First FIA GT World Cup Super Pole delivers drama in Macau as Naël beats Slater to top spot in FIA FR World Cup qualifying

Antonio Fuoco has made more Macau history by becoming the first driver to bank the Super Pole for the FIA GT World Cup, a performance that will put the Italian at the front of the grid for Saturday’s Qualification Race alongside AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3-driving team-mate Yifei Ye from China.

The untried format began with the usual 30-minute Qualifying Q1 session prior to the new-for-2025 Qualifying Q2 for the fastest 10 drivers from Q1. The one-at-time shootout, which drivers tackled with a new set of tyres from official supplier Pirelli, delivered a thrilling spectacle at the iconic street track.

Fuoco will now line up for the 12-lap Qualification Race at the front of the pack with Edoardo Mortara third behind Ye in an Absolute Corse-run Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2. Alessio Picariello (Tempo by Absolute Racing) was fourth quickest at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) as Joel Eriksson – the last driver to take part in Super Pole – took fifth in his FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom Audi R8 LMS GT3 (Evo2).

“I really like this format because you need to go out, you need to extract the maximum time from the car in only two laps,” said Fuoco, whose Super Pole time of 2m15.535s was under the existing Macau GT lap record of 2m16.051s set by Daniel Serra in 2023. “We did a really good job, it was important to be on the top here in Macau, we still know it’s a really long weekend with the two races, but at least I think we start from a good position for tomorrow.”

Mortara, nicknamed Mr Macau for his seven overall race wins on the streets of the Special Administrative Region of China, added: “The lap that I’ve done in Super Pole is probably the best I’ve ever done here in the last, 20 years, almost, that we’ve been coming here. There was nothing left, I was hitting barriers left and right, took all the risks and it paid off… I’m still shaking actually from that lap!”

Sheldon van der Linde had been tipped to challenge for the Super Pole but a crash in Q1 left the South African BMW driver on the sidelines.

In addition to the FIA GT World Cup, the 72nd Macau Grand Prix week features three other FIA-sanctioned categories, the FIA FR World Cup, the FIA F4 World Cup and the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour.

Qualification Race pole position for the second running of the FIA FR World Cup went to KCMG ENYA Pinnacle Motorsport’s Théophile Naël with Freddie Slater second for SJM Theodore Prema Racing and Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) third.

Frenchman Naël was fourth after Thursday’s Qualifying Q1 but delivered in style in Q2 to edge out Slater, yesterday’s pacesetter. Giltaire, meanwhile, languished in 16th place after Thursday’s opening 40-minute session before charging back into contention late in Q2.

“The first part of Qualifying 2 was not ideal for the track, we were not able to match the lap time from yesterday,” Naël said. “I was not expecting that, but the track had a big improvement and I could manage to improve my lap time and the overall lap time. It was quite tricky with the red flags because we have to keep our position on track, to be sure to complete a lap. I was just trying to push after the pit exit, keeping my position and trying to make a gap for the push, which we did.”

Sebastian Wheldon will start Saturday’s eight-lap Qualification Race for the inaugural FIA F4 World Cup from pole position after the American posted a best lap of 2m24.148s to edge out Briton Kean Nakamura-Berta by 0.136s. Emanuele Olivieri, from Italy, completed the top three followed by Thomas Bearman and Macau driver Tiago Golovko Rodrigues.

After claiming pole for his first street race, 16-year-old Wheldon said: “FP1 was quite difficult for me, I didn’t know where I was going after Turn 5, so I had to learn the track. FP2 went quite well and I was getting more comfortable and gaining more confidence. In qualifying I was able to push myself on and do the lap before the red flags. I tapped the wall once or twice so there’s zero margin for error, especially when you’re pushing in qualifying. We start in the best position for tomorrow but it’s a long run down to the first real corner.”

Wheldon, whose late father Dan was a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in the USA, had earlier set the pace in in Free Practice 2, during which five different drivers topped the timesheets, as a demonstration of his intent and the category’s close competition.

Néstor Girolami secured his first pole position of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour season by outpacing title rivals Yann Ehrlacher and Thed Björk – who placed second and third respectively for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing – in the two-phase qualifying. Girolami’s performance for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse earned the Argentine driver 15 points.

THE DAY AHEAD IN MACAU: SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER
11:40-12:45: FIA F4 World Cup Qualification Race (8 laps)
13:20-14:00: Kumho FIA TCR World Tour Race 1 (10 laps)
14:35-15:40: FIA GT World Cup Qualification Race (12 laps)
16:15-17:20: FIA FR World Cup Qualification Race (10 laps)
Timings are local and subject to change. Watch live on the FIA’s official YouTube channel.

The Macau Grand Prix is a celebration of motor sport passion – a spectacular season finale for single-seater, GT and touring car drivers, who come together from different championships around the world to test their skills on the most demanding of circuits. At the same time, it has long been a proving ground for the rising stars of the sport and a hugely important event in the Asia-Pacific region, inspiring the future generations of drivers and fans.

This year marks a decade since the Macau Grand Prix has featured designated FIA World Cup races across different disciplines, and the three FIA World Cup events will be streamed and free live on the FIA’s official YouTube channel.