Weekly Racing Roundup (11.22.21)

O’Young Rebounds from Crash to Win Macau

Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Darryl O’Young bounced back from a hefty opening race accident to win his second Macau GT Cup crown at the Guia street circuit last weekend.

O’Young’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was in pieces on Saturday after it struck an oil slick laid down by another car on the run down to Lisboa, which sent it crashing into the barriers.

The former Craft-Bamboo team director and former WEC driver was classified second in the red-flagged opener due to a results countback procedure, but his place on the grid for the 12-lap grand finale depended on effective work from the Craft-Bamboo team.

After some swift repair work from his crew, O’Young took the green flag found a way past defending race winner and pole-sitter Ye Hong Li at the start before holding off the TORO Racing Porsche driver to the checkered flag.

“We made it onto the grid with 10 seconds to go,” said O’Young. “If they opened the gate and I didn’t make it out, I’m out [of the race]. Literally 10 seconds before we got the car together. The guys worked all through the night. This victory is for them.”

The winning Mercedes still carried damage in the main race, including a bent chassis, while Ye explained that oil spraying up onto his windscreen meant he “couldn’t see anything” in the closing stages.

Luo Kai Luo took third place in a TORO Racing Mercedes-AMG, ahead of two Uno Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3s.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

***17-year-old Finnish driver Luca Nurmi won the Ferrari Challenge world title in the main Trofeo Pirelli class during the manufacturer’s Finali Mondiali event at Mugello. Nurmi finished ahead of Niccolo Schiro and North America series champion Cooper MacNeil in the deciding 30-minute race. Results

***Michelle Gatting sealed the Ferrari Challenge Europe crown on the opening day of the Mugello festival. The Iron Lynx driver finished fourth in the first race, which was enough to put her main championship challenger Schiro out of reach. Race 1 / Race 2

***Ferrari confirmed that next year’s Finali Mondiali meeting will take place at Imola on Oct. 26-31.

***Porsche has outlined evolutions to its Sprint Challenge USA by Yokohama series for the second season in 2022, including a new West championship and the introduction of the 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama series is designed to give teams in that part of the U.S a more favorable travel package.

***The main Porsche Sprint Challenge USA by Yokohama series will visit Sebring (Mar. 11-13), Ozark International Raceway (Apr. 22-24, Caymans only), TBA (May, 991/2 only), Virginia (June 3-5), Mid-Ohio (July 1-3, 991/2 only), Road America (July 29-31), TBA (Sep.), Circuit of The Americas (Sep. 16-18)

***The West championship will be present at the Ozark, Virginia, Road America and both September rounds, with further races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (April 1-3), Sonoma (April 15-16) and Utah Motorsports Campus (Aug. 12-14) booked.

***French outfit CD Sport has pledged its return to the Asian Le Mans Series with a Ligier JS P320 Nissan. Edouard Cauhaupe spearheads a driver lineup that also includes Nick Adcock and Michael Jensen.

***Estoril has replaced Portimao as the site of next year’s International GT Open season-opener, which is scheduled to take place on May 1. The series last visited Estoril in 2018. Both GT Open and the DTM had rounds booked at Portimao on the first day of May.

On this weekend: Super GT (Fuji)