Craft-Bamboo Racing, Porsche’s Official Technical Partner Team in Asia, will return to Blancpain GT Series Asia in 2018 for a renewed assault on both the championship’s GT3 and GT4 class titles.
The team will again field three entries – two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs and a single Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR – at each of the series’ six pan-continental events, the first of which takes place at Sepang in Malaysia on April 14/15.
The same combination proved very successful in 2017 when Craft-Bamboo claimed podiums and victories in both classes. Indeed, its GT4 pairing of Jean-Marc Merlin and Frank Yu won five times en route to the inaugural GT4 Drivers’ title, while team director and driver Darryl O’Young shared victory with Marvin Dienst at a rain-lashed Shanghai.
That was just one of four consecutive outright podiums achieved over the latter half of 2017, which ultimately resulted in the Hong Kong-based outfit finishing fourth in the final GT3 Teams’ standings. Devon Modell was seventh in the Drivers’ championship despite missing the opening round of the season, whilst O’Young followed closely behind in eighth after also sealing Porsche’s maiden Blancpain GT Series Asia GT3 pole.
The team now expects to make further gains with Porsche’s 911 GT3 R during the off-season, with fresh updates from Porsche Motorsport in the pipeline.
Craft-Bamboo Racing are also the first team to renew their Blancpain GT Series Asia programme, which emphasizes their commitment to the SRO-run championship. With Craft-Bamboo’s proven history of success and winning partnership with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, the team is all set to take the fight to the region’s top GT teams and drivers once again.
The squad will spend its winter finalising driver line-ups for both classes as well as exploring the possibility of entering a second Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR before the season opener in April.
Darryl O’Young, Director of Craft-Bamboo Racing:
“We are delighted to announce that Craft-Bamboo Racing will continue to compete in Blancpain GT Series Asia next season. The championship proved itself to be a strong and stable platform during its inaugural season, and produced some of the best GT racing Asia has seen in recent years. We expect a steady growth for the series in 2018 as a natural progression following a great first season in Asia. Porsche Motorsport has worked hard on the development of both its GT3 and GT4 cars, and we have high expectations to challenge for the championship in GT3 and defend our GT4 crown. We will prepare a test programme and focus on securing strong driver line-ups over the winter in order to give the team the best chance of title success in 2018.”
Benjamin Franassovici, Blancpain GT Series Asia General Manager:
“To have a team like Craft-Bamboo Racing, with all the success it has enjoyed across Asia, confirm their plans so soon after our inaugural campaign represents a wonderful validation of what we achieved in Year 1. However, just like them, we have no intention of resting on our laurels and are looking forward to an even bigger and better 2018 season. Craft-Bamboo’s run of GT3 podiums, which culminated in victory for Darryl at Shanghai, and of course the team’s GT4 title with Jean-Marc and Frank, suggests they’ll be strong contenders in both classes once again next season.”
2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia Schedule
April 14/15: Sepang, Malaysia
May 12/13: Chang International Circuit, Thailand
June 30/July 1: Suzuka, Japan
July 21/22: Fuji, Japan
September 22/23: Shanghai, China
October 13/14: Zhejiang, China
