Craft Racing, Bamboo Engineering Join Forces

Photo: John Dagys

One of the leading U.K.-based motorsport operations has joined forces with an emerging outfit from Asia for a new joint venture that will include efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship and Asian Le Mans Series.

Bamboo Engineering, known for its WTCC and GP3 success, and GT/Prototype squad Craft Racing have become Craft-Bamboo Racing.

The new effort, headed up by Bamboo founder Richard Coleman, will have bases in the U.K., Malaysia and Hong Kong as it sets its sights on a multi-faceted sports car program in 2014.

“We decided to draw upon the extensive experience of both teams and bring it all together under one roof,” Coleman said. “Bamboo Engineering and Craft Racing have had a good relationship for a number of years now and share the same goals – we both want to run world championship-winning teams.”

Bamboo’s previously announced venture with Aston Martin Racing in the FIA WEC will now be known as a Craft-Bamboo entry for drivers Alex MacDowall, Fernando Rees and Darryl O’Young, who will become the first Chinese driver to compete full-time in the series.

The GTE-Pro class entry could be joined by a second Aston Martin Vantage V8 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an automatic entry which had been awarded to Craft for its runner-up finish in last year’s Asian Le Mans Series.

Craft-Bamboo’s efforts in Asia, meanwhile, will include a two-car Aston Martin Vantage GT3 effort in GT Asia and the 12 Hours of Sepang, along with campaigning a Morgan Judd and two Ligier CN prototypes in the Asian Le Mans Series.

“In just a few years we have made a big impact in sportscar racing in Asia,” said Frank Yu, chairman of the new venture. “We wanted to take this to the next level and become a world-wide team competing for world-titles.

“Joining forces with Bamboo Engineering, which has experience at racing at the top-level, will jump start our team to take the next step and bridge platforms across the continents.”

Drivers for the team’s Asian programs have yet to be announced.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John