SUPPLEMENT Fri 17.11.2017 Irwin tops challengers Gets provisional pole Renato Marques F3 ANDO Norris will be sea- Lted in the best position of the grid for today’s second Norris gets provisional pole in qualifying session for the F3 World Cup race after ob- taining the best time in yester- day’s first qualifying session. session marred by red flags The session was marred by several accidents on track lea- ding to multiple interruptions. The last incident caused a de- lay of over 45 minutes after which barely 11 minutes of the MARQUES RENATO session remained. The delay was caused by an accident at the Fishermen’s Bend that caused severe dama- ge to the security barriers. On-track staff first attempted to fix the barriers, but after inspection, it was deemed ne- cessary to proceed with a full replacement of the affected materials. Lengthy repair ope- rations ultimately delayed the program for the day. In the part of the session that Pedro Piquet counted towards the quali- fying results, the F3 European Champion, Lando Norris, justified his merits as a favo- rite by bringing his Dallara- Volkswagen to the top with a best lap of 2:11.570 precisely on the last of its 11 laps to the circuit. Behind Norris sits Brazilian Pedro Piquet, one of the sur- prises of the session, clocking 0.912 of a second more than Norris. The third best place was held by another of the favori- tes, German racer Maximilian Gunther from Theodore, who placed the second Dallara- Mercedes in the third highest ranking. The second surprise of the session was Daniel Ticktum, the man from Motopark with Maximilian Gunther VEB, who managed to put his Dallara-Volkswagen in four- In sixth place is the first Japa- Kenta Yamashita would be the conds behind Norris. wrong impression. th and right in front of his nese participant, Yuhi Sekigu- first car from the team. In fact, With this result, Norris seems A second qualifying race will teammate and another favori- chi, driving the first B-Max Ra- that was very far from happe- to have an open path to an be held today at 3:25 p.m. te, Joel Eriksson who made his cing for Team Dallara-Volkswa- ning as Yamashita only mana- easier race than initially ex- (provisional time), when all best lap only in 2:13.637, that gen. Sekiguchi’s performance ged to place 11th in the session, pected, however, the many in- these drivers will have a second is, over two seconds slower was an expected one, although it clocking his best lap with a time terruptions of yesterday’s ses- chance on track, hopefully with than Norris. was predicted that his teammate of 2:14.281, almost three se- sion might also have given the fewer interruptions. GT WORLD CUP | INTERVIEW RENATO MARQUES RENATO Scuderia Corsa to fight for podium in Macau debut THE US-based team for their one and only deria Corsa” over GM – For sure we “Scuderia Corsa” was Ferrari 488 GT3 no one this weekend? always want to aim for founded in 2013 by Gia- less than two-time F3 Giacomo Mattioli the win but a podiumfi- como Mattioli and Art winner Felix Rosenqvist. (GM) – The chances are nish would be a great re- Zafiropoulo. The aim of To learn more about very good. I think Felix sult for the first year. the team is to strengthen the expectations of both is the best driver out the- the tradition of long the team owner and the re; he has a lot of success MDT - What do you term brand partnership driver for this year’s ra- on this track. For us it’s think about the new with Ferrari dealerships. cing weekend, the Times the first year so I’m sure rules from FIA World These dealerships are in interviewed Paddock there are some learning GT Cup that restricts the US, namely in Bever- Giacomo Mattioli and curves that we need to the competition to ly Hills, Los Angeles and Felix Rosenqvist at the climb, but hopefully we drivers with top li- South Bay.Making its Macau Grand Prix. will be ready for Sunday. censes? first appearance in the GM – I think that ri- Macau FIA GT World Macau Daily Times MDT – What wou- ght now the grid that we Cup this year, the team (MDT) – What are ld be a considered a have is one of the best presented as their driver the chances of “Scu- good result? possible grids in GT that II fri 17.11.2017 RENATO MARQUES RENATO Gleen Irwing Peter Hickman MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX Mention should also be made of Derek Sheils’s per- formance, which has been in- creasingly improving around the Guia circuit. Last year, Irwin tops challengers Sheils started from the 13th position of the grid, but im- proved his time from the first qualifying session to the and gets provisional pole second by more than one se- cond. Finishing with a best Renato Marques ding a well-functioning Ducati second place with a time of Clocking in at fourth place lap time of 2:28.070, time in the first qualifying session, 2:25.777 – that is, roughly 1.5 was Connor Cummins, who bettered this year clocking LENN Irwin showed held yesterday afternoon. seconds slower than Irwin. managed to squeeze himself entering on the 27th second potential at last Although there is still one Following Rutter was his ahead of Jessop, pushing him (2:27.957). If he manages to year’s debut in Ma- qualifying session of 45 mi- teammate, Peter Hickman, into fifth place. improve this time or maintain cau Motorcycle nutes remaining in the early who was also the winner of Cummins finished last his current performance on GGrand Prix and when inter- morning today, Irwin’s latest the last two editions. Hi- year’s race in fourth place it, we could see him finishing viewed by the Times, he said time certainly puts him in a ckman has also been a close overall, from a starting po- with no surprise on the top he felt that he could win the comfortable position to start contender in the competition sition of ninth place, putting five this year, after having fi- race this year. Irwin is well- the race on Saturday. between Rutter and Irwin. him in a much more com- nished ninth in 2016. placed to fulfill his wish as he But, that advantage did not Hickman begins today just fortable position that would All things are possible, and topped the fierce competition come easily. In the process, half a second behind Rutter. allow him to take advantage with all these uncertainties to take the provisional pole Irwin fought a shoulder-to- He will surely try to reduce of any mistakes by the trio in and close rivalries, this year’s position for the 51st edition of shoulder battle with eight-ti- or overlap that difference in front. competition promises to be an the Macau Motorcycle GP. me winner Michael Rutter, the second qualifying session. Martin Jessop, in fifth place, adrenaline-fueled race from Irwin, the man from Carri- who forced Irwin to reduce Nevertheless, the trio are ex- clocked 2:27.631, almost two start to finish. ckfergus in Northern Ireland, his times as much as possible. pected to be in fierce compe- seconds slower than his per- The grand finale is scheduled clocked a time of 2:24.310, ri- Rutter ended the session in tition. formance last year. for this Saturday at 3:40 p.m. GT WORLD CUP | INTERVIEW more racing here to Ma- expectations? main goal for this ra- of the first sessions be- Formula E. That part is cau. I don’t know yet [if FR – That’s the big cing weekend? cause when I drove F3 already settled. We are we can bring more than thing. It’s quite hard to FR – Here in Macau we usually are one of the going to start the season Scuderia Corsa to fight for podium in Macau debut one car next time] but know what to expect at you want to be able to first sessions and you are in two weeks in Hong we are working on it. this point because we maximize the car [capa- pulling up all the dust Kong, then what I will haven’t done much tes- bilities], which is diffi- and the track is very sli- do apart from that is not you can have. I think the MDT - How does it ting (which happened cult since the track is very ppery. It feels much bet- clear [yet] but obviously idea of Gold and Plati- feel to be back in Ma- in fact in another car, challenging. Obviously, I ter to start after a couple I would like to stay in Ja- num drivers is fantastic cau? not exactly this one) and think in the first session of sessions and after the pan. and I think it was a good Felix Rosenqvist roughly that testing was I’ll have some learning track already has some GT might be an option decision [from FIA]. (FR) – Good! It’s a tra- about half an hour to for- to do, but my target is to rubber in. but to continue on Su- dition for me to be here. ty minutes so today will come to the point that I per Formula would also MDT - Will this part- It’s my seventh or eight be in fact the first time can squeeze everything MDT - In 2017 you be a good program.