Photo: BMW Motorsport
It was barely a month ago that we were celebrating Marco Wittmann’s first DTM title and the BMW driver is now back behind the wheel, doing what he knows best. This time, he was joined by Augusto Farfus in one of the fastest growing events in the world of motorsports: the Macau GT Cup.
The two raced this weekend as part of the iconic Macau Grand Prix and posted decent results considering the background before going in the fight. The Z4 GT3 cars they had at their disposal were run by AAI Rstrada as part of the BMW Motorsport Customer Racing program.
For the BMW drivers this was basically a new endeavor, even though they had raced on this track before. Back then, it was in a completely different setup for the both of them. While Augusto Farfus raced there in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (for BMW), Wittmann got to learn the track using a Formula 3 car before moving to DTM. They both got a taste of a Z3 GT3 car for the first time this weekend, though.
“I did not take any major risks at the start, but was still able to make up two places. Our race speed was very good today, unlike yesterday’s qualifying. Given the circumstances and the little experience our team has compared to the opposition, fifth place feels like a victory. Importantly, we were able to gather a lot of data for future outings. It was great to return to Macau after four years,” said Farfus after the race.
Farfus made a good start and climbed straight to the sixth place from the get go. Not only that but he also managed to keep up with the rest of the platoon throughout the race and, on lap ten, he moved to fifth where he remained until the end of the race.
Wittmann, on the other hand, started out tenth and managed to defend his position at first. Just before the final third of the race, he moved to the ninth position and then avoided a crash in front of him, allowing the German to claim the 7th position in the end.
“That was not an easy weekend for us. The opposition has a lot of experience on this track, and we were making our first appearance here with this team. We improved in the race, compared to qualifying, and can be very happy with fifth and seventh. The main thing is that we gained a lot of experience this weekend,” Marco had to say about the race.
For the BMW drivers this was basically a new endeavor, even though they had raced on this track before. Back then, it was in a completely different setup for the both of them. While Augusto Farfus raced there in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (for BMW), Wittmann got to learn the track using a Formula 3 car before moving to DTM. They both got a taste of a Z3 GT3 car for the first time this weekend, though.
“I did not take any major risks at the start, but was still able to make up two places. Our race speed was very good today, unlike yesterday’s qualifying. Given the circumstances and the little experience our team has compared to the opposition, fifth place feels like a victory. Importantly, we were able to gather a lot of data for future outings. It was great to return to Macau after four years,” said Farfus after the race.
Luck and skill helped the BMW drivers out
The qualifying rounds saw the two finish eighth and tenth. However, the next day, the 12 laps of the famous, tight course, allowed the Brazilian and German drivers to win a couple of places ahead of the competition.Farfus made a good start and climbed straight to the sixth place from the get go. Not only that but he also managed to keep up with the rest of the platoon throughout the race and, on lap ten, he moved to fifth where he remained until the end of the race.
Wittmann, on the other hand, started out tenth and managed to defend his position at first. Just before the final third of the race, he moved to the ninth position and then avoided a crash in front of him, allowing the German to claim the 7th position in the end.
“That was not an easy weekend for us. The opposition has a lot of experience on this track, and we were making our first appearance here with this team. We improved in the race, compared to qualifying, and can be very happy with fifth and seventh. The main thing is that we gained a lot of experience this weekend,” Marco had to say about the race.
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