Macau GP: Chang takes fairytale win

It was Macau GP rookie Gerrard Xie that led early, his start from pole good enough that he could hold off a slipstreaming Charles Leong into Lisboa.

Behind the leaders there was early trouble for Lin Li Feng who hit the wall at Turn 1, prompting a first-lap safety car.

When the race went green again on Lap 3 Leong made a spectacular play for the lead with an ambitious move up the inside of Xie at Lisboa.

There was light contact between the pair, Xie narrowly getting through the right-hander with his lead in tact.

It was at that point Chang became a factor in the race as he powered up to the back of Leong.

After a lap of intense pressure Chang was able to charge past Leong to take over second place on the way to Lisboa on the fourth lap.

At that point Xie had built a small lead thanks to the squabble over second place, however his advantage was erased by a second safety car, courtesy of Patrick Tsang clattering into the back of Henry Lee Junior at Lisboa.

The race went green again on Lap 6, Chang tucking into Xie's slipstream through Mandarin before grabbing the lead in the Lisboa braking zone.

He then bolted away from his teenage rival, Chang able to gap by nearly three seconds in the two laps that followed.

The Macau driver then continued to push for the remainder of the race, his margin an incredible 5.9s as he crossed the line to add his name to the prestigious list of grand prix winners.

The victory followed consecutive second places for Chang behind Leong in 2020 and 2021, and means local drivers have now won the Macau Grand Prix three years in a row.

"I still can't believe I won the race," said Chang. "I had a really good car. Thanks to the team for that. Everything was perfect."

Xie capped off an impressive Macau Grand Prix debut with second place while reigning two-time winner Leong had to settle for third this time around.

"The other two drivers are very experience," said Xie. "I think I defended pretty aggressively, but I couldn't stop Andy. He was so fast."

Leong, meanwhile, was left baffled by a lack of straight-line speed.

"For the whole weekend we were struggling with pace, especially in a straight line," he said. "We aren't sure why.

"It was one of my toughest weekends. I've never had this experience when I'm slower than other drivers by more than a second. It's unbelievable. Let's see what we can do for next year."

Li Si Cheng continued to lead the way outside of the top three with fourth ahead of Jing Ze Feng and Royce Yu.

Lyu Jing Xi was seventh, Wei Chao Yin eighth, Lam Kam San ninth and Lou Duan 10th.