Six cars booted out of the Guia Race of Macau after qualifying
The starting grid for the first race of the Guia Race 2.0T on Sunday will consist of just 28 cars, after six cars weren’t granted permission to start after setting times outside of 107% in Qualifying 1.
11 cars missed the cut, with only 23 cars qualifying within 107% of Craft-Bamboo Racing SEAT driver Pepe Oriola’s Q1 time, but special dispensation was granted to five drivers based on their practice pace and previous results at the stewards’ discretion.
The five drivers who missed the 107% cut-off but have been given permission to start from the back are Target SEAT’s Rafaël Galiana, Mulsanne Racing Alfa driver Andrea Belicchi, Elegant SEAT’s Lou Hon Kei, Teamwork Volkswagen’s Kevin Tse and WestCoast Racing Honda driver Mikhail Grachev, who crashed out on his first lap.
“It was just an unexpected slide at Mandarin corner, but there’s no space to mistake,” said Grachev to TouringCarTimes. “I’m OK, but the car is not OK. The team will do their best to repair the car so I can start from the back, but for me, my goal will be to just finish both races – I just want to see chequered flag two times.”
Although these five will make the start, for six other drivers, their Macau weekend is now over.
After being excessively off the pace, the Star Racing Team Mercedes-Benz C260 of William Lok will not be allowed to compete, nor will Terence Tse in the Roadstar Racing SEAT León, William O’Brien in the Teamwork Volkswagen Golf, Kenneth Ma in the FRD Team Ford Focus TCR or Douglas Khoo in the Viper Niza Racing SEAT León.
