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| The start - Kunimoto (R) beats Mortara (L) on the drag into turn 1 |
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| Keisuke Kunimoto in the No. 2 on his way to victory |
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| Kunimoto punches air after crossing finish line |
Japan’s Keisuke Kunimoto took a surprise victory in the Windsor Arch Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix on Sunday as his TOM’S team took their second consecutive win in the blue riband event.
Kunimoto, making his first appearance in Macau, got away better than pole position man Edoardo Mortara from second spot on the grid – and managed to fight off his rival all the way down to Lisboa Bend.
Behind the leading duo, however, there was chaos as Roberto Streit collided with Sam Bird as he tried to defend the position. Streit speared into the barriers on the right hand side of the track before spinning across the circuit.
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| Macau Circuit |
The Safety Car was called out to allow officials to retrieve the two stricken cars, and at the restart on lap three Kunimoto was able to maintain his advantage – as Mortara briefly hit trouble.
The Italian had locked up under braking for Lisboa on lap four, and the incident allowed Daniel Campos-Hull and Jaime Alguersuari past him. Mortara was able to recover third from Campos-Hull on lap six, and then moved up to second when Alguersuari was handed a drive-through penalty for jumping the start.
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| Keisuke Kunimoto celebrates |
Mortara then began closing down on Kunimoto’s lead before another Safety Car period on lap eight, after Robert Merhi had crashed heavily at R Bend.
At the restart on lap 10, Kunimoto managed to edge clear – and it all went wrong for Mortara when he hit the wall in the hill section and slightly damaged his car.
Although able to continue and trim the gap to Kunimoto, he could not get close enough to launch a challenge for the lead and eventually finished 1.7 seconds behind. Brendon Hartley finished third, having started 20th but benefited from a number of incidents in the race that moved him up the field.
Speaking about his win, Kunimoto said: “I cannot believe this result, but my TOM’S team is the best in the world and that is why I could get on top of the podium.”
RACE CLASSIFICATION
| POS |
NO |
DRIVER |
NAT |
TEAM |
TIME |
LAPS |
GAP |
BEST |
| 1 |
2 |
Keisuke KUNIMOTO |
JPN |
Tom's |
41:01.864 |
15 |
|
2:12.930 |
| 2 |
7 |
Edoardo MORTARA |
ITA |
Signature Plus |
41:03.574 |
15 |
1.710 |
2:12.929 |
| 3 |
5 |
Brendon HARTLEY |
NZL |
Carlin Motorsport |
41:05.870 |
15 |
4.006 |
2:12.565 |
| 4 |
9 |
Mika MAKI |
FIN |
Signature Plus |
41:10.306 |
15 |
8.442 |
2:13.577 |
| 5 |
16 |
Renger van der ZANDE |
NED |
Prema Powerteam |
41:12.140 |
15 |
10.276 |
2:13.693 |
| 6 |
30 |
Laurens VANTHOOR |
BEL |
RC Motorsport |
41:14.839 |
15 |
12.975 |
2:14.044 |
| 7 |
3 |
Oliver TURVEY |
GBR |
Carlin Motorsport |
41:14.998 |
15 |
13.134 |
2:12.943 |
| 8 |
19 |
Walter GRUBMULLER |
AUT |
Hitech Racing |
41:16.559 |
15 |
14.695 |
2:14.502 |
| 9 |
14 |
Jules BIANCHI |
FRA |
ART Grand Prix |
41:20.589 |
15 |
18.725 |
2:14.054 |
| 10 |
4 |
Jaime ALGUERSUARI |
ESP |
Carlin Motorsport |
41:22.665 |
15 |
20.801 |
2:14.228 |
| 11 |
23 |
Jon LANCASTER |
GBR |
Manor Motorsport |
41:22.762 |
15 |
20.898 |
2:15.550 |
| 12 |
15 |
James JAKES |
GBR |
ART Grand Prix |
41:23.282 |
15 |
21.418 |
2:14.413 |
| 13 |
8 |
CHENG Cong Fu |
CHN |
Signature Plus |
41:24.268 |
15 |
22.404 |
2:14.760 |
| 14 |
18 |
Max CHILTON |
GBR |
Hitech Racing |
41:24.468 |
15 |
22.604 |
2:14.933 |
| 15 |
24 |
Kei COZZOLINO |
ITA |
Now Motor Sports |
41:25.134 |
15 |
23.270 |
2:14.035 |
| 16 |
22 |
Kazuya OSHIMA |
JPN |
Manor Motorsport |
41:25.794 |
15 |
23.930 |
2:14.322 |
| 17 |
28 |
Daniel CAMPOS-HULL |
ESP |
HBR Motorsport |
41:26.861 |
15 |
24.997 |
2:13.754 |
| 18 |
10 |
Atte MUSTONEN |
FIN |
Raikkonen-Robertson Racing |
41:35.608 |
15 |
33.744 |
2:15.457 |
| 19 |
31 |
Nicola de MARCO |
ITA |
RC Motorsport |
41:48.391 |
15 |
46.527 |
2:18.707 |
| 20 |
12 |
Michael HO |
MAC |
Raikkonen-Robertson Racing |
41:53.603 |
15 |
51.739 |
2:19.337 |
|
|
Not Classified |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17 |
Stefano COLETTI |
MON |
Prema Powerteam |
32:19.086 |
11 |
D.N.F. |
2:14.104 |
|
29 |
Basil SHAABAN |
LEB |
HBR Motorsport |
30:08.333 |
10 |
D.N.F. |
2:15.835 |
|
1 |
Carlo VAN DAM |
NED |
Tom's |
19:45.021 |
7 |
D.N.F. |
2:14.741 |
|
20 |
Roberto MERHI |
ESP |
Hitech Racing |
17:29.564 |
6 |
D.N.F. |
2:14.917 |
|
26 |
Massaki MATSUSHITA |
JPN |
PTRS by Ombra |
19:10.932 |
6 |
D.N.F. |
2:19.827 |
|
27 |
James WINSLOW |
GBR |
Ombra Racing |
15:30.567 |
5 |
D.N.F. |
2:17.414 |
|
25 |
Koki SAGA |
JPN |
Le Beausset Motorsports |
8:34.612 |
2 |
D.N.F. |
3:55.447 |
|
6 |
Marcus ERICSSON |
SWE |
Carlin Motorsport |
|
0 |
D.N.F. |
|
|
11 |
Roberto STREIT |
BRA |
Raikkonen-Robertson Racing |
|
0 |
D.N.F. |
|
|
21 |
Sam BIRD |
GBR |
Manor Motorsport |
|
0 |
D.N.F. |
|
|
|
Fastest Lap |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Brendon HARTLEY |
|
Carlin Motorsport |
2:12.565 |
15 |
103.27mph |
|
