Ojeda Joins Mercedes-AMG Craft-Bamboo Racing for Bathurst 12 Hour
Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing has confirmed their return to the 2024 Repco Bathurst 12 Hour to kick off the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) season, as they set their sights on the teams first overall victory on the mountain. The Hong Kong team will be returning to Mount Panorama from the 16th to the 18th of February with a formidable Mercedes-AMG driver line-up featuring Daniel Juncadella (ESP), Maximilian Goetz (GER) and Australian young gun Jayden Ojeda (AUS). The team welcomes Caltex with Techron® as title sponsor and MSI as premium partner for the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the team’s seventh attempt to conquer the mountain. The official Mercedes-AMG Performance Team has seen multiple podium finishes at this event including P2 in the 2022 edition, but has yet to taste victory despite coming close on numerous occasions.
Juncadella has been a regular in the Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, having placed runner-up at the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour and claimed the overall victory in the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hour with the team. He also played a monumental role in the team’s 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia title-winning campaign. 2021 DTM champion, Goetz, also found success with the team after securing a well-earned P2 finish at last year’s Indianapolis 8 Hour, whilst also competing with the team in Asia for a full 2023 campaign. Meanwhile, Ojeda, the young Australian demonstrated fantastic pace throughout his debut season in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, claiming 2 pole positions in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia championship. He also drove his first race with Craft-Bamboo Racing in the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series in Malaysia, showing that he is a force to be reckoned with behind the wheel of a GT3 car.
The 2024 Repco Bathurst 12 Hour will see Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing enter the 12 hour race with a brand new vibrant livery featuring the famous Caltex with Techron® colours, marking this the first partnership between the global petrol company and the Hong Kong team. MSI, who most recently launched their limited edition Stealth
16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport laptop, will also be returning as premium partner for the team as well as being an an Official Partner of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
2024 will mark the 22nd edition of the much-anticipated and celebrated Bathurst 12 Hour. The race has established its status as one of the greatest challenges for a driver due to its combination of long straights and 23 unforgiving corners. On top of the close walls across Mount Panorama, the 12 hour race is set to start in the early hours of the morning, allowing for more unpredictability due to the darkness. Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing will be hoping to leverage all of the team’s experience and put up a strong fight for the overall crown.
QUOTES
Darryl O’Young | Team Director, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing
“We are very excited to be joining the grid again at the Bathurst 12 hour. This race always provides a lot of challenges for the teams making it a very difficult race to win, but we are up for the challenge. I’m very confident in all 3 of our drivers, we have worked with all of them which is key to having a great team dynamic. The engineers and crew are ready to go, and we are very happy to be working with our partners Caltex with Techron® as well as MSI as we aim to deliver a strong race in our Mercedes-AMG GT3.”
Jayden Ojeda | Driver, #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing
“To say my first time competing in a GT3 at Bathurst will be with Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing in a PRO entry is unbelievable! It’s a pinch-me moment! Our Caltex with Techron® Mercedes-AMG GT3 looks awesome and I can’t wait to tackle my home event. I have a pair of fast and experienced teammates in Dani and Max who I’m looking forward to working with and together I believe we will make a strong combination come race day.”
Daniel Juncadella | Driver, #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing
“It is exciting to be back in Bathurst for the third consecutive year. I’ve had great memories from our 2022 race and it is a track that I love racing at. It’s one of my favourite tracks in the world and I’m looking forward to being back with Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, Max and Jayden. We have a very good line-up and the
resources are there to be successful so I’m looking forward to giving it everything for the trophy.”
Maximilian Goetz | Driver, #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing
“It’s great to be back with Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, we did the full season at the GT World Challenge Asia championship together so it’s great to be back with the team once again. It’s a great-looking car with the Caltex with Techron® colours and I can’t wait to race with Dani and Jayden. It’s his first time racing in Bathurst with a GT3 car and a pro line-up, but he has the potential to do very well. We have a great package and our engineers know the car very well so I think it’s possible to challenge for the win. I will be coming to Bathurst warmed up and motivated as I’ve been on the podium two times already so I will be hoping to continue my podium streak there.”
