Marciello Not Fazed by Brand Switch Ahead of Title Defense

Raffaele Marciello is confident about his chances of successfully defending his FIA GT World Cup title having switched from Mercedes-AMG to BMW, proclaiming the Macau Guia Circuit as “the best track to go with a new car.”

The 29-year-old will form part of BMW’s four-car effort for the event, piloting a Toro Racing by MCG-entered BMW M4 GT3 in a lineup for the Munich brand that also features fellow former winner Augusto Farfus as well as Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde.

Last year, the Swiss racer became the first two-time GT World Cup champion in his final race as a Mercedes-AMG factory driver, taking a controlling victory with Team Landgraf.

At the time, Marciello hailed the win as his “last gift” for the Stuttgart marque ahead of his departure before he signed on with BMW to form part of its FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar effort.

A year later, he returns to Macau with the aim of becoming a three-time GT World Cup winner but will do so with BMW, marking the first time he will have contested the event in anything other than Mercedes-AMG machinery.

“I’m looking forward to go,” Marciello told Sportscar365. “The first time with the number one in the car also so it will be nice to to have that.

“Also Macau it’s the best track to go with a new car, because I think it’s a lot driver related.”

Marciello pointed to Edoardo Mortara as proof that a driver’s overall experience of the event and the circuit can be a determining factor for success at the event.

Mortara, who is also in the grid in a SJM VSR Theodore Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, earned the nickname ‘Mr. Macau’ thanks to his seven wins at the event in both single seater and GT machinery.

While Mortara’s sole GT World Cup win came with Mercedes-AMG, he triumphed three consecutive times with Audi between 2011 and 2013 before the race gained FIA World Cup status.

“It’s a different track, a special track,” said Marciello.

“So even if you drive with a different car, we saw with Edo, every time he went with [a brand], even if he didn’t drive all the year then he was quick in Macau.

“So I think the experience there is more [important] than what can you drive but for sure I’m looking forward to drive the M4 GT3 there.”

Marciello’s No. 1 BMW is being supported by staff from the Hans-Peter Naundorf-led Motorsport Competence Group outfit, which is best known for operating the ROWE Racing program in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the Nürburgring 24.

The team and driver worked together for the first time earlier this year as a result of Marciello’s brand switch, as he drove a ROWE BMW at the N24 and finished seventh in a fog-shortened race.

“We had a lot of fights there in Macau between me and the team in the past,” said Marciello.

“They were with Porsche and also with Augusto [Farfus] last year. It’s nice to be on that side and to see how they work, but they’ve always been competitive, so for sure it should not be a problem.

“For sure the car showed already last year [that it] was pretty quick, so hopefully this year it will be a tiny bit better so we can be a bit more in front.”