Full Throttle

Edoardo Mortara took a hard-fought victory in the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday after triumphing in a race-long duel with Signature team-mate Jean-Karl Vernay.

The Italian had started from third on the grid, but a good start allowed him to move past front-row starter Marcus Ericsson and pole position man Vernay on the run down to Lisboa.

The race was stopped a few moments later, however, when the track was blocked following a multiple-car collision caused when Daniel Ricciardo crashed into the wall at the Solitude Esses and was clipped by a number of other cars.

At the restart, Mortara got away cleanly but his advantage was not enough to prevent Vernay getting into his slipstream and overtaking him into Lisboa.

From there, the Signature pair were locked in a very tight battle for the lead – although it seemed Vernay had done enough as Mortara could not get close enough in the final corners of the lap to get a slipstream down the main straight.

However, coming out of the Melco Hairpin on lap 11, Vernay made a mistake – which allowed Mortara to close up on him and swoop past into the lead into Lisboa on lap 12.

From there, Mortara was able to pull away and take the victory – which came on the same day that fellow Italian Gabriele Tarquini became FIA World Touring Car Champion.

“It feels fantastic,” said the delighted Mortara. “So many things are going through my head I don’t know where to start. I feel so emotional. After such a difficult season this year, it is unbelievable. I am proud of this victory.”

“So many things are going through my head I don’t know where to start. I feel so, so emotional because I had such a difficult season this year, with so many ups and downs. I came here because VW phoned me to ask me to do the race, and I am sure some people were not 100% sure that I was able to do it.

Actually, today, I proved that I am still competitive. After such a difficult season, to be on top again is unbelievable. It shows that you should keep fighting, and I am really proud of this victory especially after this difficult season in GP2. Before I came here I think everybody was thinking that I was pretty much dead, so re-opening my career with a victory in Macau will for sure help me.”

Vernay, unsurprisingly, was bitterly disappointed, though he did his best to hide it on the podium. Afterwards, though, he was not happy with himself:

“I was really pushing 150% but I knew that I couldn’t make a mistake. I was really at the limit because I wanted to win. But when you are at the maximum like that, at some point you will make a mistake, and that is what happened. Yes for sure it is a good weekend, but when you are leading 12 laps of a 15 lap race and you lose the victory because of a mistake you can be angry. For sure it was a good weekend, though. I am really happy for the team, they did a great job and the car was fantastic as we were quicker than the other teams. And with Edoardo we did a good job to finish P1-P2 - that is the most important thing from the weekend. I’ll come back next year for sure if I have the possibility.”

Briton Sam Bird finished third, having moved up the field from seventh on the grid. He was fifth in the early stages of the race, but took fourth from Ericsson on lap 12. He then moved up another place on the final lap when third place runner Valtteri Bottas slowed with a wheel problem. Ericsson finished fourth, with Bottas fifth.

“Thank God for that!, Bird said of his podium finish. “I thought I was going to get one last year and then didn’t and I’ve waited a long, long time to get here… I love this place! I know I only came third, and I know the other two guys were a long way ahead, but for me this is fantastic. I was heartbroken last year because I was taken out almost before the race had even started. I was in third place and Roberto Streit put me in the wall before the Mandarin corner. I felt last year I had the speed to challenge Mortara for victory, but it wasn’t to be.”

So I came back this year hoping to win. I didn’t win, but after the difficult weekend I’ve had, my team ART and Mercedes have pulled through. I made a mistake behind Ericsson early in the race and there was a huge gap, so at that point I needed to really get my head down and the team were screaming down the radio - Sam push! Sam push! Sam push!

I gritted my teeth and went for it at every corner of every lap. When I overtook Marcus I was screaming down the radio, I was so fired up with adrenaline. It was fantastic. It was a really enjoyable race.” He could even spare some sympathy for team-mate Bottas. “It was a shame for Valtteri. He drove a brilliant race. He has been extremely quick all weekend, and I can only say that he must be extremely upset so I will give him a hug when I get back to the pits. What else can I say? Finishing on the podium is fantastic for me.”