Craft Racing AMR Pod​ium Finish at Dubai ​24 hour with Aston M​artin Vantage GT3​

Monday, January 14, 2013



Hong Kong racing team Craft Racing AMR, completed a stellar performance in their Aston Martin Vantage GT3 this past weekend in the 24 hours of Dubai to give the team a stunning 3rd place overall out of an international 85-­‐car field, completing 594 laps of the Dubai Autodrome. It was an exciting race from beginning to end with Craft Racing AMR taking their Aston Martin Vantage GT3 up to 3rd place in the final hour of the grueling 24 hour endurance race.

The Hong Kong team was led by Hong Kong racing drivers Frank Yu and Darryl O’Young, together with Tomonobu Fujii of Japan and Aston Martin works drivers Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner. All drivers drove well making absolutely no mistakes throughout the entire race weekend to help the team earn this result.

The green flag dropped for the 24 hours of Dubai on Friday January 11th at 2pm with Craft Racing AMR starting the race in 3rd position overall. After facing some bad luck during safety car periods and enduring a couple minor technical issues, the team found themselves down as low as 22nd place in the early part of the race.

However, the team never gave up and fought back up the field getting involved in several on track battles throughout the entire 24 hours. The team made perfect pit stops and the drivers drove quick lap times, which included Stefan Mucke putting down the fastest lap of the entire race with a lap time of 1:59.47 seconds.

Craft Racing AMR slowly climbed back up the leader board and held 5th place for several hours through the night. As the sun rose at 7am, the team made a further push forward and in the final hour of the race, stormed past the German Fachs Auto Tech Porsche to grab the coveted podium spot.

This result gives Hong Kong its first-­‐ever international endurance race overall podium, an achievement the team is extremely proud of.

Frank Yu, team founder and Hong Kong race driver said, “This result is for Hong Kong, we have worked extremely hard over the past few months to prepare for this race and it has proved very successful, this result is a dream come true. It was our teams first ever attempt at the Dubai 24 hours and our target was to finish the race, but being on the podium was a major bonus. A special thanks to Aston Martin Racing who gave our team valuable support throughout the race week, and also to the drivers who avoided mistakes during the entire 24 hours and this contributed hugely to the podium finish!”

Team Principle Mark Goddard added, “It was a remarkable race! We focused on team work from the outset of this weekend, as we knew we had great and reliable racecar in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Minimizing mistakes was the key to this success and I’m extremely proud of all the drivers, team engineers and mechanics as minimizing mistakes was exactly what we did. We have to thank all the team sponsors this weekend and a special thank you to John Gaw from Aston Martin Racing as they gave us the support we needed, including their two AMR works drivers Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke who drove stunningly.”

Hong Kong’s top GT race driver Darryl O’Young, made his debut for Craft Racing AMR and the Dubai 24 hours this weekend, “This race was suspenseful for the entire 24 hours. Craft Racing AMR is a great team and its fantastic to be a part of this Hong Kong racing outfit. The team was determined to comeback and the final 10 hours of the race were flawless. This gave us the chance to claw back up the leader board and when the opportunity came in the final hour of the race, we grabbed it and never looked back. I’m very proud of the entire team and this is a brilliant result for Hong Kong and China.”

The next race outing for Craft racing AMR will be the inaugural race of the Asian Le Mans Series scheduled for May 5, 2013 in Zhu Hai, China. The team’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be shipped back to its base in Zhu Hai in preparation for the season.

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