Final lap joy and heartache for BSEM at Macau GP

Without any Aston Martin Racing GT3 customer team participation again in this years 66th running of the Macau Grand Prix, brand honours were left to the Chinese based BSEM team and their two AMR Vantage GT4's in the supporting Sun-city Group Greater Bay Area GT Cup race today.

Run for drivers with a strict amateur racing licence, David Pun was the highest placed AMR with a P4 start aboard his #19 Evisu liveried car just ahead of Alex Chang in his brand new #39 car in P4.


Running a bizarre second formation lap ahead of this mornings twelve lap race, both AMR runners made short thrift of the Ginetta GT4 car just ahead of them on the starting grid to move up a position each as the pace setting Mercedes GT4's made off around the twisty street circuit of Macau.

As the Mercedes pulled a gap to the chasing Pun, Chang soon came under some intense pressure from the KTM X-Bow behind as he battled for fourth for the next two laps. Fortunately for Chang, contact at turn 22 between one of the Lotus's and another Ginetta brought out the first Safety Car to recover the stranded Lotus as the Ginetta crabbed itself into pit lane.

Loosing three laps to that delay it at least gave Chang a break from the relentless onslaught from the X-bow and helped him save his tyres for the mad dash to the end upon the imminent restart and sure enough, as soon as the race went back to green it looked like the X-Bow had taken the position going into Lisboa had it not been for the fact that Chang's positioning on track actually prevented him from turning into the ninety degree right and had to make for the escape road instead.

With the KTM out of the way, that allowed Chang to chase down Pun who was running a 'quiet' race still in P3 as the two leading Mercedes clearly had too much speed for him to catch yet alone pass.


Just as the leaders entered into their final lap of the race however, disaster struck the #19 car of Pun as he understeered out of the final corner and into the tyre wall protected barrier on the outside of the circuit, spinning him around and ripping off the outside front wheel in the process. He was out on the spot but fortunately otherwise OK.

Lucky to avoid Pun's spinning car, Chang had the pace and skill to hold off the now closer attentions of the Ginetta that had originally started the race in P3 to eventually take the final step of the podium in his first competitive race in the new Vantage GT4!


Great job by him and another well deserved auditioning podium for a Vantage GT4 driver.

Our attentions now turn to South Africa for the final round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge from Kyalami next weekend.

Photo credits - Evisu Racing / Macau GP