Theodore Smart Life Racing’s Charles Leong takes Qualification Race win

Following Friday’s impressive pole position for the second year in a row, Macanese driver Charles Leong secured the best ‘seat in the house’ ahead of the 68th running of the Macau Grand Prix.

Leong had already shown experience and knowledge of the narrow streets is key, as he kicked off the Macau Grand Prix in style, setting the fastest lap time in every session so far. Despite countless yellow and red flags Leong was able to produce a stellar lap in qualifying and an even faster time during warm-up ahead of today’s qualification race.

After a 66-minute delay, due to barrier repairs at Mandarin following a heavy impact during a Macau GT Cup session, the formation lap got underway. Drama struck however for Leong’s main rival Andy Chang who experienced an issue before the grid lined-up. Not letting the chaos behind affect him, as the lights went out Leong launched into the lead of the eight-lap race. Delivering highly competitive lap-times, which in turn issued the reigning champion the fastest lap of the race, he crossed the line trouble free with a 5.4s advantage to his rivals.

Teammate Lyu Jingxi, was less fortunate in qualifying. Unable to put a lap together due to traffic and continuous flags, Lyu was denied the opportunity of a clear track which meant he'd set off from 14th. His luck changed however, proving it is possible to overtake on the challenging Guia circuit and the Chinese driver made good improvements ending up eighth respectively, which puts him in a better position ahead of the main event.

As usual it is set to be a thrilling 68th edition of the Macau Grand Prix tomorrow afternoon at 15:30 local time (GMT +8). A live stream of the event can be on the Macau Grand Prix website (www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo).

Teddy Yip of Theodore Racing

“It’s fantastic to see the Theodore banner carried at the sharp end of the field. The Macau Grand Prix holds a special significance for Theodore Racing and as a team we are incredibly proud of Charles’s performance today. We wish both Charles and Jingxi the best of luck for tomorrow where we hope our ninth Macau Grand Prix win will be added to the history books.”

Charles Leong

“Wow what a feeling! It’s great to have pole for the main Grand Prix tomorrow. I am now going to stay focused and calm as the important race is still to come. I really want to win and hold onto my crown so will do everything I can to make that happen.”