SUPER GT standout Joao Paulo de Oliveira will represent Craft-Bamboo Racing in this weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS round at Okayama. De Oliveira will be teaming up with Cao Qi in the No. 30 Mercedes-AMG GT3, a car that has been co-piloted by Daniel Morad and Maro Engel throughout the season.
However, both Morad and Engel will be missing the Okayama round due to scheduling conflicts with the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, respectively.
This race marks de Oliveira’s return to competition outside of SUPER GT since his participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship last year with Vanwall Racing.
Normally driving a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 for Kondo Racing, de Oliveira credited Richard Lyons, a former SUPER GT champion and current Craft-Bamboo advisor, for helping secure this opportunity.
“I’m really looking forward to joining Craft-Bamboo Racing at Okayama,” de Oliveira shared. “Richard Lyons played a crucial role in making this happen, and I’m grateful for his support.”
He added that he hopes his experience at the Okayama circuit will benefit the team and expressed eagerness to adapt to the AMG GT3, which he’s driving for the first time.
Meanwhile, Craft-Bamboo’s No. 88 Mercedes-AMG will be piloted by Jeffrey Lee and Fabian Schiller, marking Schiller’s second straight appearance in the car.
The Okayama race will feature 31 cars, one less than the previous Suzuka round, as VSR’s No. 6 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 will not be competing. Additional driver changes include Bastian Buus joining Origine Motorsport and Luca Stolz returning to Triple Eight JMR.