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.