Volkswagen-powered Signature driver Edoardo Mortara has made a solid start on his return to the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix, taking a provisional third place on the grid after the first of this weekend's two qualifying sessions around the challenging street track.

In unusually cool conditions, Mortara was immediately back on the pace in the morning session and ended the 30-minute practice in a close second place. The 22-year-old French-Italian driver carried his competitiveness over into the afternoon's first qualifying but was denied a challenge for provisional pole position after a late red flag curtailed the 45-minute session in the closing minutes.

He was forced to settle for third place, having led for most of the session, but with just 0.092s separating him from the provisional pole position time it looks likely to be a closely fought battle amongst the front-runners this weekend.

All in all, though, it was a positive return to the streets of Macau and to Formula 3 action for Mortara after a year in the competitive GP2 Series. He has quickly reacquainted himself with the Volkswagen-powered Signature team and finds himself in a strong position heading into tomorrow's second qualifying session.

Edoardo Mortara
"I am really happy to be back in Macau. It is such a challenging and fun track to drive. It has been quite an encouraging first day but also a bit frustrating with both sessions interrupted with red flags.
I spent this morning's session just getting re-acclimatised to the circuit and to the Volkswagen/Signature team, but it did not take long for us to get back into a familiar rhythm. In this afternoon's first qualifying session, I was able to set quick times quite comfortably without needing to push too much, but the red flag at the end of the session stopped me from improving on my best time even if I was on a quicker lap. The weather has been unusually cool and cloudy for Macau, but this has not really affected our performance. It is an honour for me to be working again with Signature and with such a professional manufacturer as Volkswagen. We have had a technically trouble-free day and I look forward to repaying them with a top result."