Josh Buchan, 1st
“I don’t think I had a single moment to breathe from start to finish. Defending from Santi was relentless, and then as soon as he made his mistake, Ma was doing exactly the same. I’ve been struggling in Sector 1 all weekend. Strangely, some of the high-speed stuff between the walls, wasn’t an issue, but that first sector… it just didn’t click. So, I knew that if I got into the lead, that was where I would be most vulnerable, especially with these guys behind me. Once I was in front, I knew it would be very difficult for them to pass, because the car was good down the straight, but I also wasn’t going to let it go without a proper fight. They would have had to put me in the wall to take it from me, and honestly, if that’s how it was going to end, then so be it. Luckily it didn’t come to that, and the guys were very respectful. It was an excellent race from everyone, across the whole grid.”
Ma Qing Hua, 2nd
“I’m super happy to be back on the podium. It wasn’t an easy race. I had a really good start, but we don’t have the best top speed on the straight, so at Mandarin I had to sacrifice a bit of position because Josh was already inside. Then there was the incident in front of me with Santi. I managed to read it well and made the move through. After that I tried everything to catch Josh. I had the pace, especially because he was a bit slower in Sector 1, but in Sectors 3 and 4 there’s simply no proper overtaking point at Macau and the walls are just too close. I pushed as much as I could but there was no real chance to make a move. In the end, to finish P2 is a good result for everyone, and for me personally it’s very special to stand on the podium here at my home race.”
Thed Björk, 3rd
“First of all, big respect to Josh for winning the race here. Going through Mandarin flat every lap… I think he was scared, I was scared, we’re all scared! He did an amazing job, especially trying to defend from the guys behind on his first time here. And secondly, a big thank you to everyone working here at the Macau Guia Circuit. The marshals, the organisers, so many people are involved to make this place run. Every time we come here, I’m very impressed with the level of work and the passion. In the end, I’m super happy. Third in the race today and second in the championship overall. It’s been a fantastic season.”
Picture: WSC/Jun Qian Motorsport
