorsport-prepared Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to a 2.510-second win over Edoardo Mortara’s No. 40 Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II following an issue for Maro Engel on the race’s only restart.

Engel’s slow No. 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing entry gave Marciello a considerable gap for the final seven-lap shootout in the 16-lap feature race around the Guia Circuit.

Marciello became the first two-time GT World Cup champion following his triumph in the 2019 event.

The Swiss-flagged driver held control from start to finish, despite some early pressure from Engel and eventual runner-up finisher Mortara in the opening lap.

An accident for the No. 52 Harmony Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Weian Chen at Lisboa brought out the race’s only safety car on Lap 7, which indirectly led to Engel’s early race retirement.

The No. 11 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus completed the podium after BMW teammate and Macau rookie Sheldon van der Linde dived into the pit lane on Lap 11 for a suspected puncture while running third.

Daniel Serra came home fourth in the No. 51 Harmony Ferrari 296 GT3, making it four different manufacturers in the top-four of the race.

The No. 91 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG of Dani Juncadella completed the top-five, ahead of Laurens Vanthoor in the best of the Porsche 911 GT3 Rs, which struggled in the race.

Christopher Haase was seventh in the No. 41 Absolute Audi, followed by Porsche runners Alessio Picariello, Earl Bamber and Hongli Ye, who rounded out the top-ten.

Kevin Estre, meanwhile, dropped to 12th at the line after running in ninth on the final lap.

RESULTS: FIA GT World Cup

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John