Ferrari 296 GT3
Antonio Fuoco finished third in the qualifying race
In the 12-lap qualifying race, Fuoco finished third, the best of the Ferraris, and started the final from third on the grid.
The 2024 FIA GT World Cup (Macau GT Cup, FIA GT World Cup) was held in style at the Guia Circuit in downtown Macau. A 12-lap qualifying race and a 16-lap final race were held, with 23 GT3 cars, including Ferrari, competing.
Three 296 GT3s will be competing this time, with Harmony Racing’s No. 50 driven by Ye Yifei from China, who competes in the WEC with a Ferrari 499P, No. 51 driven by Daniel Serra, who has extensive GT experience, and AF Corse’s No. 83 driven by Fuoco, the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours winner.
On November 17th, after the dry qualifying race, the drivers faced off in the pouring rain for the title-deciding race. Fuoco finished third in the qualifying race, behind the BMWs, and secured third place on the grid. The race director elected to start under the safety car, and after four laps behind the safety car, the race began.
Starting from third place, Fuoco engaged in a fierce battle with Maro Engel in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Up ahead, Rafael Marciello, who had won the qualifying race, and Dries Vanthoor in a BMW M4 GT3 formed the top two. Meanwhile, Yifei and Serra, who were running in the midfield, were unable to move up the ranks as they had hoped, as spray from the water obscured their view.
An unexpected accident occurs for Foco, who was in the lead
The race was held under heavy rain and poor visibility. Fuoco took the lead with two laps remaining, but made contact with BMW’s Marciello, dropping him to 10th place.
Gaining confidence on the Guia Circuit, Fuoco widened the gap on Engel and set his sights on Vanthoor, who was in second place. Midway through the race, Fuoco pulled off a stunning overtake on the final corner, passing Vanthoor. He then set his sights on Marciello, who was in the lead, and with two laps remaining, he made another overtake on the final corner to take the lead.
However, an unexpected drama awaited Fuoco. As Fuoco’s Ferrari 296 GT3 and Marciello’s BMW M4 GT3 entered the first corner, the most difficult corner on the Guia Circuit, Marciello made contact from behind as Fuoco moved inside. Both cars went off the track, and although they managed to rejoin the track from the escape zone, Fuoco dropped back to 10th place, and later finished in 9th place when Marciello retired.
With the top two cars dropping out, Maro Engel took the lead in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and went on to win the race, with Yifei, cheered on by his home crowd, finishing 11th and Serra 14th.
*The title was changed on November 19th.
