Slater nails start to set up dominant Macau GP qualification race display

Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee

Freddie Slater dominated the Macau Grand Prix’s qualification race, wining by over five seconds.

The Prema driver was alongside KCMG Pinnacle Motorsport’s poleman Theophile Nael straight away and took the lead on the inside through the opening corner, had his mirrors filled through the next corner, then went unchallenged through the remainder of the 10-lap race to secure pole for Sunday’s main race.

However, his Saturday ended with an investigation regarding speeding in the pitlane prior to the race.

After Nael lost the lead to a wheel-spinning Slater, Giltaire and Pinnacle team-mate Mari Boya then overtook him exiting turn one. Boya got alongside Giltaire, but tucked in behind Slater while Giltaire carried more speed on the outside through Mandarin. When they reached Lisboa, Nael looked to the outside of Boya but there was no room to attempt passing.

Slater created a 1.682-second gap on lap one, which grew to 2.6s, 3.2s and then 4.55s while Giltaire kept the faster Pinnacle drivers behind him.

Boya, who had started sixth, nosed ahead approaching Lisboa on lap two and four but could not overtake as he was on the outside line.

Giltaire weaved from Reservoir all the way to after Mandarin on lap five, but could do it no more once Boya was alongside and this time he got fully past on the straight so turned into Lisboa ahead.

While Boya then had clean air, Slater still grew his lead to 5.766s over the next two laps before the Pinnacle drivers showed their pace advantage. Nael copied Boya’s overtake on lap six, but only got back onto his team-mate’s gearbox at the end as he set the race’s only two sub-2m16s laps.

ART GP’s Taito Kato and R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny lost out to Boya at the start, with Kato holding off Deligny into Lisboa on lap three to keep fifth. Deligny was also noted by officials for pitlane speeding pre-race.

PHM Racing’s Mattia Colnaghi finished seventh, and the top 10 was completed by James Egozi (Sainteloc Racing), Noah Stromsted (Trident) and Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema).

There were overtakes after lap one further back, as R-ace’s Matteo De Palo and PHM’s Jose Garfias demoted Trident’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak to 13th on lap eight.

It was a clean race, with Evans GP’s Oscar Wurz the only retiree on lap one. Approaching the Melco hairpin he carried too much speed and locked up, and thanks to Prema’s Charles Leong weaving to the right did plough into anyone. 

However when Leong turned onto the racing line, Wurz broke his front wing and front-right wheel on him as he drove past at a corner where overtaking is not allowed. Wurz was able to stop down the escape road, meaning not even yellow flags were needed.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Newman Chi finished last after getting a 10s stop-go penalty for a mechanic being on the grid after the one-minute board was shown.

Race results (10 laps)