2019 is marking another manufacturer change for CRAFT Bamboo Racing, as the team led by Frank Yu left Porsche to race with Mercedes, and another full season effort Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia will be one of the commitments for the year, with drivers and class confirmed for their Mercedes AMG GT3.
This entry will compete in the Silver Cup class, so this part of the work doesn’t change as the Hong Kong team focused in this class in GT3 spec machinery since the debut Blancpain GT Asia season in 2017, but Darryl O’Young will have the company of Danish ace Christina Nielsen for the 2019 season.
O’Young simply continues his long-time driving commitments in CRAFT Bamboo despite also having a managerial role on it, but he obviously wants to recover from a lackluster 2018 season where his best result was a fifth place, with most of the series being spent in the middle pack after a 2017 season that saw even a win come at Shanghai. Although he was impressed with his first contact with the Mercedes AMG GT3, he puts the competition in high regard and hopes that Nielsen can help him being on the top positions.
Christina Nielsen is a driver of multiple abilities and a proven race winner and trophy lifter, especially when it comes to GT3 racing, thanks to her period at Scuderia Corsa in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
Nielsen basically got busy for the whole year recently, splitting her commitments between North America, Europe and Asia, driving the Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 in IMSA, and being confirmed in one of the Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 for Blancpain GT and the CRAFT Bamboo drive in Asia. In fact, she already had some seat time in the AMG GT3 with a participation at the Bathurst 12 Hour with Black Falcon Racing, and even though the German team assisted CRAFT Bamboo in Australia, she was in another entry.
The main CRAFT Bamboo entry will split attention with a second Mercedes that will enter under the J-Fly Racing banner as Jeffrey Lee will bring Alessio Picariello in his return to Blancpain GT Asia after a year in Super Taikyu. By coincidence, Lee is also leaving a Volkswagen Auto Group manufacturer for Mercedes, being a loyal Audi customer in recent years.
The Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia season will start at Sepang, Malaysia, on April 6th and 7th.
PHOTO: CRAFT Bamboo Racing
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