Ugo Ugochukwu has won the 2024 FIA FR World Cup – and the 71st Macau Grand Prix – with a faultless performance throughout the entire weekend. The 17-year-old becomes the first driver from the USA to win this prestigious event since Bob Earl in 1981. Ugochukwu led from start to finish for R-ace GP ahead of Olivier Goethe for MP Motorsport and Noel León for KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport in a race that saw multiple safety car interventions. Since Thursday unpredictable weather has dominated proceedings in Macau, and the last remnants of unusual heavy rain still managed to have an impact on the start of the race, as damp patches on the grid meant that, to ensure sporting equity, race control elected to start the contest with a lap behind the safety car. At the end of that first lap, polesitter Ugochukwu nailed his getaway just as he had done in yesterday’s Qualifying Race, pulling a gap to second-placed Goethe and ensuring that the German driver had no opportunity to make a pass. Behind them third-placed starter Noel León went side-by-side with Freddie Slater who started fourth, but the British SJM Theodore Prema driver thought better of making an overly-optimistic move on lap one. Further down the order and in the middle of the mid-pack mêlée, runner-up in this year’s Formula Regional European Championship, James Wharton, attempted an overtake but went wide on exit and into the barrier, causing a pile up behind with Kai Daryanani, Kanato Le, Tiago Rodrigues and Jett Bowling all stuck and unfortunately out of the contest. The #17 of Evan Giltaire also clipped Wharton’s stricken car and broke his rear suspension, while the TGM Grand Prix machine of Rintaro Sato ground to a halt further around the lap. The first and only red flag of the session was thrown to allow marshals onto the circuit so they could unpick the mass of stranded cars at Lisboa, as well as the other cars stopped at various points around the 6.12km circuit. The race resumed behind the safety car at 15:57 local time, and Ugochukwu delivered his second superb restart of what would turn out to be many during the race. Goethe behind was under pressure from León and Slater, but the drivers all held station in the top order.
Ugochukwu Wins 2024 FIA FR World Cup with Faultless Weekend
