Macau Friday Notebook

***Antonio Fuoco delivered Ferrari its first pole in the FIA GT World Cup in only his second appearance on Macau’s Guia Circuit in GT machinery, as he led a 1-2 for the Italian marque ahead of Yifei Ye in Friday afternoon’s Super Pole session. Ferrari’s best qualifying result previously was fourth for Fuoco in last year’s race.

***Fuoco recalled: “It was tricky with the conditions because it was getting dark, so I was a bit scared, but I was able to put a really good lap together. I really like this format because you have to extract the maximum you can from the car in two laps, and you also go out on cold tires and you have to bring them up to temperature. We know it’s still a long weekend with the two races, but we are starting from a good position.”

***Edoardo Mortara was arguably the star of Super Pole as he hauled his Absolute Corse Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 to third on the grid for Saturday’s Qualifying Race, having languished in 15th place in second practice on Thursday. The Swiss driver described his lap as “probably the best I did in almost 20 years of coming here.”

***Mortara said: “We were absolutely nowhere with no pace, and frankly coming into Super Pole I never thought I would be anywhere near the top five. There was nothing left, I was hitting barriers left, right and center; I took all risks possible and it paid off. I am still shaking from that lap! It’s totally unexpected and it shows you should never give up.”

***Asked if he can challenge the Ferraris of Fuoco and Ye, Mortara replied bluntly: “No, as simple as that. I hope they end up fighting and we might have a chance. The pace we had was absolutely shocking until now. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

***Alessio Picariello was the leading Porsche driver in Super Pole in fourth, despite having topped Thursday practice. The Belgian driver admitted he could have been second if he had hooked up the perfect lap in his No. 911 Absolute-run 911 GT3 R.

***Picariello told Sportscar365: “I knew today the others would be in the game, especially Ferrari, and they did what I expected. There was definitely a bit more; I caught some traffic on the mountain and I also made a mistake at Fisherman’s that cost me probably a bit more than two tenths. I am a bit disappointed because P2 was possible, but in the end first Porsche and we have a good car.”

***On his prospects from fourth on the grid, Picariello: “Starting from the first two rows, everything is still possible. The start is always crucial at Macau. I think the Porsche is maybe not the best car for the start, but there is still all to play for.”

***Joel Eriksson topped Q1 aboard his Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, but admitted the car’s characteristics and its tendency not to work the front tires too hard didn’t suit the requirements of Super Pole, in which he was fifth.

***Eriksson told Sportscar365: “As a team we should be proud. To finish P1 [in Q1] was most unexpected, but it was a good lap. Unfortunately the qualifying format is not perfect for the Audi as it takes a while before the fronts are really up to temperature. I could feel during the prep lap that the fronts were not there, I was having understeer in the last corner, so the beginning of the lap was not perfect with the understeer. But I think we squeezed everything out of the car today; not much more on it.”

***Eriksson is making his first GT World Cup appearance since 2019, when he finish ninth driving a BMW M6 GT3 for Team AAI.

***Adderly Fong’s Uno Racing Audi is running in a special livery featuring the popular Japanese character Cinnamoroll, in what marks the squad’s third consecutive year in partnership with the Sanrio Corporation. The same tie-up produced Fong’s Hello Kitty livery in 2023 and the Kuromi design of last year. Long lines were seen forming at the merchandise stands outside the paddock as fans queued to get their hands on a limited edition run of diecast models of Fong’s car.

***Alexander Blackie, Head of Audi Sport customer racing Asia, said: “Uno do a really phenomenal job. Make the livery the most extraordinary, cool and quirky you can, make the model cars, sell them outside. This is Macau for me — I love it. It’s one of the things that makes people excited to come here, that attracts the proper motorsport fans.”

***Ye says he is hoping for more outings aboard the Ferrari 296 GT3 ahead of what will be his second GT World Cup appearance for the marque. Ye made two outings in this year’s GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS driving for Harmony Racing at Okayama and Beijing, and won a race in the latter event together with co-driver Zhang Yaqi.

***Ye told Sportscar365: “It would be nice [to do more GT3 races]. Of course my main focus is on Hypercar, and it’s what I’m used to because I never really drove GT cars before I joined Ferrari, but of course being an official factory driver, it’s important to understand how to drive the 296 GT3, and I feel like I’m getting a handle on it. It would be interesting to do some of the big races in GT3 to keep myself busy.”

***Ferrari’s head of global endurance Antonello Coletta and BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos have both been spotted this weekend in the paddock at Macau. Porsche motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach is expected to arrive on Saturday.

***Also present in the paddock is Toyota’s FIA World Endurance Championship advisor Alexander Wurz, whose sons Charlie and Oscar are competing in the Formula Regional World Cup. Wurz himself raced at Macau in Formula 3 in 1994-95.

***The FIA has created a spotter’s guide for this weekend’s race, featuring all 16 entrants for the GT World Cup as well as a track map. Click Here to download.

***Live coverage of Saturday’s Qualifying Race can be found on the FIA’s official YouTube channel beginning at 2.35 p.m. local time (1:35 a.m. ET), with the Main Race on Sunday getting underway at 12:35 p.m. local time (Saturday 11:35 p.m. ET). Both races will feature the usual commentary team of David Addison and Alan Hyde.