2012 Guia Race of Macau

Macau  2012 Guia Race of Macau
Round details
Round 12 of 12 in the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season at Guia Circuit in Macau.
Date 18 November, 2012
Location Macau
Course Guia Circuit
6.120 km
Race One
Laps 9
Pole position
Driver United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet
Time 2:29.422
Podium
First France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Second Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Third Portugal Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS
Fastest Lap
Driver Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Time 2:32.063
Race Two
Laps 9
Podium
First Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet
Second United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet
Third France Yvan Muller Chevrolet
Fastest Lap
Driver United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet
Time 2:32.422

The 2012 Guia Race of Macau was the twelfth and final round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship season and the eighth running of the Guia Race of Macau. It was held on 18 November 2012 at the Guia Circuit in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau. The race was part of the Macau Grand Prix weekend, headlined by the Formula Three event. Both races were won by Chevrolet in their final event as a works team; Yvan Muller won the first race and Alain Menu won the second race, while the team's third driver Robert Huff became series champion with second to Menu in the second race.

Background

At the previous round in the Race of China, Robert Huff had established himself as the solo championship leader. Norbert Michelisz was leading the Yokohama Independents' Trophy.

A number of local drivers joined the field for the race, Jo Merszei joined Liqui Moly Team Engstler in a naturally aspirated BMW 320si previously run in 2012 by Masaki Kano and Alex Liu.[1] Andre Couto joined Tuenti Racing Team for his annual appearance at Macau.[2] China Dragon Racing added a second Chevrolet Lacetti for Celio Alves Dias.[2] RPM Racing Team ran a BMW 320si for Mak Ka Lok while Five Auto Racing Team ran a BMW 320si for Henry Ho and a Honda Accord Euro R for Eurico de Jesus.[2] Italian former All-Japan Formula Three driver Kei Cozzolino made his maiden touring car appearance, replacing Alberto Cerqui at ROAL Motorsport.[3]

This was to be the last race for Chevrolet as a works team in the WTCC having announced their departure from the series in July.[4]

Report

Free Practice

Tiago Monteiro set the pace in the shortened Thursday test session, with Mehdi Bennani and Stefano D'Aste have initially set the pace. Cozzolino, Mak Ka Lok and Franz Engstler recovered from spins with relatively little damage, the session was however red flagged three minutes from the end when bamboo-engineering driver Darryl O'Young crashed head on into the barrier at the Mandarin Oriental corner.[5]

Huff went quickest in Free Practice 1 on Friday, having spent much of the session trading times with team mates Muller and Menu and Honda Racing Team JAS driver Monteiro. O'Young was able to participate after his car was repaired overnight, Cozzolino damaged his car colliding with a barrier and Henry Ho was once again unable to run, this time due to a gearbox failure.[6]

Huff led the Chevrolet trio in the second free practice session which distanced itself from the next nearest challenger, the Lukoil Racing SEAT León of Gabriele Tarquini, by 1.3 seconds. Damage sustained in the first free practice session meant Cozzolino did not get any running in for ROAL Motorsport, while Bennani and D'Aste had two separate near misses with the barriers.[7]

Qualifying

Having led free practice, Huff dominated qualifying to claim his fourth pole position at Macau and extend his championship lead. He set a new lap record for the circuit in doing so, beating the record previously held by team mate Menu. Muller was second and Menu was third, with Tarquini fourth and Monteiro fifth in the new Honda Civic. O'Young took the independents' pole position with sixth place just ahead of Yokohama Trophy challengers Michelisz and Pepe Oriola. Fellow trophy challenger D'Aste could only manage 11th, setting a slightly slower time in Q2 than in Q1. Fredy Barth brought out the red flags when he crashed at Police bend, the stoppage hampering Tom Coronel's effort to progress to Q2.[8] Six drivers set times slower than the 107% time in Q1, three of which had their times removed as a penalty for not reporting to the weighing bay. They were given permission to start the races from the back of the grid.[9]

Warm-Up

Pole sitter Huff led the Sunday morning warm up session with Monteiro continuing to show potential in second and championship outsider Muller third. An off at the Melco hairpin for Barth brought out the yellow flags late in the otherwise undisturbed session.[10]

Race One

Huff started on pole position but it was Muller who grabbed the lead for the first three laps while Monteiro grabbed fourth from Tarquini. A crash at Lisboa further down the field on the opening lap involving the Yokohama Trophy contenders block the track briefly, the leading six cars built a gap to the rest of the field after this. D'Aste was able to resume but was latter issued with a black and orange flag due to the damage sustained in the accident. A move by Huff at Lisboa to take the lead demoted Muller to second on lap three for a short time before the race leader collided with a barrier and broke his suspension, promoting Muller back into the lead. Muller led the rest of the race to claim his ninth victory of the season ahead of Menu and Monteiro on his first podium appearance for Honda. O'Young finished as the independent winner having started from the class pole.[11]

Race Two

Bamboo driver Alex MacDowall started from pole position on the reversed grid but a quick start by Michelisz soon put the Zengő Motorsport driver into the lead of the race. Menu made good progress from eighth and was soon up to fourth place behind Oriola, he got by the Tuenti Racing driver on the second lap. MacDowall reclaimed the lead from Michelisz but both drivers were easy targets for Menu who assumed the lead. MacDowall dropped to fourth where he remained until contact from Muller spun him into the barrier on the exit of the high speed Mandarin bend, Huff then took fourth off Muller. A long safety car period followed as work started to clear the debris from the collision, the race distance was extended and the action resumed on lap 8. Oriola out-braked himself going into Lisboa in a bid to pass Michelisz, putting them both in the barrier and bringing out the safety car for the second and final time. The race ended under the safety car with Chevrolet claiming a dominant 1–2–3 finish with Menu leading Huff and Muller. Huff secured his first World Touring Car Championship crown and Michelisz won the Yokohama Independents' Trophy despite not finishing the race.[12]

Results

Qualifying

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Q1 Q2 Points
1 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 2:30.903 2:29.422 5
2 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 2:30.950 2:30.144 4
3 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 2:31.490 2:30.488 3
4 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 2:31.868 2:30.936 2
5 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS Honda Civic S2000 TC 2:31.366 2:31.539 1
6 20 China Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 2:32.066 2:31.643
7 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 2:32.458 2:31.670
8 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 2:32.989 2:32.157
9 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 2:32.907 2:32.475
10 11 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 2:32.762 2:32.521
11 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 2:32.945 2:33.025
12 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 2:33.091 2:33.107
13 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 2:33.181
14 22 United Kingdom Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 2:33.270
15 73 Switzerland Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SEAT León WTCC Y 2:33.358
16 14 United Kingdom James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 2:34.792
17 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 2:34.969
18 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 2:35.025
19 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 2:35.180
20 66 Macau Andre Couto Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 2:35.218
21 88 Spain Fernando Monje Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 2:35.307
22 46 Italy Kei Cozzolino ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 2:39.020
23 77 Macau Jo Merszei Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320si Y 2:40.785
107% time: 2:41.466
82 Macau Henry Ho Five Auto Racing Team BMW 320si Y 2:42.170
55 Macau Celio Alves Dias China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Y 2:43.630
81 Macau Eurico de Jesus Five Auto Racing Team Honda Accord Euro R Y 2:43.816
50 Macau Felipe De Souza China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Y no time set
51 Macau Kin Veng Ng China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Cruze LT Y no time set
78 Macau Mak Ka Lok RPM Racing Team BMW 320si Y no time set

Race 1

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 9 23:08.977 2 25
2 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 9 +0.915 3 18
3 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS Honda Civic S2000 TC 9 +1.297 5 15
4 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 9 +1.967 4 12
5 20 China Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 9 +11.519 6 10
6 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 9 +55.136 13 8
7 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 9 +1:04.037 12 6
8 73 Switzerland Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SEAT León WTCC Y 9 +1:09.730 15 4
9 11 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 9 +1:16.524 10 2
10 22 United Kingdom Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 9 +1:22.194 14 1
11 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 9 +1:22.372 18
12 14 United Kingdom James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 9 +1:23.053 16
13 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 9 +1:25.822 17
14 88 Spain Fernando Monje Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 9 +1:29.347 21
15 66 Macau Andre Couto Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 9 +2:12.605 20
16 82 Macau Henry Ho Five Auto Racing Team BMW 320si Y 9 +2:19.429 24
17 77 Macau Jo Merszei Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320si Y 9 +3:23.533 23
18 50 Macau Felipe De Souza China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Y 7 +2 Laps 27
19 55 Macau Celio Alves Dias China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Y 7 +2 Laps 25
20 46 Italy Kei Cozzolino ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 7 Accident 22
21 78 Macau Mak Ka Lok RPM Racing Team BMW 320si Y 6 +3 Laps 29
Ret 51 Macau Kin Veng Ng China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Cruze LT Y 5 Suspension 28
Ret 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 4 Accident damage 1
Ret 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 4 Accident 19
NC 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 3 +6 Laps 7
Ret 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 2 Accident damage 11
Ret 81 Macau Eurico de Jesus Five Auto Racing Team Honda Accord Euro R Y 1 Accident damage 26
Ret 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 0 Collision 9
Ret 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 0 Collision 8

Race 2

Pos. No. Name Team Car C Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Switzerland Alain Menu Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 35:36.096 7 25
2 2 United Kingdom Robert Huff Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +0.320 9 18
3 1 France Yvan Muller Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 11 +0.889 8 15
4 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS Honda Civic S2000 TC 11 +9.015 5 12
5 20 China Darryl O'Young bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 11 +9.786 4 10
6 6 Germany Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 11 +10.127 11 8
7 4 Russia Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +11.024 18 6
8 73 Switzerland Fredy Barth SEAT Swiss Racing by SUNRED SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +11.399 14 4
9 22 United Kingdom Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +11.582 13 2
10 88 Spain Fernando Monje Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 11 +11.900 19 1
11 66 Macau Andre Couto Tuenti Racing SR León 1.6T 11 +12.412 18
12 14 United Kingdom James Nash Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 11 +20.496 15
13 77 Macau Jo Merszei Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320si Y 11 +20.883 20
14 50 Macau Felipe De Souza China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Y 11 +21.920 24
15 55 Macau Celio Alves Dias China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Y 11 +22.760 22
16 78 Macau Mak Ka Lok RPM Racing Team BMW 320si Y 11 +24.741 26
17 51 Macau Kin Veng Ng China Dragon Racing Chevrolet Cruze LT Y 11 +25.589 25
18 81 Macau Eurico de Jesus Five Auto Racing Team Honda Accord Euro R Y 11 +26.243 23
19 46 Italy Kei Cozzolino ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 9 +2 Laps 29
20 3 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil Racing SEAT León WTCC 9 Floor 6
21 5 Hungary Norbert Michelisz Zengő Motorsport BMW 320 TC Y 8 Collision 3
22 74 Spain Pepe Oriola Tuenti Racing SEAT León WTCC Y 8 Collision 2
23 26 Italy Stefano D'Aste Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC Y 8 Accident 10
Ret 15 Netherlands Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC 4 Radiator 12
Ret 11 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall bamboo-engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Y 3 Collision 1
Ret 23 United Kingdom Tom Chilton Team Aon Ford Focus S2000 TC 3 Collision 16
Ret 25 Morocco Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing BMW 320 TC Y 3 Collision 27
Ret 82 Macau Henry Ho Five Auto Racing Team BMW 320si Y 1 Clutch 21
DNS 7 Hong Kong Charles Ng Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Y 0 Accident damage 28

Final championship standings

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 United Kingdom Robert Huff 413
2 Switzerland Alain Menu 401
3 France Yvan Muller 393
4 Italy Gabriele Tarquini 252
5 Netherlands Tom Coronel 207

Yokohama Independents' Trophy standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Hungary Norbert Michelisz 139
2 Spain Pepe Oriola 126
3 Italy Stefano D'Aste 122
1 4 Germany Franz Engstler 114
1 5 United Kingdom Alex MacDowall 105

Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 United States Chevrolet 1025
2 Germany BMW Customer Racing Teams 650
3 Spain SEAT Racing Technology 617

References

  1. Meissner, Johan (29 August 2012). "Engstler set to run third BMW in Asian races". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "FIA WTCC – Guia Race of Macau – Presented by SJM Provisional Entry List". Macau Grand Prix. Macau Grand Prix Committee. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  3. Mills, Peter (6 November 2012). "Alberto Cerqui replaced by Kei Cozzolino for WTCC Macau". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  4. Elizalde, Pablo (4 July 2012). "Chevrolet announces it will leave the WTCC at the end of the 2012 season". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. "MONTEIRO TOPS THE FIRST SESSION IN MACAU". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  6. "PRACTICE 1 – ROB HUFF SETS THE PACE". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  7. "PRACTICE 2 – CHEVROLET DOMINATION". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  8. Auger, Matt (16 November 2012). "Huff secures fourth Macau pole". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  9. "IT'S RAINING PENALTIES ON LOCAL RACERS". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  10. Hudson, Neil (18 November 2012). "Rob Huff leads morning warm-up at Macau". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  11. Mills, Peter (18 November 2012). "Yvan Muller beats Alain Menu as Rob Huff crashes". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  12. Mills, Peter (18 November 2012). "Rob Huff is champion despite Alain Menu winning finale". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 18 November 2012.

External links

World Touring Car Championship
Previous race:
2012 FIA WTCC Race of China
2012 World Touring Car Championship season Next race:
2013 FIA WTCC Race of Italy
Previous race:
2011 Guia Race of Macau
Guia Race of Macau Next race:
2013 Guia Race of Macau
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