It was a rainy start to the morning at the Guia Circuit in Macau. It was unsure whether the sessions can start at their planned times due to a Typhoon 8 issued the night before. However, with a clear track ahead of him, German driver Oliver Goethe was the first to drive out of the pits, in the first FIA FR World Cup session of the day. Goethe was quick to show that he will be one of the top contenders in this weekend’s Grand Prix.
Although it was SJM Theodore Prema Racing’s Freddie Slater who topped the sheets after the first laps were in, Slater and teammate Alexander Dunne traded the top spot, as their confidence grew. Dunne set the fastest time of 2:48.592.
Sixteen minutes into the session, the red flag was brought out, after Rikuto Kobayashi hit the barriers at the Lisboa Bend, leading his car to be retrieved.
Following the delay, the rain started to get stronger, but practice resumed, and the drivers got back up to speed before the Qualifying session.
A few of the young drivers pushed too hard, with Alexander Abkhazava and Mari Boya ending up at the Lisboa Bend’s escape road. Both drivers were able to recover from their incidents. ART Grand Prix’s Kanto Le, also spun.
Just as Goethe drove a brilliant lap in the tricky conditions, setting a time of 2:41.270s — also two seconds ahead of Slater’s time — the red flag was brought out once again, following new incidents.
Australian driver James Wharton kissed the barriers at Matsuya and damaged his suspension and front wing. He slowly toured the track before getting stuck at the Melco Hairpin. Sota Ogawa of TGM Grand Prix also crashed at the Matsuya and stopped, leading to the end of the session.
The session ended with Goethe of MP Motorsport on top, with a lap time of 2:41:270, followed by Slater and Dunne.
