VLT and Craft-Bamboo Racing completes another successful campaign for the 5th consecutive year of partnership at the 65th Macau Grand Prix. The team worked hard all weekend to improve the performance with the engineers from Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific to give VLT and 3-time Macau Grand Prix winner Darryl O’Young and VLT the best possible package for the FIA GT World Cup.
Qualifying Result
P13 – Darryl O’Young [#55 Porsche 911 GT3 R] – 2:20.337
Qualifying Race
The much anticipated Qualifying Race on Saturday started under overcast conditions, with the air temperature at a cool 23 degrees Celsius. After the pre-race fanfare and preparation, VLT and Craft-Bamboo were eager to go racing in the 2018 FIA GT World Cup.
Darryl O’Young started on the back foot for the Qualifying Race, due to a penalty from having to have an engine change after Qualifying from the day before. The veteran GT driver started the qualifying race of the World Cup in 15th position, and took a cautious start to the race. This paid off as he managed to avoid the first lap accident up ahead, and set his sights on making his way up the field.
O’Young pushed hard for the entire race, but couldn’t manage to find his way past the cars ahead on the narrow 6.2km circuit. Eventually he finished P13 after gaining two places in the Qualifying Race, giving him a starting position of 13th for for the main race of the World Cup. The team collected valuable data from the qualifying race, and had a good baseline to work from to give O’Young and VLT the best possible chance of fighting through the field.
Main Race
The main race of the 2018 FIA GT World Cup looked to be a thriller, with the 15 top international GT drivers lining up on the grid for the final race of the weekend. The sun shone through the clouds; the first time it had done so all weekend.
Darryl O’Young started his 15th Macau Grand Prix from 13th on the grid. O’Young got off to a good start, defending against the Nissan behind whilst avoiding any contact. The veteran GT driver then set out to chase the pack ahead, but tyre preservation was vital in this 18-lap contest. In the following laps, O’Young was under pressure from the Nissan behind, and on lap 11, he dropped down to 14th place. From there on, the race was straightforward, and he finished 14th overall after a clean but uneventful race.
Despite the result, it was an exceptional team effort all weekend; the mechanics and engineers worked hard to fix the damage incurred from on-track incidents and also improving the car with the engineers from Porsche Motorsport. The result of 65th Macau Grand Prix wasn’t up to Craft-Bamboo Racing’s expectations, but the team are motivated and determined to work hard and bounce back next year with a stronger result.
Craft-Bamboo Racing would like to thank VLT, Gravity, POAD, Orangebus, Aspec and Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital for their support at the Macau Grand Prix, as it would not be possible without them.
Quotes
Russell O’Hagan – Operations Director of Craft-Bamboo Racing
“Despite the end result not being up to our expectations, it was a good team performance as the mechanics and engineers worked hard to improve the car all weekend. Jaminet also drove well, finishing P7 in his first attempt at the challenging Macau circuit.
Lots of positives to take away from the weekend and we end the season with lots of learning experiences. Rest assured we will be working hard over the off-season to come back stronger next year!”
Darryl O’Young – Driver #55 VLT Porsche 911 GT3 R
“Was a difficult weekend for us, obviously not how we wanted to finish this weekend in 14th. We just didn’t have the pace to fight, coming to Macau we always want to fight for the win and to be this far off is difficult but now we focus on the future and prepare better for next year and come back stronger.
One of my toughest weekends in Macau so there’s unfinished business and we’ll come back stronger next year.”
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