Pirelli P Zero tyres help Marciello to unique 2nd Macau GT victory

(Photo: Pirelli)

Pirelli’s return to the Macau GT event saw the tyre manufacturer support reigning GT World Challenge Europe champion Raffaele Marciello bringing his AMG-Mercedes career to an end with his second victory at the FIA GT World Cup. In doing so, he became the only driver to win the event twice, both times using Pirelli rubber. The 70^th edition of the Macau GT took place on the same weekend Pirelli was supporting Formula 1 at the Las Vegas night race and the World Rally Championship’s closing round of 2023 at Rally Japan. The GT season continues at the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi on 10 December: part of the 350 motorsport competitions that Pirelli contests each year.

Marciello, GT winner in 2019 and 2023, said: “We’ve used Pirelli tyres all year and they have always given us plenty of success. This weekend was no different, but the track was even quicker, right from the very first sessions. Tyre degradation wasn’t an issue; we’re obviously used to doing much longer stints on these tyres.” Marciello also won Saturday’s qualification race, clinching the Pirelli Pole Position Award

Matteo Braga, Pirelli circuit activity manager, said: “Having four different brands in the top four of the FIA GT World Cup underlines the adaptability of our Pirelli P Zero DHF tyres to different cars and circumstances. It’s been four years since we were last here in Macau, due to Covid-19 restrictions, and during that time we have cycled through two different generations of tyres – yet the teams were able to quickly understand how to extract the best performance from the DHF on this unique track.”

The 20 GT3 cars all used Pirelli’s P Zero DHF tyres, as run on a variety of GT cars in championships all over the world: providing direct technology transfer to the ultra high performance P Zero tyres seen on the road.

Formula 3 World Cup

The Macau GT event also hosted the Formula 3 World Cup. The race was interrupted halfway through the 15 laps by a lengthy red flag period for barrier repairs, but Hitech driver Luke Browning was the star of the weekend after winning the qualification race and dominating the action on Sunday. The Williams Driver Academy member, who finished 15^th in his rookie season of Formula 3 this year, joins an illustrious list of former Macau winners – several of whom went on to become Formula 1 champions.

The 26 Formula 3 cars used the medium-compound P Zero tyres, also seen on this year’s FIA Formula 3 Championship. These were well-suited to the rapid Macau Guia circuit, providing an ideal compromise between durability and grip throughout the 6.120-kilometre lap. “Pirelli did a really good job”, commented Browning. “It was really enjoyable to feel the grip and the medium compound was perfect for the conditions. It was a difficult race to manage with all the restarts and safety cars, but it feels truly humbling to seal this result and join the incredible list of past winners.”

Braga said: “the tyre we developed for the international championship proved to be very well-suited to the specialised demands of the Macau circuit as well, thanks also to the data collected throughout the season. We received a very warm welcome from all the fans and media here in Macau, underlining the outstanding popularity of this iconic venue, and we already look forward coming back next year.”

Pirelli at the Macau GT (Photo: Pirelli)