Nick Cassidy says he was lucky to make it to the end of the Macau Grand Prix, after a brush with the wall in the closing stages of the race.
The New Zealander was one of the surprises of the weekend as he emerged as winner Felix Rosenqvist’s main rival in the final.
But after holding off intense pressure from third-placed Lucas Auer for much of the race, the T-Sport driver eventually lost out when he damaged his car after hitting the wall.
Nevertheless, he was able to keep going to secure a podium finish on his Macau debut.
“To be third on my first weekend in Macau is a pretty good feeling,” he said. “Obviously I was a little bit disappointed because I hit the wall very hard with four laps to go.
“To be honest I didn’t know how I finished the race. I was very lucky there, but I will take it. I think we had the pace [to be second], but Felix is amazing around the place so full credit to him.”
Cassidy revealed that he also elected to take a guaranteed third place than risk it all in holding off Auer for second as he struggled with a damaged car.
“After I hit the wall quite hard, I had some strange feelings in the car,” he said. “Lucas caught up with me really quickly, and he got past into Lisboa. I got him back straight away.
“But when I saw [Roberto] Merhi was far behind, I wasn’t sure how quick I would be for the rest of the race. Once I made a mistake and Lucas was beside, I pulled back in and saved it for third. Overall though I am happy.”
