P3 podium finish in Fuji falls just short of clinching overall Teams’ Championship
Strong pole position start and early race lead come undone due to incidents and race stoppages
Craft-Bamboo Racing aims return to Super Taikyu in 2025
A thrilling season of the 2024 Eneos Super Taikyu Series Empowered by Bridgestone came to a close following the season finale in Fuji last weekend. Hong Kong team Craft-Bamboo Racing managed yet another pole position for the 4-hour endurance after a strong qualifying performance. Despite their best efforts, Jeffrey Lee (TPE), Jayden Ojeda (AUS), and João Paulo de Oliveira (BRA) managed to only finish in P3 in the #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3, falling short of the overall Teams’ Championship by 4.5 points.
Lee, Ojeda, and de Oliveira were in control of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 throughout the final race weekend. The trio managed to hold the lead at the start, however, the team dropped back due to several badly timed FCY’s as well as two red-flag periods during the race. The drivers aimed to make up for lost time throughout the race, but with only 56 laps completed in the 4-hour race - there wasn’t enough time to catch up. The team eventually finished the race in P3 and came home as the runners-up in the overall championship title.
Craft-Bamboo Racing participated in six out of the seven races of the season, missing only the first round in Sugo. Despite being the team’s first time in the Japanese endurance competition, Craft-Bamboo Racing had a strong season - with 3 overall pole positions, 2 wins, and 2 podium finishes.
Drivers who raced in the program this season included Jeffrey Lee (TPE), Jayden Ojeda (AUS), Dean Chen (CAN), Kakunoshin Ohta (JPN), Jiatong Liang (CHN), and João Paulo de Oliveira (BRA). All the drivers worked hard to deliver strong races throughout the season, highlighted by a surprise victory in Autopolis where perfect strategy and driving delivered the team's first win in the series. This was followed by a stellar performance by Chen, Ohta, and Ojeda in Okayama to mount a championship challenge going into the final round in Fuji.
With the 2025 Super Taikyu season in mind, the team will strive to work hard over the winter to come back stronger. Craft-Bamboo Racing would like to thank its partners J-Fly Racing, Axon, ROWE Motor Oil, Exgel Motorsport, Aspec, Hong Kong Asia Medical Group, Gravity, Evisu, and FreeM for their support throughout the entire Super Taikyu season.
Shuichi Hatakeyama
General Manager Japan | Craft-Bamboo Racing
The final race was not our race. There were too many red flags that reduced our track time. I want to thank the drivers and the team for their hard work and dedication. Without everyone on this team, none of this would have been possible. I am still very proud of this season - we started the season, just to finish the race. We kept working hard and in the end, we were fighting to win the championship title. That is an amazing evolution of the team. In my opinion, this season was a win for all of us.
Jeffrey Lee
Driver | #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3
We did our best in the final, but unfortunately on race day, we were not able to fully utilize the leading position we had on the grid. I am still proud of what we achieved during our first season at Super Taikyu and it was a great experience to drive with Craft-Bamboo Racing this year.
Jayden Ojeda
Driver | #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3
I had a great year competing with Craft-Bamboo Racing in our first season in the Super Taikyu series. It was a truly enjoyable experience driving in the Fuji 24, Okayama, and the final round back at Fuji. We showed a lot of good pace during one or two races along the way - really showed what Craft-Bamboo is capable of. A massive thank you to all our team involved for the year and all my teammates across the season.
João Paulo de Oliveira
Driver | #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3
It’s been an honor to drive for Craft-Bamboo Racing at Fuji for the final round. We had a strong pace and I have no doubts that we would’ve had a strong chance to win the race under normal racing conditions. Unfortunately with two very long interruptions and race time shortened it became a bit of a gamble. Nevertheless, it’s always a pleasure working with the team.
A huge thanks to everyone at Craft-Bamboo Racing for their hard work through the weekend and proud I could play a small part in helping the team come 2nd in the ranking standing at the last race.
Dean Chen
Driver | #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3
It definitely has been a crazy season for 2024 Super Taikyu. We originally went into the series with no expectations - since it was my first ever season racing in GT3 and we had one more amateur driver onboard compared to other teams. However, we managed to stay out of trouble for most races and we kept our heads down. At the end, we were fighting for the championship and only lost to an unlucky red flag. Thanks to my teammates, all the mechanics and engineers for the hard work.
Kakunoshin Ohta
Driver | #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3
The year I spent competing in the 2024 Super Taikyu series with Craft-Bamboo Racing was a fun one, and it was a season where we could show our speed in many situations. I participated in five races as a B driver, and we were able to record the top B driver qualifying time in four races, which I think proved the high performance of our team. We also managed to win at Autopolis, and I'm proud of my teammates, who have deepened their understanding of the car as the season has progressed. Although we missed out on the championship, I'm satisfied of our final result because everyone fought hard to the end.
Jiatong Liang
Driver | #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3
I’m very grateful for the opportunity this year to race in Japan again. The entire team and my teammates did a fantastic job this year gaining many podiums - it is a shame that I could not drive for the last two races due to scheduling conflicts. Finishing P2 overall in our first year racing in the Super Taikyu Championship is a major milestone and I believe we’ll come back stronger next year to fight for the Championship title again.
Big thanks to the entire team and sponsors for including me in Craft-Bamboo Racing’s first year participating in the Super Taikyu series.
