Wikipedia

2024 Macau Grand Prix

The 2024 Macau Grand Prix (formally the 71st Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup) was a motor race for Formula Regional cars held on the streets of Macau on 17 November 2024. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main event. The 2024 race was the 71st running of the Macau Grand Prix, the first for Formula Regional cars and the inaugural FIA FR World Cup.[1]

2024 Macau Grand Prix
Race details
Date 17 November 2024 (2024-11-17)
Official name 71st Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup
Location Guia Circuit, Macau
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 6.120 km (3.803 mi)
Distance 15 laps, 91.800 km (57.042 mi)
Weather Dry and clear
Pole position
Driver
R-ace GP
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Oliver Goethe MP Motorsport
Time 2:19.599 on lap 10
Podium
First
R-ace GP
Second
MP Motorsport
Third
KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport

Background and entry list

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The Guia Circuit, where the race will be held.

The Macau Grand Prix is a race considered by drivers as a stepping stone to higher motor racing categories such as Formula One, and is Macau's most prestigious international sporting event.[2][3] The event was made a non-championship round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship for the first time in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic caused heavy disruptions, particularly concerning entry of foreign drivers into Macau. This caused the race to be held as a domestic Formula 4 event for three years, serving as a round of the Chinese Formula 4 Championship.[4][5][6]

After a return of Formula 3 and other international series to Macau in 2023,[7] the FIA announced that the 2024 event would see a switch to Formula Regional machinery. The organizing bodies called this change a "natural consequence of the evolution of the junior single-seater landscape over the last couple of years", with Formula Regional now effectively embodying the multi-region multi-spec nature that F3 had previously been synonymous with.[8]

Entry list

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All competitors used an identical Tatuus T-318 chassis with a 1.742 L (106 cu in) turbocharged inline-4 engine developed by Autotechnica and Alfa Romeo.[9]

Team No. Driver
  MP Motorsport 1   Oliver Goethe
2   Valerio Rinicella
3   Mattia Colnaghi
  R-ace GP 4   Ugo Ugochukwu
5   Enzo Deligny
6   Tuukka Taponen
  KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 7   Noel León
8   Mari Boya
  Saintéloc Racing 14   Théophile Naël
15   Alexander Abkhazava[a]
  ART Grand Prix 16   James Wharton
17   Evan Giltaire
18   Kanato Le
  TOM'S Formula 19   Rikuto Kobayashi
20   Jin Nakamura
  Kiwi Motorsport 21   Jett Bowling
  PHM Racing 25   Rashid Al Dhaheri
26   Matteo De Palo
27   Liu Ruiqi
  SJM Theodore Prema Racing 30   Dino Beganovic
31   Freddie Slater
32   Alex Dunne
  Evans GP 33   Tiago Rodrigues
37   Cooper Webster
88   Kai Daryanani[b]
  TGM Grand Prix 53   Sota Ogawa
55   Rintaro Sato
Sources: [10]

Practice and qualifying

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Ahead of the event, the organising committee announced measures to minimise the impact of Typhoon Toraji, including potential schedule adjustments if necessary.[11] The event featured two 40-minute practice sessions: the first on Thursday morning before the initial qualifying session, and the second on Friday before the second qualifying round. The qualification process itself was divided into two 40-minute sessions, with each driver's best time from either session determining their starting position for the qualification race.

The initial practice session took place under rainy conditions on a wet track, with all drivers using wet tires. MP Motorsport's Oliver Goethe set the fastest lap at 2:41.270s, finishing over two seconds ahead of Prema Racing's Freddie Slater and Alex Dunne. KCMG/Pinnacle’s Noel León secured fourth place, while R-ace GP’s Tuukka Taponen rounded out the top five. His teammate Ugo Ugochukwu came sixth, followed by Cooper Webster from Evans GP. The remainder of the top ten included Saintéloc Racing’s Théophile Naël, the third Prema of Dino Beganovic, and R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny. The difficult conditions led to several crashes, including incidents involving Beganovic and TOM'S Formula’s Rikuto Kobayashi, which triggered the first stoppage. Other incidents included a crash by Wharton and TGM Grand Prix’s Sota Ogawa retiring with two and a half minutes left, ending the session early.[12][13]

The first qualifying session on Thursday afternoon started in clear conditions on a drying track, with drivers on wet tires. PHM Racing’s Liu Ruiqi crashed into Lisboa before any laps were completed, halting the session. It resumed with 35 minutes remaining, during which Goethe posted the fastest time at 2:03.482s, followed by Taponen and MP’s Valerio Rinicella. Kiwi Motorsport’s Jett Bowling then crashed heavily at Moorish, causing another stoppage before anyone else could set a time. As barrier repairs commenced, it began to rain, worsening track conditions. PHM’s Rashid Al Dhaheri recorded the fastest time after the stoppage, over five seconds behind Goethe. The session faced further interruptions when Evans GP’s Kai Daryanani and Tiago Rodrigues stalled at the Lisboa runoff area, prompting consecutive red flags. By that point, the rain had intensified further, with initial times after the session resumed almost 15 seconds slower than Goethe’s opening lap. With more cars then venturing out on track, times were beginning to get faster again, but no improvements were made inside the top 15 positions. Kobayashi then caused another red flag with four minutes remaining after stopping at Lisboa. The session did not restart, confirming Goethe, Taponen, and Rinicella as the top three, with Al Dhaheri, Slater, and PHM's Matteo De Palo following. Dunne, Webster, Beganovic, and Naël completed the top ten.[14][15]

The second practice session commenced on a wet track with light rain, which intensified as the session continued, leading to the fastest laps being set early on. León recorded the best time of the session at 2:35.772s, narrowly ahead of Naël by just over a tenth, while Kanato Le of ART Grand Prix secured third place. Evan Giltaire, also representing ART, finished fourth, followed by Boya, Wharton, and Taponen. Ugochukwu's lap placed him eighth, just ahead of Deligny, with Alexander Abkhazava of Saintéloc Racing completing the top ten. The session was marked by multiple interruptions as drivers tested the limits on the narrow circuit. Several cars were stopped at the Melco hairpin, causing a blockage, while Daryanani collided with the wall, necessitating a brief pause for clearance. Although all drivers managed to resume, Daryanani had another incident shortly after, resulting in further disruption. A significant crash by León at the Solitude Esses ultimately concluded the session two minutes prematurely.[16][17]

A major accident during the preceding FIA GT World Cup qualifying session caused a 45-minute delay to the second qualifying session. With conditions now clear and dry, the first qualifying session's lap times were rendered obsolete. Following the initial laps, Beganovic led with a time of 2:22.199s. Goethe was the only driver to complete a second lap, which did not improve his time, before a significant three-car collision exiting Police corner triggered a red flag. Sato crashed into the wall exiting the corner, and Dunne and Beganovic collided with Sato’s stationary car. The subsequent pile-up led to Le stalling his vehicle, ending his session. The session resumed but was quickly halted again when Taponen hit the wall at the same corner. Drivers resumed laps with 28 minutes left in the session, and Beganovic's leading time was  immediately beaten with León setting the fastest time at 2:20.190s. Goethe then improved, with Ugochukwu moving into second before Jin Nakamura of TOM'S Formula crashed at R Bend after Wharton hit him. This incident caused a nearly 30-minute red flag, extended due to necessary barrier repairs at the pit entry. Upon resumption, Ugochukwu set the fastest lap at 2:19.610, securing provisional pole position. Three further red flags followed for incidents involving Kobayashi, ART teammates Wharton and Giltaire, and Bowling, ending the session with three minutes remaining with some drivers able to set laps, but no changes to the top of the order. Ugochukwu secured pole, 0.014 seconds ahead of Goethe and León, with Deligny and Boya completing the top five. Webster, Slater, Naël, and Giltaire followed, with De Palo in tenth place.[18][19]

Qualifying classification

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Each of the driver's fastest lap times from the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold.

Final qualifying classification
Pos No. Driver Team Q1 Time Rank Q2 Time Rank Gap Grid
1 4   Ugo Ugochukwu R-ace GP 2:40.805 14 2:19.107 1 — 1
2 1   Oliver Goethe MP Motorsport 2:32.482 1 2:19.121 2 +0.014 2
3 7   Noel León KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 2:40.529 13 2:19.298 3 +0.191 3
4 5   Enzo Deligny R-ace GP 2:40.524 12 2:19.756 4 +0.649 4
5 8   Mari Boya KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 2:39.683 11 2:19.817 5 +0.710 52
6 37   Cooper Webster Evans GP 2:38.068 8 2:20.252 6 +1.145 6
7 31   Freddie Slater SJM Theodore Prema Racing 2.37:535 5 2:20.286 7 +1.179 7
8 14   Théophile Naël Saintéloc Racing 2:38.825 10 2:20.323 8 +1.216 8
9 17   Evan Giltaire ART Grand Prix 2:41.355 16 2:20.677 9 +1.570 9
10 26   Matteo De Palo PHM Racing 2.37:593 6 2:20.813 10 +1.706 10
11 16   James Wharton ART Grand Prix 2:41.253 15 2:20.842 11 +1.735 141
12 25   Rashid Al Dhaheri PHM Racing 2:37.521 4 2:21.320 12 +2.213 11
13 20   Jin Nakamura TOM'S Formula 2:42.911 19 2:21.692 13 +2.585 12
14 3   Mattia Colnaghi MP Motorsport 2:43.341 20 2:21.996 14 +2.889 13
15 30   Dino Beganovic SJM Theodore Prema Racing 2:38.211 9 2:22.199 15 +3.092 15
16 2   Valerio Rinicella MP Motorsport 2:35.234 3 2:22.291 16 +3.184 16
17 15   Alexander Abkhazava Saintéloc Racing 2:42.799 18 2:22.329 17 +3.222 17
18 32   Alex Dunne SJM Theodore Prema Racing 2.37:985 7 2:22.797 18 +3.690 18
19 53   Sota Ogawa TGM Grand Prix 2:47.193 22 2:23.508 19 +4.401 19
20 6   Tuukka Taponen R-ace GP 2:32.684 2 2:23.720 20 +4.613 20
21 33   Tiago Rodrigues Evans GP — 27 2:23.951 21 +4.844 21
22 27   Liu Ruiqi PHM Racing — 24 2:24.601 22 +5.494 22
23 19   Rikuto Kobayashi TOM'S Formula 2:50.798 23 2:24.631 23 +5.524 23
24 21   Jett Bowling Kiwi Motorsport — 25 2:24.985 24 +5.878 24
25 55   Rintaro Sato TGM Grand Prix 2:46.250 21 2:25.774 25 +6.667 25
26 88   Kai Daryanani Evans GP — 26 2:26.893 26 +7.786 26
27 18   Kanato Le ART Grand Prix 2:41.771 17 3:02.370 27 +22.664 27
Sources: [14][15][18][19]
  • ^1  – James Wharton was handed a three-place grid penalty after colliding with Jin Nakamura in the second qualifying session.
  • ^2  – Mari Boya stalled at the start of the formation lap. He started the race from the pitlane, and his grid spot was left vacant.

Qualifying race

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2024 Macau Grand Prix
Qualifying Race
Race details
Date 16 November 2024 (2024-11-16)
Distance 10 laps, 61.20 km (38.03 mi)
Weather Mixed conditions
Pole position
Driver
  •   Ugo Ugochukwu
 R-ace GP
Time 2:19.107
Fastest lap
Driver   Oliver Goethe MP Motorsport
Time 2:21.520 on lap 4
Podium
First
  •   Ugo Ugochukwu
 R-ace GP
Second
  •   Oliver Goethe
 MP Motorsport
Third
  •   Noel León
 KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport

The 10-lap qualifying race to set the main race's starting order commenced at 15.55 Macau Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on 16 November. Conditions at the start were cloudy, but dry, with the air temperature at 27 °C (80 °F). Drivers reported drops of rain on their reconnaissance laps, but all fitted slick tires. Boya stalled during the formation lap and, after attempting to regain his original grid position by overtaking multiple competitors, was forced to start from the pit lane. At the start, Goethe drew alongside Ugochukwu, while Ogawa and Taponen ran wide at Mandarin Bend and collided with the outside barrier. Ugochukwu maintained his lead into the first braking zone at Lisboa before the safety car was deployed to clear the damaged vehicles.

With eight laps remaining, the safety car withdrew, allowing Ugochukwu to make a strong restart and pull away from Goethe, while Boya was disqualified for his overtaking during the formation lap. Ugochukwu extended his lead to 1.3 seconds over Goethe during the restart, as Naël overtook Webster for sixth place. On lap five, Goethe set the fastest lap, closing to within 0.7 seconds of Ugochukwu. Slater overtook Deligny at the beginning of lap six, and Webster misjudged his braking at Lisboa, making contact with Naël and sending him into the runoff area. A second safety car was deployed following the retirement of MP's Mattia Colnaghi, and a red flag soon followed due to rainfall.

After a 15-minute break, the drivers returned to the track on mandated wet-weather tires, led by the safety car, with three laps remaining. Most of the circuit was dry, except for the heavily soaked braking zone at Lisboa corner. Race Control determined the conditions too hazardous for racing, leading to two additional laps under the safety car before the race concluded with the chequered flag. Ugochukwu, unchallenged, secured victory ahead of Goethe, with Léon, Slater, and Deligny completing the top five. Webster was penalized for hitting Naël, so De Palo, Wharton, Dhaheri, Giltaire and Beganovic rounded out the top ten.[20][21]

Final qualifying race classification
Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 4   Ugo Ugochukwu R-ace GP 10 47:40.192 1
2 1   Oliver Goethe MP Motorsport 10 +0.221 2
3 7   Noel León KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 10 +0.445 3
4 31   Freddie Slater SJM Theodore Prema Racing 10 +0.663 7
5 5   Enzo Deligny R-ace GP 10 +1.137 4
6 26   Matteo De Palo PHM Racing 10 +2.196 10
7 16   James Wharton ART Grand Prix 10 +2.581 14
8 25   Rashid Al Dhaheri PHM Racing 10 +2.792 11
9 17   Evan Giltaire ART Grand Prix 10 +3.051 9
10 30   Dino Beganovic SJM Theodore Prema Racing 10 +3.319 15
11 14   Théophile Naël Saintéloc Racing 10 +4.034 8
12 32   Alex Dunne SJM Theodore Prema Racing 10 +4.309 18
13 20   Jin Nakamura TOM'S Formula 10 +6.214 12
14 2   Valerio Rinicella MP Motorsport 10 +6.460 16
15 37   Cooper Webster Evans GP 10 +6.586 6
16 55   Rintaro Sato TGM Grand Prix 10 +6.664 25
17 33   Tiago Rodrigues Evans GP 10 +6.924 21
18 21   Jett Bowling Kiwi Motorsport 10 +7.248 24
19 18   Kanato Le ART Grand Prix 10 +7.426 27
20 88   Kai Daryanani Evans GP 10 +7.702 26
21 19   Rikuto Kobayashi TOM'S Formula 10 +9.869 23
22 27   Liu Ruiqi PHM Racing 10 +9.948 22
23 15   Alexander Abkhazava Saintéloc Racing 10 +10.242 17
Ret 3   Mattia Colnaghi MP Motorsport 5 Accident 13
Ret 53   Sota Ogawa TGM Grand Prix 0 Accident 19
Ret 6   Tuukka Taponen R-ace GP 0 Accident 20
DSQ 8   Mari Boya KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 4 Disqualified 5
Fastest Lap: Oliver Goethe, 2:21.520, 96.7 mph (155.6 km/h), on lap 4
Sources: [20][21]

Main race

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The 15-lap race began at 15:30 local time (UTC+08:00) on 19 November under clear and dry conditions, with an air temperature of 26 °C (79 °F). Due to wet patches on the track from earlier rain, Race Control ordered a safety car start. After one lap, the safety car withdrew, allowing a rolling start. Ugochukwu seized the opportunity to lead over Goethe before a major incident at the Lisboa corner. Wharton, attempting an outside pass on Deligny and De Palo, hit the outer barrier, causing Deligny to collide with Wharton's stationary car and continue moving. Rodrigues, Bowling, Le, and Daryanani were also caught in the ensuing pile-up, while Kobayashi managed to reverse and continue. Sato, who made contact while avoiding the crash, retired later that lap as the race was red-flagged.

Following a 22-minute pause, the race resumed behind the safety car with 12 laps remaining. Once the safety car exited, Ugochukwu pulled ahead of Goethe, who was defending from León. Beganovic dropped three positions at Lisboa, exiting the top ten. The safety car was deployed again when Ruiqi crashed at Police corner before another lap was completed. With eight laps left, Ugochukwu maintained his lead at the restart and widened the gap over Goethe. The order at the front remained steady, with Ugochukwu holding a 1.6-second advantage by lap eight. Rinicella brushed the wall at Fishermen's Bend but kept racing, while Ogawa struck the wall on the main straight and stopped, prompting another safety car. Naël pitted to repair his car, losing positions.

With two laps remaining, the field was released again. Nakamura, caught out by Ugochukwu's delayed acceleration, collided with another car and retired with damage. Goethe stayed close but could not mount a challenge. Ugochukwu built a 1-second lead by the final lap as Colnaghi hit the wall at Fishermen's. On the last run to Lisboa, Slater attempted to overtake León for third but braked too late and crashed. Yellow flags waved when Ugochukwu entered the final sector, allowing him to win the Macau Grand Prix without further challenge from behind.[22][23]

De Palo, Al Dhaheri and Naël were all disqualified after the race, with the former two failing the post-race technical checks and Naël judged to have received outside assistance after he stalled when he made a pit stop during the race.[24]

Final race classification
Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 4   Ugo Ugochukwu R-ace GP 15 1:06:58.505 1
2 1   Oliver Goethe MP Motorsport 15 +0.412 2
3 7   Noel León KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 15 +2.426 3
4 5   Enzo Deligny R-ace GP 15 +2.893 5
5 37   Cooper Webster Evans GP 15 +6.877 15
6 32   Alex Dunne SJM Theodore Prema Racing 15 +7.360 13
7 8   Mari Boya KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport 15 +8.006 27
8 30   Dino Beganovic SJM Theodore Prema Racing 15 +8.589 10
9 15   Alexander Abkhazava Saintéloc Racing 15 +9.660 23
10 6   Tuukka Taponen R-ace GP 15 +9.914 26
11 2   Valerio Rinicella MP Motorsport 15 +10.697 14
12 19   Rikuto Kobayashi TOM'S Formula 15 +24.901 21
13† 31   Freddie Slater SJM Theodore Prema Racing 14 + 1 lap 4
14† 3   Mattia Colnaghi MP Motorsport 13 + 2 laps 24
Ret 20   Jin Nakamura TOM'S Formula 12 Accident 12
Ret 53   Sota Ogawa TGM Grand Prix 10 Accident 25
Ret 27   Liu Ruiqi PHM Racing 3 Accident 22
Ret 16   James Wharton ART Grand Prix 1 Accident 7
Ret 17   Evan Giltaire ART Grand Prix 1 Accident 9
Ret 55   Rintaro Sato TGM Grand Prix 1 Accident damage 16
Ret 33   Tiago Rodrigues Evans GP 1 Accident 17
Ret 21   Jett Bowling Kiwi Motorsport 1 Accident 18
Ret 18   Kanato Le ART Grand Prix 1 Accident 19
Ret 88   Kai Daryanani Evans GP 1 Accident 20
DSQ 26   Matteo De Palo PHM Racing 15 Disqualified 6
DSQ 25   Rashid Al Dhaheri PHM Racing 15 Disqualified 8
DSQ 14   Théophile Naël Saintéloc Racing 15 Disqualified 11
Fastest Lap: Oliver Goethe, 2:19.599, 98.1 mph (157.8 km/h), on lap 10
Sources: [22][23]
  • † – Driver did not finish the race, but was still classified as they completed more than 85% of the race distance.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Abkhazava is Russian-Georgian, but competed under a Kazakh licence as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  2. ^ Daryanani is Indian, but competed under a British licence.

References

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  1. ^ Wood, Ida (22 May 2024). "Macau Grand Prix to run for FRegional cars from 2024 onwards". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  2. ^ Carino, JP (7 December 2007). "The Macau Grand Prix – A look back through time". AutoIndustriya.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Macau Grand Prix". Macao Government Tourism Office. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  4. ^ Wood, Ida (4 November 2020). "Charles Leong leads 17-car F4 entry list for Macau GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  5. ^ Wood, Ida (19 August 2021). "Formula 3 drops off 2021 Macau Grand Prix bill". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  6. ^ Wood, Ida (20 November 2022). "Andy Chang wins the 2022 Macau Grand Prix". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ^ Wood, Ida (5 June 2023). "Formula 3 confirmed to return to Macau for this year's grand prix". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  8. ^ "FIA FR World Cup – The latest chapter in Macau's unparalleled history". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  9. ^ Wood, Ida (12 June 2024). "FIA confirms spec chassis and engine for FRegional World Cup in Macau". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Macau Grand Prix - FIA FR World Cup Provisional Entry List" (PDF).
  11. ^ "Macau Grand Prix ensures safety by taking measures in response to weather conditions". www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  12. ^ Wood, Ida (14 November 2024). "Goethe quickest in soaking wet first Macau GP practice session". Formula Scout. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Macau Grand Prix - FIA FR World Cup: Free Practice 1" (PDF).
  14. ^ a b Wood, Ida (14 November 2024). "Goethe on provisional pole for Macau GP after topping red flag-filled Q1". Formula Scout. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Macau Grand Prix - FIA FR World Cup: Qualifying 1 Provisional Classification" (PDF).
  16. ^ "Macau Grand Prix - FIA FR World Cup: Free Practice 2 Official Final Classification" (PDF).
  17. ^ Wood, Ida (15 November 2024). "Leon pips Nael to top spot, then crashes, in FP2 at Macau GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b Wood, Ida (15 November 2024). "Ugochukwu snatches Macau GP pole from Goethe in crazy qualifying". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Macau Grand Prix - FIA FR World Cup Qualifying 2 Provisional Classification" (PDF).
  20. ^ a b Wood, Ida (16 November 2024). "Ugochukwu wins Macau GP qualification race in mixed conditions". Formula Scout. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Macau Grand Prix - FIA FR World Cup: Qualifying Race Provisional Classification" (PDF).
  22. ^ a b Wood, Ida (17 November 2024). "Ugochukwu takes the FRegional World Cup by winning the Macau GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Race Classification". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  24. ^ Wood, Ida (18 November 2024). "Three drivers get disqualified from Macau GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
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