Today again was a glorious day of racing with perfect weather for the Grand Prix of Macau. Again we were with our local Macanese hero Rodolfo Avila today, who was very optimistic and having high hopes of gaining a much better grid position for tomorrows Formula Three Macau Grand Prix.

Rodolfo Avila getting ready for qualifying session

The conditions for the qualifying race were perfect, although a little too hot for the slippery track, meaning tyre pressure was an important part of race tactics today. Rodolfo was starting from 28th position on the grid.
Rodolfo at the grid for the qualifying race

Oliver Jarvis has taken victory in the qualifying race for the Macau Grand Prix after coming out on top of a race long battle with British F3 International Series title winner Marko Asmer.

Rodolfo Avila had a great start and despite a few incidents along the way manage to slowly better his position to 17th on the grid for tomorrows race. He still was not quite happy with the set-up of his car, so he will work with his tea tonight to fulfill his goal to finish as Macau’s top driver in the Grand Prix of Macau. His team mate Marco van Dam stalled at the start of qualifying, but still managed to hold on 14th position on the grid.

In a race that was red-flagged following a number of incidents, Jarvis took victory when the result was called at the completion of seven laps, the Team Reckless Tom’s man finishing less than two seconds ahead of Asmer and fellow Tom’s driver Kazuya Oshima who completed the podium.

As is the norm in Macau, there was drama at the start with a multi-car incident coming on the run down to Lisboa that eliminated front-runners Sebastien Buemi and Edoardo Mortara from the race and delayed a number of other runners. Jarvis meanwhile had lost the lead at the start and was following Asmer when the Safety Car was deployed to remove the Signature Plus car of Esteban Guerrieri — which had avoided the first corner incident only to go off later round the lap.

However, two incidents in as many laps — one involving Nico Hulkenberg and Bruno Senna and one including Atte Mustonen — led to the race being halted and the result counted back to lap seven, giving Jarvis victory.

With thanks to Rodolfo Avila and the HBR Racing Team