From Hypercars and world circuits to GT cars and the ultimate street racing challenge – WEC top class racers on Macau experience

The entry list for this weekend’s FIA GT World Cup, which co-headlines the 71st running of the Macau Grand Prix along with the FIA FR World Cup, features a plethora of FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class regulars, who have shared their views on the differences between their full-time drives and the challenge of the weekend that lies ahead

The seventh edition of the FIA GT World Cup enjoys arguably the strongest entry in the history of the event held annually on the streets of Macau. Out of 23 drivers, 16 are platinum-ranked, which translates to nearly 70% of the grid being top-level sportscars professionals. Out of these 16, 10 have competed in the FIA WEC this season, with eight representing the Hypercar class, which is the pinnacle of endurance racing.

Less than two weeks removed from the 2024 FIA WEC season finale, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, WEC Hypercar class racers face the prospect of rapid recalibration to what is a drastically different challenge to what they been used to over the course of the eight-round season in the world’s premier endurance racing series.

The Herman Tilke-designed Bahrain International Circuit features vast run-off areas and gravel traps, while the tight and twisty layout in Macau is confined by guardrails on each side of the 6.12-kilometre Guia Circuit – the two couldn’t be further apart. The same can be said when comparing the purebred high-downforce, hybrid-powered Hypercar prototypes with the much heavier production car-based GT3 racers that rely far more on mechanical grip and will be used in this weekend’s FIA GT World Cup.

The newly-crowned Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Champion, Laurens Vanthoor is looking forward to finish off his 2024 racing season on a high, eyeing success in the world’s most prestigious sprint for GT3 machinery.

“I do like the idea of winning a World Championship in a Hypercar and a World Cup in a GT. That could be something very special. I love Macau and I love this race” admits the Belgian.

“You have drivers who drive in a GT car all year compared with me or the other Hypercar drivers, but I don’t see it as an issue. The biggest difference is that the car is a lot less complicated. There’s no hybrid, a lot less systems and so on. In the end it’s a car with pedals, steering wheel, four wheels and engine. You just need to handle it the best you can,” he concludes, playing the challenge down.

One GT3 specialist who’s relatively new to Hypercar competition is Mercedes-AMG’s Jules Gounon who made four FIA WEC outings with Alpine Endurance Team this year, with his best finish being fourth place in Bahrain’s season finale.

The three-time Bathurst 12 Hours winner behind the wheel of a GT3 car finds the two types of cars vastly different.

“For me it’s always easier to go back to GT, but every time I go from GT to a Hypercar, it’s a big step that takes a few laps to get back to speed,” admits the 29-year-old.

“Driving wise, it’s the brakes,” he identifies the biggest difference between the two. “With ABS you need to be very aggressive on the pedal, putting over 130 bars of pressure, whereas in the Hypercar you put 70 or 80 bars. With ABS you can do pretty much what you want and in the Hypercar you need to be very single-seater style,” he explains.

The Andorra resident also praised the challenge represented by the Guia Circuit. “When you do a quali lap in Hypercar they ask you to do one push, one cool, one push [lap]. Here you do it because you have to calm down after flirting with the walls. The track is so tight, you can’t make any mistake. I think that’s why we have such a depth in the field. It’s a place that can define great drivers.”

Ferrari increased its Macau presence from two to three cars for this year’s edition of the FIA GT World Cup, with its effort headlined by this year’s overall winner of the 24 Horus of Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco, who returns to the Guia Circuit for the first time in a decade, having previous competed here in Formula 3.

The Italian spent the bulk of his career driving high downforce cars but has also proven to be a force to be reckoned with regardless of the machinery at his disposal and is expected to be among the front-runners this weekend.

“The car is a bit different,” admits the Italian. “In the Hypercar you have a bit more downforce, so you have better feeling in medium and high-speed corners.”

“When I switch from the Hypercar to GT during the season was OK, so I’ll take a bit of time, but I think it’ll be OK,” he assures.

Returning for the second time behind the wheel of a BMW is Sheldon van der Linde. Unlike in the previous years, this year the South African is part of the Bavarian manufacturer’s Hypercar class effort, which, in his own words, makes his FIA GT World Cup outing more challenging than in the past.

“Normally you have a quite a long and extensive test programme before the race to try to prepare yourself in a GT3 car, which hasn’t been the case for me this year,” reveals the South African.

“Last time I was in a race car was in Bahrain [in a Hypercar]. It’s going to be a big challenge for me. I’ve never been in this situation before, but it’s not only me, but a few others as well,” he adds.

Speaking of the differences between the two types of cars, he says: “I think it’s the weight that makes the biggest difference. You feel that the car is a lot bigger, everything happens like in slow motion. You have a lot more time to think of what you’re doing, which is an advantage, but at the same time you can’t overdrive the car – you have to break earlier, you have to accelerate later, so it’s a very different driving style and mindset.”

Last but not least, the most decorated Macau racer, Edoardo Mortara who triumphed here an impressive seven times across different competitions, arrived to the Guia Circuit paddock off the back of the FIA Formula E pre-season test, preceded by Bahrain’s WEC season finale, meaning that he is set to drive a third different car in as many weeks.

“I was never really a GT specialist,” admits the Swiss racer. “This is pretty much the only race I do in GT every year. It’s clearly quite tough to jump from one car to another, but what’s helping me is that here knowing the track is helping you quite a bit, but it’s definitely challenging for me to adapt to this car and driving it around this track.”

The other Hypercar class racers aiming for the FIA GT World Cup this weekend include the likes of WEC’s youngest-ever race winner, Yifey Ye, two-time FIA GT World Cup winner Raffaele Marciello and his BMW stablemate Dries Vanthoor.

Augusto Farfus and Daniel Juncadella are also FIA WEC regulars, although in LMGT3 class, which should make this weekend’s challenge a bit more straightforward for them.