Chinese-Taipei driver Jeffrey Lee becomes the first Asian driver to win the Mercedes-AMG Driver’s Championship in his first year with the established German marque, taking home a new Mercedes-AMG C63S and earning personal commendations from Mercedes-AMG F1 drivers Valtteri Bottas and newly-crowned 6-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
After making the switch to Mercedes-AMG in 2019, Chinese-Taipei veteran GT driver came out on top of 240 other Bronze-rated drivers in the global Mercedes-AMG ranking by taking 4 outright GT3 victories with Craft-Bamboo Racing across the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and the China GT Championships. These results, including those of other drivers within Craft-Bamboo Racing’s lineup, have contributed towards the team sealing 4th position in the overall Mercedes-AMG GT3 Team’s Championship.
Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia
In the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia series, Lee’s first victory came at the opening race of the year at Sepang, where him and teammate Alessio Picariello fought through from the mid-field to take the win. His next triumph came at the famous Suzuka Circuit, where Lee produced a defensive masterclass amidst safety car periods in the closing stages of the race to score his second victory of the series. Jeffrey Lee then finished the year in fine fashion with a 2nd place result at the Shanghai International Circuit.
China GT Championship
Jeffrey Lee began Craft-Bamboo Racing’s charge in the China GT Championship with strong form, taking his first win in the series at the inaugural Asian GT Festival at Sepang. Further success did not take long, when Lee scored yet another victory in treacherous wet conditions in Shanghai. Lee’s strong form in 2019 was proven throughout the 2019 China GT Championship, with podium results in Qinhuangdao, Tianjin and at the season finale in Shanghai to finish 2nd overall in the driver’s championship.
Craft-Bamboo Racing in the Team’s Championship
Points scored in both the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and China GT Championships by our customer drivers meant that Craft-Bamboo Racing also claims a significant 4th position in the overall Mercedes-AMG Teams Championship. This highlights the team’s tremendous effort and operational prowess exhibited throughout the 2019 season, despite it being the team’s first year with the famous German marque. This stellar result by all the drivers has firmly cemented Craft-Bamboo Racing’s position as the top Asian team, and one of the top Mercedes-AMG teams worldwide.
QUOTES
Jeffrey Lee | Driver with Craft-Bamboo Racing
“Looking back on this year, it has been a great transition to the Mercedes-AMG brand and it was proven with our pace on track throughout the 2019 season. Achieving 4 outright victories and several podium results with my teammate Alessio Picariello was definitely above our expectations, and this would not have been possible without Craft-Bamboo Racing. For sure we will enjoy this result now but we will go away during this winter break to make sure we come back even stronger next year. I’d like to say a special thanks to the Craft-Bamboo Racing and Mercedes-AMG for all the support during the 2019 season.”
Darryl O’Young | Director of Craft-Bamboo Racing
The Mercedes-AMG Driver Championship is not an easy one to win as you have drivers from all over the world competing for the prize. But Jeffrey drove a really strong season, coming 2nd in China GT Championship in addition to his two strong overall wins in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia this year. Jeffrey is also the first Asian driver to win this title from 240 drivers globally. It’s quite an amazing achievement and I hope he will enjoy his prize, the new Mercedes-AMG C63S.”
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