Three times in succession – from 2011 to 2013 – Edoardo Mortara has decided the Macau GT Cup in his favor with Audi to date. However, the race on the legendary track in the tradition-steeped Chinese metropolis has only enjoyed FIA GT World Cup status since last year. The city street circuit features a 250-km/h turn as well as some hairpins. The track being narrow throughout requires special handling of the race cars. On two previous occasions, Mortara, as a race driver for the Group, had decided the Formula 3 Grand Prix in Macau. The Italian will leave Audi at the end of the year. “Obviously, I’m going to give my all once again in my last race for Audi to say goodbye with a victory,” says the current DTM vice-champion. In Audi Sport Team WRT, the 29-year-old pro will be on the grid in car number 7. The sister car, number 8, will be driven by Laurens Vanthoor. The 25-year-old Belgian has won three international GT Championships and four 24-hour races in the Audi R8 LMS. He is familiar with the 6.12-kilometer circuit from his Formula 3 days as well and competed in the GT race there two years ago too.
Audi DTM driver Nico Müller, on the other hand, will be breaking new ground and is practicing the track in the simulator. “In Macau, the world’s best GT campaigners are pitted against each other. There are many Macau specialists and I’ll be racing there for the first time, which is a pretty stiff challenge,” says the Swiss. However, having won a DTM race at the Norisring this year, he has proven how fast he is on city street circuits. The 24-year-old pro is going to compete for the German Phoenix Racing team. His teammate, contesting the event under Audi Hong Kong’s entry, is Marchy Lee. He became the champion of the first Audi R8 LMS Cup season in 2012 and is intimately familiar with the circuit through the street canyons from several races he has contested in the Audi R8 LMS.