Craft-Bamboo Racing Unveils GT World Challenge Asia Line-Up

The #31 Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be driven by Cao Qi and Jayden Ojeda in the Pro-Am class
The #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be piloted by Jiatong Liang in the Silver class
The 2025 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS Championship will commence on April 11-13 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia

Craft-Bamboo Racing has confirmed its two-car line-up for the 2025 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS Championship (GTWC Asia), which will kick off its season at the Sepang International Circuit across April 11-13.

The 2023 GTWC Asia Drivers Championship winning team will field the #31 Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Cao Qi (CHN) and Jayden Ojeda (AUS) in the Pro-Am class, as well as the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 piloted by ROWE brand ambassador Jiatong ‘Alex’ Liang (CHN) in the Silver Class. Liang’s teammate in the #77 will be named shortly.

The Craft-Bamboo Racing entries for the 2025 GTWC Asia season will surely stand out on the grid, with striking liveries also proudly unveiled by the team ahead of the opening round.

The #31 will feature an impactful blue and white design with orange accents, carrying branding from Sunny-Rain as well as other key supporting partners.

The #77 meanwhile will feature Craft-Bamboo Racing’s signature green accompanied by black and white design elements, highlighted by ROWE Motor Oil branding and the iconography of other valued supporters such as the brand new concept from ROWE – Sunspeed.

A pair of rising stars, Ojeda and Cao have both competed in the GTWC Asia for Hong Kong’s Craft-Bamboo Racing in the past, while Ojeda has also competed for the team in the Super Taikyu Japanese endurance championship.

Cao is a well established GTWC Asia campaigner and was 5th in the Pro-Am GTWC Asia standings in 2024 after bringing home three overall race podiums across the year with Craft-Bamboo Racing.

Ojeda was part of the Craft-Bamboo Racing line-up which took runner-up in Super Taikyu in 2024, missing out on the overall victory by just 4.5 points. With a heavy racing program both at home in Australia and internationally, the 2018 Australian F4 Champion has been signed as a Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver for 2025.

Liang competed in the GTWC Asia Silver Cup last year and finished with 7 podiums. This will be his first time competing in the series with Craft-Bamboo Racing, after having raced with the team in Super Taikyu last year as well as the Sepang 12 Hours in 2023. He was the 2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo European champion and has also tasted victory at the Melco Greater Bay Area GT Cup at the 69th Macau Grand Prix.

With a strong driver line-up and plenty of previous success at the venue, Craft-Bamboo Racing has high hopes ahead of the 2025 GTWC Asia season opener at Sepang International Raceway in less than two weeks’ time. While the #31 will be competing as a Pro-Am entry and the #77 in the Silver class, both entries have ambitions and the required talent to fight for the overall title.

The 5.543km track is a crown jewel of Malaysia’s motorsport scene, boasting a unique layout featuring eight straights and 15 corners.

Two of the straights are known for being particularly long and wide, while the corners are a mix of sweeping and highly technical, providing a challenge for even the most experienced of drivers while allowing for speeds in excess of 300kmh, plus plenty of overtaking opportunities.

Craft-Bamboo Racing has enjoyed numerous successful results at the Malaysian track over the years, including securing the 2023 GT World Challenge Asia Championship at what was that year’s season finale.

The GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS Championship will be contested across 12 rounds in 2025.

Since the series launched in 2017, Craft-Bamboo Racing has been a mainstay in what is Asia’s premier GT racing championship. As the 2023 title winners, the team will be anxious to get the 2025 season off to the best possible start in Malaysia across April 11-13.

Darryl O’Young
Team Principal | Craft-Bamboo Racing

“I am really excited to announce our two-car entry for the 2025 GT World Challenge Asia season. We are very happy to welcome Cao Qi back again for this year and to have him joined in the #31 Pro-Am entry by Jayden Ojeda, who is a very exciting young talent coming up the AMG ranks. This year we are also returning to the Silver class with the #77 entry and welcoming Alex Liang back to the team – he is coming over to our GTWC Asia line-up from our Super Taikyu program, and we look forward to announcing our line up very shortly for the #77. We are really excited to be back competing in the Silver class – the last time we did so was in 2019. Overall, we hope to take a big step forward this year; it was a tough season for us in 2024 so we are looking to turn things around and have a strong season ahead.”

Cao Qi

Driver #31 Mercedes-AMG GT3

“I am very excited to rejoin CBR again this year. After a successful season last year, we have the confidence to fight for the championship. This year I will be driving with Jayden Ojeda, an extremely fast driver, and I am also thrilled to keep working with our engineer Matt – he is a real centrepiece of CBR, so it is great to have him on our car. Having the whole team work as one is the Qi to success.”

Jayden Ojeda

Driver #31 Mercedes-AMG GT3

“It is fantastic to be joining with Craft-Bamboo Racing and Cao Qi for this season of GTWC Asia. I’ve had the opportunity to race with CBR in a range of different events and series so it’s great to go racing with familiar faces in the garage. I’m looking forward to working with Qi and helping his development throughout the season and supporting his challenge for the championship. Additionally, it is awesome to continue working with my fellow Australian Matt Harvey, we have great engineer/driver relations and get to work together across a range of championships and events this season and that will add to the performance of our efforts.”

Jiatong Liang

Driver #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3

“It is a real pleasure for me to be driving for Craft-Bamboo Racing this year again, and I am very happy to see our CBR x ROWE project come to life. Thank you to all the people who made it come true – now let’s go full gas for the upcoming season.”

2025 GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS Calendar

11-13 April 2025 | Rounds 1 and 2 – Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
9-11 May 2025 | Rounds 3 and 4 – Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit, Indonesia
30 May-1 June 2025 | Rounds 5 and 6 – Chang International Circuit, Thailand
11-13 July 2025 | Rounds 7 and 8 – Fuji International Speedway, Japan
29-31 August 2025 | Rounds 9 and 10 – Okayama International Circuit, Japan
17-19 October 2025 | Rounds 11 and 12 – Beijing Street Circuit, China