Craft-Bamboo Racing Overcomes Adversity to Achieve Overall Podium at Fuji 24 Hour

Craft-Bamboo Racing has continued its strong start to the 2026 ENEOS Super Taikyu Series Empowered by Bridgestone, securing third place overall in the Fuji 24 Hour Race despite overcoming multiple setbacks throughout the event.

The #33 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was driven by a five-driver line-up comprising Bronze-rated drivers Jeffrey Lee and Sun Jingzu, Silver-rated Adderly Fong, Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver and Supercars racer Jayden Ojeda, and Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver Tom Kalender. Entering Round 3 of the championship carrying 60kg of success ballast, the team faced a significant challenge across the 24-hour endurance classic at Fuji International Speedway.

From the outset, the Craft-Bamboo Racing entry demonstrated the pace required to challenge at the front of the ST-X field. The combination of experienced amateur drivers and professional factory-supported talent allowed the team to remain firmly in contention during the opening phases of the race, despite the additional ballast impacting outright pace and tyre degradation across long runs.

The race took a significant turn during the overnight hours when a puncture forced an unscheduled stop, costing valuable track position. The setback was compounded later in the race by a driveshaft failure which required the car returning to the garage for repairs and dropped the #33 Mercedes-AMG further down the order.

Despite losing considerable time, the team executed an incredibly fast and efficient recovery. Having fallen to seventh position when #33 returned to track after the mechanical issue, Craft-Bamboo Racing gradually worked its way back into podium contention. Strong race pace, consistent execution and faultless driving across the final stages of the event, combined with the team's composed recovery ultimately resulted in a third-place overall finish, securing another important points haul in the championship fight.

For Ojeda, the result marked another strong performance during a busy period of competition. The Australian completed almost eight hours of driving time across the event while sharing responsibilities with his four teammates in one of Asia's premier endurance races.

"We were fighting for the lead but we had some issues throughout the night with a puncture and a drive shaft problem, but the team did an awesome job to get the car back on track quickly," said Ojeda.

"It felt good to cross the finish line after almost eight hours of drive time."

The Fuji result extends Craft-Bamboo Racing's podium streak to four consecutive races in the 2026 Super Taikyu season and reinforces the team's position among the leading contenders in the ST-X championship. While the setbacks ultimately prevented a challenge for victory, the ability to recover from significant adversity and secure an outright podium highlighted the strength of both the driver line-up and the wider Craft-Bamboo Racing operation.

The team now turns its attention to the next round of the championship looking to build on a strong opening phase of the season.