For the second time in his career, Matteo Cairoli has been present at the fascinating Guia Circuit in Macau, this time as a Lamborghini factory driver at the wheel of the Huracan GT3 Evo2 by SJM VSR Theodore Racing. The FIA GT World Cup – which is held as part of the Macau Grand Prix, now in its 71st edition – is a prestigious event on the calendar for top drivers in GT racing. It unfolds over two free practice sessions, qualifying, a qualifying race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday.
The return of the brand of Sant’Agata Bolognese in an official capacity after 7 years has not been brilliant. The Huracan struggled to find its rhythm on the narrow streets of the Macau track. The Italian driver found it difficult to find the right setup, especially considering that he had never been able to lap in dry conditions before qualifying. In fact, the Asian weekend was also marked by rain, which arrived during practice and the final race.
A red flag in the final minutes of qualifying prevented Matteo from making a final attempt, forcing the Como driver to start from 18th on the grid for the qualifying race after the Italian driver’s potential had not been fully expressed due to a punctured tire, which disrupted the planned work order. The Macau track leaves no room for comebacks, especially on a compact grid such as the FIA GT World Cup: for Cairoli, the qualifying race started and ended in the same way.
An element of unpredictability was added with the arrival of rain on Sunday, but it seemed as if things couldn’t get any worse for the Lamborghini driver. An ABS problem forced the Italian to retire, bringing a premature end to a troubled Macau weekend. Matteo will return to the wheel of the Huracan GT3 Evo2 on 28-30 November for the final round of the GT World Challenge Europe – Endurance, the 6 Hours of Jeddah.
