Craft-Bamboo Racing wins in Beijing to take Silver-Am title fight to Shanghai
7th October 2026
Craft-Bamboo Racing kept its GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS Silver-Am title hopes alive at the penultimate round in Beijing at the weekend
A win on Saturday was followed by third place on Sunday in what was a rollercoaster weekend
The 2026 season showdown will take place October 30-November 1, at the Shanghai International Circuit
It was a roller coaster weekend on the streets of Beijing for Craft-Bamboo Racing, with a determined performance seeing the team leave what was the penultimate round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS championship with a Silver-Am victory, a hard-fought podium, and a margin of just 10 points to the championship lead ahead of the season finale later this month.
Saturday morning brought qualifying for the weekend’s two races, with Dean Chen putting the ROWE and Axon-backed #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 on Silver-Am pole for race one following an impressive lap, while Jiatong ‘Alex’ Liang qualified P3 in class for Sunday’s race two.
In Saturday afternoon’s opening 60-minute race, Chen took the start and delivered a clean and composed opening stint, holding the class lead and running with the top half of the field outright while chaos unfolded around him. A well-executed pitstop carried out under safety car handed the car to Liang, who kept his cool under immense pressure from a chasing pack to bring the #77 home with the Silver-Am win and P6 overall.
In race two, held Sunday afternoon, Liang launched strongly but his efforts were undone almost immediately, with rear contact from another car on the opening lap forcing the #77 to the pit lane for repairs, dropping it a lap down on the rest of the field.
Rejoining at the back, Liang put the hammer down and set about recovering what ground he could before Chen took over for the second half of the race, echoing his teammate's grit in keeping the #77 in the fight.
Unfortunately, on a safety car restart Chen was struck by another car on the same rear corner of the car the team had repaired earlier, sending the #77 back to the pits for a second time. Despite the setbacks, the entire team refused to give up, and their persistence was rewarded with a Silver-Am podium – a result which combined with Saturday’s victory has ensured Craft-Bamboo Racing remains in the Silver-Am title fight heading to the season finale.
The 2026 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS championship will conclude at the Shanghai International Circuit across October 30-November 1. For event information, visit www.gt-world-challenge-asia.com. To learn more about Craft-Bamboo Racing, please visit www.craftbamboo.com
Darryl O'Young | Team Principal of Craft-Bamboo Racing
"Saturday was a complete team performance. To put the #77 on Silver-Am pole, control the race from the front and win it clean, with Alex bringing it home under pressure, was everything we had worked towards, and it put us tied for the lead in the Silver-Am championship. Sunday was a tough one and it cost vital points through no fault of our own, but the fight for this title is far from over, and we go to Shanghai ready to give it absolutely everything.”
Jiatong 'Alex' Liang | Driver - #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3
“It has definitely been a great weekend for our #77 ROWE machine, seeing us take double victories and the championship lead after the Mandalika round. Thank you to Craft-Bamboo Racing for the great team effort, and it was a great drive from my team mate Dean. Hopefully we can keep the momentum throughout the season. Now we will concentrate on the Shanghai round, coming up in one month’s time."
Dean Chen | Driver - #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I was very glad to be back at Beijing again this year for my home race with Craft-Bamboo Racing. Thanks to the team for a great effort, we were able to secure another class win in race one, after taking double victories last year together. Unfortunately, in race two we had some contact, but the good thing is we still managed to score points and keep our championship alive going into the season finale. We will do our best in Shanghai and give it everything for the title fight.”
ABOUT CRAFT-BAMBOO RACING
Craft-Bamboo Racing is an official performance team of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, competing on motorsport’s world stage in sprint and endurance events around the year. Enjoying a multitude of successes through numerous race programs, Craft-Bamboo Racing’s achievements are a testament to the team’s ability to push its boundaries.
The team has years of world championship experience and is truly a unique company in the global motorsports industry, bridging motorsport between Europe and Asia. With its headquarters in Hong Kong and workshops in Sepang and Silverstone, the company is uniquely positioned to deliver global race programs and marketing activations.
