Craft Bamboo Confirm Pro Class AMG Effort
Bathurst 12 Hour regulars Craft-Bamboo Racing will return for a sixth attempt at claiming victory on Mount Panorama.
The Hong Kong-based team has entered a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the February 3-5 event and will confirm drivers, sponsor and livery closer to the event but have confirmed their intent to contest the Pro class, for GT3 cars with professional driving squads.
Craft-Bamboo challenged for victory in the 2022 race, with drivers Maro Engel, Daniel Juncadella and Kevin Tse finishing just eight seconds behind the winners. It was a remarkable comeback for the team who failed to qualify and started last after having to undergo an engine change on Saturday.
Despite starting from the back, the team led the race at the half-way point and contended for the win right to the chequered flag.
It was the team’s best Bathurst result amidst a string of impressive performances at Mount Panorama by the international squad.
They finished third on their debut in 2015 with Aston Martin, before returning with a Porsche in 2018 to finish fifth.
After qualifying on the front row in 2019, Craft Bamboo’s first Bathurst in a Mercedes-AMG product ended in a non-finish after damage caused overheating issues.
A strong rebound in 2020 saw them qualify second, end the shootout in sixth position and finish the race fifth.
Their 2022 result came as part of a Mercedes-AMG lockout of the podium, the first time that has occurred in Bathurst 12 Hour history.
Last year, the team claimed outright victory for Mercedes-AMG at the Indy 8 Hour Intercontinental GT Challenge event in October, followed shortly by a win at the Macau Grand Prix GT event in November with Engel behind the wheel.
Darryl O’Young, Team Director, Craft-Bamboo Racing: “The Bathurst 12 Hour has a special place in our hearts – which is why, despite all the challenges in 2022, we made the trip over to compete in this iconic event. We have come close so many times, but have yet to take the win here in Bathurst as a team. We have worked hard on the preparation for this year’s event, taking all the years of experience here to try and use that to our advantage. This year’s race will have a lot of strong competition, so we will have to be sharp to have a chance at the outright victory.”
Grove Racing Confirm de Pasquale
GROVE RACING has confirmed their return to the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour, their Bausele Pro-Am class entry confirmed to include Supercars ace, Anton de Pasquale.
The Dick Johnson Racing driver will share a Porsche GT3R with Stephen and Brenton Grove as the team shoots for their sixth Bathurst 12 Hour class win.
Grove Racing have won their class on five occasions at Mount Panorama, including taking the Pro-Am class win in 2020.
De Pasquale will join the Grove team, with Le Mans winner Earl Bamber, at the upcoming Dubai 24 Hour before tackling the Mountain on February 3/5.
It will mark the Victorian’s third entry to the race, making his debut in 2019 in a MARC Cars Australia entry that ultimately failed to finish.
He returned in 2020 driving a Mercedes AMG GT3 with Yasser Shahin, Sam Shahin and Nick Foster, however, the car was badly damaged in an accident on the bruising Saturday of the event and failed to start.
The Grove team will once again partner with Earl Bamber Motorsport for their Bathurst campaign.
“We love racing the 12 Hour, it’s a demanding race and you need to have the best team behind you. Bathurst is one of those tracks you do,” Stephen Grove said.
“Whatever you can to race at and the 12 Hour is one of the best races on the calendar. To do the race with a strong crew is exciting. We’re bringing together our Supercar and GT team as well as EBM so I think we should be covered!
“Anton’s an exceptionally fast driver with a strong endurance background so we believe we have a solid line-up to bring home some great results.”
Added Brenton Grove: “We’ve tried to focus more and more on endurance racing in recent times and that’s one of the most exciting parts about the event. Coming off Dubai we should be quite well prepared to take on the field at Bathurst.
“It’s an incredibly competitive race so we need to make sure we’re on the front foot!
“It will be a challenging race, however, we’re extremely excited for it and having Anton with us, with his experience in endurance will be another advantage that we hope to turn into a victory.”
PremiAir Racing And Schumacher Motorsport Set To Combine
REPCO Supercars Championship team PremiAir Racing will partner with Schumacher Motorsport to enter the 2023 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.
The team say their entry will be ‘battling for outright honours’, while Lubricant brand Fuchs will be the major partner.
Other details, including the full driving roster, are expected to be announced early next week.
The February 3/5 event will mark PremiAir Racing’s debut in the world of GT3 competition against what is shaping as a hugely competitive field for Australia’s International Enduro.
Partnering with Schumacher Motorsport gives the team access to a current-generation Audi R8 LMS Evo, the car recently upgraded to current specification by owner Brad Schumacher late last season.
There, the Bathurst privateer teamed with Tim Slade to finish runner-up in the three-hour GT World Challenge Australia endurance race at Mount Panorama last November.
The Audi team pushed the winning Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG GT3 hard all race and only narrowly missed out on claiming victory.
PremiAir Racing entered Supercars competition in 2022 with a two-car team and will field a pair of Chevrolet Camaros for Tim Slade and James Golding in 2023.
The team is also a competitive force in the Australian Top Fuel Championship, and will be in action at the ‘New Year Nitro’ event this weekend at Willowbank Raceway in Queensland.
Schumacher has three Bathurst 12 Hour starts to his credit, including teaming with the factory-supported Audi Customer Sport Racing team in 2022.
Sharing the #74 Audi R8 LMS with Kelvin van der Linde and Nathanael Berthon, the car started second and was a contender early before dropping from the lead lap and finishing fourth.
