McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu has won the Macau Grand Prix after a race that featured a red flag and five safety car periods.
Ugochukwu led every lap and managed every restart of the chaotic contest perfectly to mirror his success in Saturday's qualifying race.
The Formula Regional World Cup race began behind the safety car as the Guia circuit still featured some damp patches after heavy rain earlier in the morning, despite the sun having finally broken out.
Green flags flew after one lap but it was almost straightaway that the race was stopped after a pile-up at Lisboa.
ART driver James Wharton tried an optimistic move on Matteo de Palo at Lisboa for sixth but ran out of road and crashed into the barriers.
With his car partly blocking the track, a whole host of other drivers cannoned into Wharton's machine and the red flags were flying once again - having appeared 12 times during the two qualifying sessions.
Ugochukwu managed the restart perfectly and this time it was second-placed Oliver Goethe who came under threat from Noel Leon although the Red Bull Junior was able to stay ahead.
The safety car then reappeared on the fifth lap after Ruiqi Liu hit the wall at Police.
Ugochukwu didn't get quite such a good restart upon the resumption on lap eight of 15 but was still able to keep the lead.
He then proceeded to pull away over the next couple of laps, stretching his advantage over Goethe to two seconds before yet another caution, this time caused by Sota Ogawa hitting the wall at the first corner.
By the time his car was cleared, there were just two laps remaining and, once again, Ugochukwu was able to keep Goethe at arm's length to become the first American winner of the Macau GP in over 40 years.
Goethe got closest to his rival on the final restart but was never able to launch an attack and had to settle for second, while Leon completed the podium.
Prema's Italian Formula 4 champion Freddie Slater had repeatedly challenged Leon on the outside of Lisboa during the race and attempted a move on the inside on the final lap.
And, although he got down the inside of the KCMG by Pinnacle Motorsport driver, Slater was unable to make the corner and instead clattered into the barriers, meaning the race finished under caution.
Slater's exit meant Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP) made it two Red Bull Juniors in the top four, while de Palo and his PHM Racing team-mate Rashid Al Dhaheri rounded out the top six.
Macau GP result
|
 |
