Tempo by Absolute Racing Shows Strong Pace at Macau

Tempo by Absolute Racing demonstrated strong pace at the 72nd Macau Grand Prix, though the final results in the Macau GT Cup - FIA GT World Cup failed to reflect the team's potential. Laurens Vanthoor secured a ninth-place finish in the Main Race, while a promising weekend for teammate Alessio Picariello ended in early retirement.

The team's distinctive blue Porsches made an immediate impact, capturing the attention of fans from the outset. The package proved competitive instantly too, with Laurens Vanthoor setting the fastest time in Thursday's first free practice session. Unfortunately, the Belgian’s day ended early after an encounter with the barriers at Mandarin Bend. Alessio Picariello seamlessly maintained the team's strong performance, stepping up to set the best lap time of the day in the second session.

The Tempo by Absolute Racing crew undertook a monumental repair effort to rebuild Vanthoor’s car for the Qualification Race on Friday. Despite this herculean work, the #992 Porsche was not at its optimum, yet Vanthoor persevered to qualify 11th. Meanwhile, Picariello excelled in the sister #911 car, advancing to the Q2 ‘shootout’ and securing a stellar third on the grid as the highest-placed Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customer racing entry.

Picariello’s performance in Saturday’s Qualification Race was a masterclass in defensive driving. Starting from the second row, he expertly defended his position into Lisboa against rivals with superior straight-line speed. The Belgian withstood intense pressure throughout the 12-lap contest, even mounting attacks for second place. He held firm to secure his and Absolute Racing’s first Macau GT Cup podium since 2023, a landmark result for the team.

For Laurens Vanthoor, the Qualification Race was a battle for recovery. Starting 11th, he was delayed at the first corner and could only manage to finish the race in the same position.

The team’s fortunes reversed dramatically at the start of Sunday’s Main Race. Picariello’s podium hopes ended on the opening lap after slight contact with a rival at Mandarin Bend sent the #911 car into the barriers, prematurely concluding a brilliantly driven weekend.

For Vanthoor, the first lap was equally pivotal; forced to brake heavily to avoid a multi-car incident at Turn 1, he was hit from behind. The Belgian driver later made a passing attempt into Lisboa, but a misjudged braking point cost him two positions. He ultimately brought the #992 Porsche home in ninth place, struggling with a car that had been compromised from the opening-lap contact.

Despite the setbacks, the raw pace shown throughout the weekend provides a strong foundation for Tempo by Absolute Racing to build upon for future campaigns at Macau’s Circuito da Guia.

A very disappointing ending, but no regrets for me. I did what I had to do. I knew I had to try to stay in front of BMW if I wanted a chance for a podium. Unfortunately, we had a very light touch in turn one, and I completely lost the car. I couldn’t do anything, I was a passenger. No hard feelings towards the BMW because he did what he had to do. But, yes, at the end I was the unlucky one. I’m disappointed for the team because they had two very strong cars this weekend, and they deserved more than this. But, once again, we showed that we were one of the strongest, and we will try again.

Today's race was a summary of the weekend. I had to avoid a crash in T1 and then I was hit very hard in the rear, which damaged the rear of the car a lot already. The car wasn’t 100%, so it was less again. I tried to move it to restart, but it didn’t work out. We could have maybe finished fifth, but in Macau, finishing ninth or fifth doesn’t really matter. It was not a good weekend, but that’s the way it is.