Get unlimited access
You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month.
The Craft-Bamboo squad that ran factory cars for Porsche in major Asian GT events over the past three seasons is forging a new relationship with Mercedes for 2019.
Craft-Bamboo Racing’s deal with Porsche has come to an end and it will now swap from the German manufacturer’s 911 GT3-R to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 for its Asian racing programmes.
It will field Mercedes in selected rounds of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the GT World Cup at Macau next November and the full Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia.
The team is switching manufacturers after three years with Porsche during which time it masterminded the marque’s two-car challenge at Macau in 2017 and ran all-factory line-ups in a solo 911 GT3-R at the Bathurst and Suzuka IGTS rounds in ’18.
Craft-Bamboo director and driver Darryl O’Young told Autosport: “We saw a lot of potential with Mercedes and AMG.
“On-track performance is important, but so too are the commercial elements – we really believe in the Mercedes brand and the way it is active in our market.”
The team, which has its head office in Hong Kong and its Asian workshops at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, will run two GT3 Mercedes in the full Blancpain series, as well as a solo Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Its IGTS programme is likely to again encompass the Bathurst 12 Hour and Suzuka 10 Hours rounds.
O’Young would not be drawn on the level of support Craft-Bamboo will receive from Mercedes for the IGTS rounds or the identity of the drivers it will run in Blancpain Asia.
The Blancpain Asia series only allows platinum or gold-ranked drivers if their are paired with a bronze-rated amateur.
Factory drivers loaned to the GruppeM Mercedes squad in 2018 included Raffaele Marciello and Maximilian Buhk.
O’Young revealed he hoped the partnership with Mercedes would enable Craft-Bamboo to re-enter the European GT racing arena.
“We have the plan to come back to GT racing in Europe and that is something we are looking to do in the future with Mercedes,” said O’Young.
Craft-Bamboo entered the 2014 World Endurance Championship with a GTE Am car run by Aston Martin Racing.
The team has workshops at Silverstone from which it has run its World Touring Car Championship and TCR International Series campaigns.
Craft-Bamboo Racing was created in 2014 on the merger of former British Touring Car Championship and GP3 entrant Bamboo and Craft Racing from Hong Kong.