Mercedes-AMG’s Wendl Explains Macau Absence

Photo: Mercedes-AMG

The addition of mandatory torque sensors for this year’s FIA GT World Cup prevented Mercedes-AMG and its customer teams to have a “sufficient level” of preparation for the race according to Mercedes-AMG’s head of customer racing Stefan Wendl.

The German manufacturer, which is a five-time and reigning FIA GT World Cup champion with driver Maro Engel last year, will not be on the grid for November’s event on the Guia circuit for the first time since the launch of the GT World Cup in 2015 due to the change in the event’s technical regulations.

Announced in March, torque sensors, which are most popularly used in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to provide more precise information to organizers for Balance of Performance purposes, have become mandatory for the event.

Speaking with Sportscar365 in April, Wendl revealed Mercedes-AMG, the most successful brand in GT racing in Macau, was “re-negotiating” plans for Macau because of the new-for-2025 requirement, while SRO Motorsports Group President and CEO Stephane Ratel, whose company is charged with assembling the GT World Cup entry, feared at least one long-standing manufacturer would not be present.

While Audi Sport elected to develop its out-of-production R8 LMS GT3 Evo II with torque sensors for Macau, Mercedes-AMG, which has already implemented the devices on its customer cars in the WEC and WeatherTech Championship, has ultimately decided to not take part.

It was confirmed this week with the release of the 16-car entry list for the event, down from the previous editions that featured a capacity 23-car field.

A total of four Mercedes-AMGs were on the grid for last year’s event, including factory-backed entries from GruppeM Racing and Craft-Bamboo Racing.

However, the two Hong Kong-based teams have never used torque sensors before, which is believed to have weighed into the decision for Mercedes-AMG to forgo the event due to the added testing, development and on-site engineering costs to equip its Asian customers with the the hardware.

“We can confirm that there will be no Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry in this year’s FIA GT World Cup in Macau,” said Wendl in a statement provided to Sportscar365. “This decision was made together with our teams.

“The additional technical and budgetary costs associated with the newly introduced torque sensors are unfortunately not affordable to us.

“Together with the teams that usually compete in Macau, we carefully evaluated all available options.

“In the end, we came to the conclusion that, given the current conditions, it would not be possible to ensure a sufficient level of preparation to guarantee a competitive overall package.

“The FIA GT World Cup remains an attractive event for Mercedes-AMG from both a sporting and strategic perspective, and we look back on a long and successful history in Macau.

“At the same time, we continue to be active in numerous racing series around the world – including, for the first time, the FIA WEC – and are focusing our resources accordingly.

“We wish all participants in Macau an exciting and successful race weekend.”

Sportscar365 understands that had any of its customers in the WEC or WeatherTech Championship, which have been using torque sensors since the start of the year, had expressed interest in competing in the event, Mercedes-AMG would have likely supported those entries.

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