2013 Cooper Tires British Formula Three International Series champion Jordan King produced a stunning first appearance in the Macau F3 Grand Prix, setting the fastest lap of the race en-route to a superb top five finish and rookie honours.
After a great campaign that yielded the British title and sixth position in the FIA European Formula 3 championship, King continued his impressive form on the legendary Guia circuit in the 60th running of the prestigious end-of-season event.
A stern introduction to the feared street circuit saw King hit the barriers in Thursday testing, but after a quick repair from the Carlin team, the Stoneleigh-based racer put his Volkswagen-powered Dallara thirteenth in the day’s qualifying session, before improving to ninth the following day.
A strong performance in the ten-lap qualification race soon after meant the BRDC SuperStar would start the fifteen-lap grand prix from seventh. After an early safety car period, King quickly worked his way up to fifth which he held to the finish, ending up less than ten seconds shy of the winner.
The second-highest Carlin finisher, King not only set the fastest lap of the race, but the fastest three laps and the quickest of the entire weekend, running as the leading rookie throughout.
“I really enjoyed my first Macau Grand Prix,” said the 19-year-old. “The race has a magical appeal and I’m very pleased with our performance. It was such a boost to beat the standard of drivers that we did, and the pace we had by the end was amazing. It was the perfect conclusion to an extremely positive first year in F3 – the icing on the cake.”
