Le Mans Winners Join Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Factory Supported Team Craft-Bamboo Racing for Suzuka 10 Hours Porsche Moto
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Le Mans winners join Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific factory supported team Craft-Bamboo Racing for Suzuka 10 Hours Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific is pleased to announce that last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro winners Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, as well as Porsche Young Professional Driver Mathieu Jaminet will race for Craft-Bamboo Racing at the Suzuka 10 Hours (24-26 August). The Japanese round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge will mark the third partnership with the Hong Kong-based squad, following the 2017 FIA GT World Cup in Macau, and this season’s Bathurst 12 Hour, in which they just missed out on a chance of victory. Once again, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific will not only provide the three factory drivers to the squad, but will also give extensive on-site support including engineers, technical personnel and parts. Six Porsche 911 GT3 R cars across five teams are confirmed for the second round of the Suzuka race, with D’Station, APR, Black Swan and factory-backed outfit Manthey Racing also aiming to fight for victory in Japan. Craft-Bamboo head into the race having recorded a strong showing in the Blancpain GT Asia Series at the Suzuka International Circuit last year, in which they were on pole position with one car and scored an impressive second-place finish with the other. So far, more than 30 FIA GT3 and JAF-GT300-spec cars have been confirmed for the maiden Suzuka 10 Hours, which replaces the circuit’s traditional 1000 km event that usually acts as the blue-riband round of the Super GT series. Alexandre Gibot, Head of Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, said: “We look forward to again partner Craft-Bamboo Racing for this combined effort to compete in the Suzuka 10 Hours. Laurens, Kevin and Mathieu are all very talented drivers, highly capable of helping Craft- Bamboo Racing achieve success. It’s great to be working with the team once again and we will provide them with the best possible support for a strong result. The Porsche 911 GT3 R has performed very well in the past here, and the car was fastest during the two-day test at Suzuka last month.” Darryl O’Young, Director of Craft-Bamboo Racing, added: “I'm extremely excited that Porsche have confirmed this top line-up for our team. It shows Porsche's intention to fight for the overall win in August, by confirming two recent Le Mans 24 Hours winners in Laurens and Kevin, whom both have also recently worked with our team. Mathieu is new to us, but already we see his professionalism and of course his great speed, as he competes in the Porsche 911 GT3 R all around the world. Consistency is key, and our crew and engineers have learned a lot from the Bathurst 12 Hours, and we will continue the hard work in the coming months to ensure we are fully prepared for the event." .