Craft-Bamboo Racing to run Porsche GT3 and GT4

21st March 2017


This season Craft-Bamboo Racing, Porsche’s official Asian technical partner team, is to enter two of the German marque’s 911 GT3 Rs and a Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR in the Blancpain GT Series Asia.

The Hong Kong-based squad claimed the TCR International Teams’ title in 2016 after also winning the GT Asia Drivers’ championship with Darryl O’Young, and sealing outright podium finishes at the Bathurst 12 Hour and FIA GT World Cup races in Australia and Macau in 2015.

Its pair of Porsches are the first 911s to be confirmed in the championship’s GT3 class, which already features full-season Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Mercedes and Audi entries.

Frank Yu and Jean-Marc Merlin have meanwhile been confirmed as sharing the GT4 driving duties.

Hong Kong racer Yu was part of the team’s line-up that finished fourth in last season’s GT Asia GT3 team standings, but makes the move to GT4 aboard the same car with which he claimed third in last season’s Dubai 24 Hours. The 53 year-old, who began racing in 2007, is also a former Malaysian Super Series GT champion and has been a GT Asia and Asian Le Mans Series GTC class runner-up.

“I really liked driving the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR after taking a podium finish in the 24 Hours of Dubai earlier this year. I am glad to be back racing with Jean-Marc Merlin, with whom I have teamed up with a number of times in endurance events. We both have driven Porsches in the past and can’t wait to take on the rest of the GT4 field come early April.”

Singapore-based Frenchman Merlin partnered Yu in a Craft-Bamboo-prepared Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 at the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour. Also known for his Porsche exploits Merlin competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Le Mans 24 Hours driving a Porsche 911 RSR. Last season he raced in the European Le Mans Series’ LMP3 class.

“I will be making the move back to Porsches again after having competed in the PCCA and 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as many historic races. The biggest challenge for me will be forgetting prototype race techniques after competing in WEC and ELMS in LMP2 and LMP3 Ligiers.”

Craft-Bamboo Racing CEO Richard Coleman added that the championship’s multi-class format had proven a major selling point.

“Our line-up of Frank Yu and Jean-Marc Merlin in the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR should prove to be very strong as the pair are hugely experienced with the manufacturer as well as top level international racing. With our soon to be revealed GT3 driver line-ups we will be aiming to take not only the GT3 title but also the GT4 championship this year as well.”