Mortara gets GT crown

Italian Edoardo Mortara proved as masterful in a GT as he was in a Formula 3 car by taking victory in Macau GT Cup almost six and a half seconds ahead of closest challenger Keita Sawa of Japan

Edoardo Mortara showed no problems in getting around the Guia Circuit in his GT debut, clinching his third title in Macau in two different categories.
The Swiss-born Italian proved as masterful in a GT as he was in a Formula 3 car around Macau’s street circuit by taking victory in yesterday’s Macau GT Cup, crossing the line in his Audi R8 LMS in the shortened 10-lap race almost six and a half seconds ahead of closest challenger and two-time race winner Keita Sawa of Japan.
Third across the line was Briton Danny Watts in the McLaren MP4. Watts, making the Asian racing debut of the McLaren MP4, had tried to challenge for second, but Sawa held firm in the Lamborghini LP-560.
Macau driver Rodolfo Ávila finished fourth in the Team Jebsen Porsche 911 GT3 R ahead of Japan’s Tomonobu Fuji in an Aston Martin DBRS9.
Mortara, who set the fastest lap for good measure, was thrilled to have added a GT victory to his tally of two Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix wins.
“I had a good feeling with the car since the beginning of this race weekend, and they gave me a fantastic car. For racing drivers it’s all about confidence with the car, and when you have the right confidence, you can push really hard.”
After his third stint in Macau, Mortara wants to continue to make history on the Guia Circuit.
“I hope I’ll come back next year. It’s not up to me, if it was I would come back for ten more years. But I’m not sure if I’ll have the chance to come back next year…,” he said.
Sawa, recently crowned Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion, was disappointed not to have added a third Macau victory.
“I won two years in a row and I was focused on winning this year too. But when I finished the practice on Thursday I knew that this year would be too difficult to get first place,” Sawa said after the race.
“But I built my confidence throughout the following days and, even fighting some technical problems in the last two laps, I got the podium,” he added.
Watts, meanwhile, is pleased to see the bar raised. “It has been thoroughly enjoyable. It was the first time for the McLaren here in Asia and Macau, and I think we have learned a lot,” the Briton said.
“I have to say, Edoardo has been pure class all weekend, and has raised the GT Cup to a new level because every year I’ve been here, the level gets better and better.”
Local driver Rodolfo Ávila, making the world racing debut of the 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 R, was pleased to finish 4th fastest. “The best would be to get the podium, but the important thing was to finish the race. But I met my goal,” Ávila said.
“The car was good but I didn’t have time to practice before the race. But we’ve improved during the weekend. Let’s see if I stay in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia next year and if I can get back here with the same car, and preferably without any restrictions in terms of government support,” he added.
According to Macau’s government new rules, drivers who don’t complete the race in this 58th Macau Grand Prix won’t be able to get subsidies to race overseas in 2012.
Mortara got away well off the start, with Sawa and Watts battling it out on the run to Lisboa, the Japanese ace closing the door on the Briton.
Lap three saw Frank Yu run wide at Mandarin on a slippery track, hitting the barrier hard on the outside. Behind him Eddie Yau hit the Armco coming in to the same turn, bouncing across the track and into the barrier opposite before coming to a stop in the middle of the track. The next few cars managed to get through without contact, but John Shen came into the turn too fast hitting the outside barrier and bouncing into the stationery Yu. Siu Yuk Lung was also involved in the incident, which brought out the red flag.
The race was re-started under the Safety Car for seven laps, with oil flags out at Mandarin after the earlier incident.
Macau drivers Keith Vong in a Porsche 997 GT Cup 3.8 finished 10th fastest with, 1:21.222 off Mortara’s time, followed by female driver Diana Rosário in a Ferrari F430 GT and Ivo Yiu in a Porsche GT Cup 3.6, 18th and 23rd respectively.