Munich. This coming weekend, the ‘Guia Circuit’ in Macau (CHN)
hosts the grand finale of the 2019 GT season: the FIA GT World Cup.
The top GT teams and drivers will battle it out to be crowned
champions on the most demanding street circuit in the world. Last
year, Augusto Farfus (BRA) and BMW Team Schnitzer won the title with
the BMW M6 GT3, presenting BMW with its 24th victory in
Macau. They return now with the goal of hanging on to their
trophies. Meanwhile, BMW works driver Joel Eriksson (SWE) is set to
make his GT debut in Macau with FIST-Team AAI.
A total of 17 GT3 cars, with some of the world’s best GT drivers at
the wheel, will go head to head at this year’s FIA GT World Cup.
Farfus will race a BMW M6 GT3 with BMW Team Schnitzer for the third
time in a row. In 2017, he caught the eye in the BMW M6 GT3 Art Car,
designed by Cao Fei (CHN). Last year, Farfus won both the qualifying
race and the main race. In doing so, he presented Schnitzer boss at
the time, Charly Lamm (GER), with the perfect leaving present in what
was his final race. Farfus will be racing in Macau for the tenth time
in his career. The appearance of the #42 BMW M6 GT3 is supported by
the partners Shell, Akrapovič and the MultiBank Group, whose logos and
colours are incorporated into the new design of the car.
Eriksson has made three appearances in the Formula 3 Grand Prix in
Macau. He secured pole position in 2017 and finished runner-up to earn
a spot on the podium in 2018. The BMW works driver is now set to drive
a BMW M6 GT3 on the street circuit for the first time. The car will be
run by FIST-Team AAI. The Taiwanese team last raced in Macau two years
ago, when it finished fifth and sixth. This season, FIST-Team AAI has
enjoyed great success in the China GT Championship and the China
Endurance Championship. The team won the Team title and the Drivers’
Championship with BMW works driver Nick Yelloly (GBR). Eriksson was a
guest starter at two events, which allowed him to get to know the team well.
The qualifying race – 12 laps of the 6.120-kilometre circuit – gets
underway at 13:05 local time (06:05 CET) this Saturday. The 18-lap
main race begins at 12:25 local time (05:25 CET) on Sunday. The Macau
Motorcycle Grand Prix, which features a host of BMW Motorrad
Motorsport drivers, starts at 15:55 local time (08:55 CET) on Saturday.
Quotes on the 2019 FIA GT World Cup in Macau.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Group Motorsport Director):
“Macau has always been a very special place for BMW – on four and on
two wheels. Our success story at the Guia Circuit started nearly four
decades ago with Hans-Joachim Stuck winning the Guia Race for touring
cars in 1980 with the BMW 320i. In total, BMW touring cars have
claimed no fewer than 22 wins at Macau. Success continued in GT
racing, with the FIA GT World Cup being held within the Macau Grand
Prix, with the big highlight being Augusto Farfus’ fantastic victory
last year with the BMW M6 GT3. Also our colleagues from the BMW
Motorrad Motorsport department have an impressive track record at
Macau, starting with the historic one-two-three finish for the BMW S
1000 RR in 2015. Since then the BMW S 1000 RR is one of the bikes to
beat at Macau. In the last four editions of the Macau Motorcycle Grand
Prix, BMW racer Peter Hickman claimed three wins. Added to this are
numerous further podium finishes.”
Herbert Schnitzer jr. (Team Manager BMW Team
Schnitzer): “We have enjoyed a very special relationship with
Macau for many years now and have already celebrated many fantastic
successes there. The win last year at Charly Lamm’s last race as team
principal was particularly emotional. This year we will give it our
all to achieve another top result, even though we know that the
competition will be very tough. This year we are also facing the
unique situation of contesting the season finale of the
Intercontinental GT Challenge in Kyalami, just one week after Macau.
Organising this programme is a huge, exciting challenge for our team,
both in terms of personnel and logistics. It goes without saying that
our aim is to be successful in both races. That is why the best
possible advance planning and the fantastic effort of every single
team member are even more important, and I would like to thank
everyone for this already.”
Augusto Farfus: “I am really looking forward to
defending my title, however it is obviously going to be far from easy.
Our goal is to retain the trophy, but the opposition is stronger than
ever. We have prepared as well as possible and will definitely benefit
from the experience we have gained together over the past two years.
Ultimately, however, many of our rivals have what it takes to win this
race. I will do my best to lift the trophy for a second time – this
time in memory of Charly.”
Joel Eriksson: “The collaboration with FIST-Team AAI
is working extremely well. I have felt right at home there from the
word go. The team spirit is outstanding and we have been chatting
almost every day in the run-up. From a driving point of view, I have
prepared meticulously in the simulator, as driving a Formula car and a
GT car in Macau are two completely different animals. Fortunately, we
also have Augusto there with all his experience. We have spoken to
each other often and he has already given me a lot of valuable advice.”