It was finally race day at the Guia Circuit in Macau and although the day started dark and wet, by the time it was time for the FIA Formula Regional drivers to race, the sun began to shine. However, the drivers needed to be careful because there were still wet patches on the track.
For this race, there was no formation lap. Instead, the green lights were on, with a safety car start.
It was lights out and Noel León almost mirrored his teammate, Mari Boya’s mistake in yesterday’s Qualifying Race. León seemed keen on the start and almost overtook, which would have resulted in a black flag, which was handed to Boya yesterday.
The safety car lights were extinguished, and the drivers were given the go to finally race in Macau.
Ugo Ugochukwu, yesterday’s winner, got a great head start. Much like he did the day before, Ugochukwu made the best of the restarts and hit an early start, creating a gap to Oliver Goethe and Noel León.
An early incident where James Wharton bounced into the barrier, led to a chain reaction. Teammate Evan Giltaire picked up damage. Kai Daryanani slammed into Wharton’s car and Jett Bowling crashed into both. Kanto Le ended up stuck beside them, also sustaining damage.
The race was suspended and delayed for 22 minutes, due to some damage in the barriers. As it was only a suspension, the race picked up where it left off, with a safety car start.
Ugochukwu had a beautiful restart, with Goethe 1.2s behind. León was in the tow behind Goethe, which was crucial. Both drivers began to battle for second place, which could be considered an advantage by Ugochukwu because they would be more focused on each other, instead of the front.
The yellow flag was shown with 11 laps into the restarted race because Ruiqi Liu stopped, and the safety car was deployed but was back in, on lap 9.
Once again, Goethe had to watch Ugochukwu get another great restart. León had a big lock-up going into Lisboa but managed to stay in third. However, Freddie Slater was hot on his heels, looking to make the podium in Macau.
The battle for second was looking hot because León was chasing down Goethe, searching for every opportunity to overtake. On lap 5, Goethe took the fastest lap from Ugochukwu, clocking a time of 2:19.599.
Just as the drivers got into the rhythm, Sota Ogawa topped in Turn 1, deploying the safety car. Mari Boya has also impressed, as he was now in 13th, after gaining a couple of positions during the first incident. The safety car went back in with three more laps to go and Théophile Naël was noted for a pit infringement.
Just as the green flag was waived, there was another incident. Japanese driver, Jin Nakamura, crashed his car just before racing went back to full speed. The race leader led the start with ease, but Oliver Goethe got better and better at keeping up with the American driver. With two more laps left, Ugochukwu had to defend his position.
In the final lap, British driver Freddie Slater made a dive for third place and hit the barrier, ending his race. He took the tow of León, dove into the inside but unfortunately did brake in time. A commendable effort from the SJM Theodore PREMA Racing driver. No one can say he did not take the risk.
The safety car was out once again because there was another car stranded, with Mattia Colnaghi crashing into the barriers in Turn 22. The race had to finish under a safety car.
Ugo Ugochukwu wins the Macau GP, making him the second American driver to win the prestigious race. The last American driver to win was Bob Earl in 1981. Oliver Goethe and Noel León round out the top three.
🦅🇺🇸 Clean sheet for Ugo taking a W in all the sessions of the 71st edition of the Macau Grand Prix 🏆#FIA #FIAFRWorldCup #MacauGP pic.twitter.com/Wm7oLog0uJ
— FIA (@fia) November 17, 2024
