2012 Guia Race of Macau

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.

Macau 2012 Guia Race of Macau
Race details
Date18 November, 2012
LocationMacau
CourseGuia Circuit
6.120 kilometres (3.803 mi)
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

Background

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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

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Free Practice

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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 teammates 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

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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 teammate 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

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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

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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 later 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

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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

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Qualifying

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

Race 1

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

Race 2

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

Final championship standings

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings.

References

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  1. ^ Meissner, Johan (29 August 2012). "Engstler set to run third BMW in Asian races". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "FIA WTCC – Guia Race of Macau – Presented by SJM Provisional Entry List". Macau Grand Prix. Macau Grand Prix Committee. 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. 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. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  6. ^ "PRACTICE 1 – ROB HUFF SETS THE PACE". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  7. ^ "PRACTICE 2 – CHEVROLET DOMINATION". World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. 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. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  10. ^ Hudson, Neil (18 November 2012). "Rob Huff leads morning warm-up at Macau". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. 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.
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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