Craft-Bamboo Racing has announced that it will enter two Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVOs in the 50th running of the Suzuka 1000km on 11–13 September, headlined by a factory-supported Pro class entry.
Behind the wheel of the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing car are one-half of this year’s ADAC Ravenol 24H Nürburgring-winning line-up, Maxime Martin and Luca Stolz. Alongside fellow Mercedes-AMG Performance Drivers Maro Engel and Fabian Schiller, they drove a Winward Racing-entered Mercedes-AMG to the overall win at the Nürburgring, fending off strong competition which included a second Winward-prepared Mercedes-AMG built around Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen.
Martin and Stolz finished seventh overall in last year’s Suzuka 1000km driving for Mercedes-AMG Team GMR, the highest-ranked Mercedes in last year’s race. Between the two, Stolz has the greater share of Suzuka 1000km success, winning the Pro-Am class in 2018 and finishing fourth overall in 2019.
Stolz and Martin are currently second and third in the Intercontinental GT Challenge Drivers’ Championship, respectively, and are poised to overtake points leader Engel – whose commitments in the DTM will prevent him and several other Mercedes-AMG Performance Drivers from taking part.
Sharing the seat with them is Honda factory driver Kakunoshin Ohta, who has driven for Craft-Bamboo Racing in the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series for the past few years, a move which has helped the 27-year-old Japanese driver attain the necessary skills to achieve his goal of competing on the world stage. Ohta is the current leader in the Japanese Super Formula Championship after eight out of 12 races. Earlier this year alongside his Super Formula and SUPER GT GT500 commitments, Ohta made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut and scored his first IMSA GTP podium at Watkins Glen.
Craft-Bamboo Racing will also enter a second Mercedes-AMG, the #28, for the trio of Kevin Tse (Wing Kin), Daisuke Yamawaki, and João Paulo de Oliveira.
A regular fixture of the British GT Championship, Tse won the Pro-Am class in last year’s Suzuka 1000km, sharing the car with Jonathan Hui and Ben Barnicoat. His new supporting cast has plenty of GT3 car racing experience around Suzuka.
Yamawaki, the 2024 SRO Japan Cup and 2020 Super Taikyu GT3 champion, will make his third start in the Suzuka 1000km, while Oliveira will make his 13th start. During his time as a Nissan GT500 factory driver, Oliveira scored five top-five finishes at the Suzuka 1000km and the pole position in the 2017 running in the race, but has yet to stand on the top step of the podium.
Both cars will wear special liveries inspired by taxis from both Japan, in the case of the #77 Pro car, and Craft-Bamboo’s home country of Hong Kong, via the #28 car.
Through its history, Mercedes-Benz has won the Suzuka 1000km three times – 1997 and 1998 with the CLK-GTR and CLK-LM, and in 2018 with the original Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Silver Arrows currently sit second in the IGTC Manufacturers’ Championship, eight points behind Porsche at the top of the table.
Images © Craft-Bamboo Racing, Gruppe C Photography, Dailysportscar.com, JEP
