CRAFT Racing AMR’s Frank Yu has recovered from a difficult qualifying session during the City of Dreams Macau GT Cup to claim an impressive podium result in the GT Asia Series field, storming from 19th place to seventh in one of the most dramatic races in Macau’s recent history.

The action started almost immediately with team-mate Stefan Mücke in the all-new Aston Martin Vantage making contact with part-time CRAFT Racing member Earl Bamber on the exit of San Francisco triggering an incident that ultimately claimed a number of leading teams including Aston’s John Gaw.

Whilst Mücke was forced to pit with a deflating tyre, Gaw was out immediately, but a fast-starting Frank Yu managed to make the most of the melee to move inside the top ten and onto the tail of GT Asia Series title rival Li Zhi Cong.

Sadly for the CRAFT Racing AMR team-leader he was unable to effect a pass despite some incredible racing over the non-Safety Car laps that remained, his result though moving him to second in the GT Asia points and second of the series regulars home in the race.

For Stefan Mücke, the event was a matter of ‘what-if’s’ the German one of a handful of drivers well and truly in the box seat to take victory, a victory that in the end was claimed by two-time champion Edoardo Mortara.

“It was quite interesting..” he explained post-race. “I got a pretty good start – Mortara had a very bad start – actually he caused most of the trouble because he was going on the inside into Mandarin and really slowed everybody down, and everyone behind us had much more momentum so that banked up the field.

“I was on the outside so I had to lift to give him the space, and then going into Lisboa it went crazy – I was in the middle with Mortara on the right and Earl Bamber on the left. Earl was badly placed and made contact into the left hander. Unfortunately out of Lisboa I got stuck in gear and had quite a bad exit and then it got really messy into the next right.

“I saw Earl try to stay outside, and try to overtake on the outside on the right-hander which is impossible and so he ended up in the wall – as a result I got a puncture from that so we had to stop under the Safety Car and rejoin at the back of the field. After that I just put in a few quick laps and tried to get some experience. At the end I had Frank in front of me, so it was quite nice to follow him around for the last lap.

“It was interesting, a really good experience and I really enjoyed it. I have to say a big thanks to the team. It was not so good a result this year but I’m sure we can be right at the top next year.”

For team manager Mark Goddard the race prompted a mixed reaction.

“I think ‘what could have been’ is the quote for this race!

“Obviously Stefan proved that three into one won’t go at San Francisco which is a big shame because I think we had the pace to be right there, and as Mortara showed at the end, if you’re there, then you’ve got a chance.

“You need an element of luck – Stefan didn’t have it, but fortunately for Frank, he did and he has a podium in Macau again, and second in GT Asia – a mixed day for us. For Frank, a very very good result, especially starting sixth on the grid in the GT Asia field. To finish second is fantastic. For Stefan unfortunately it all went wrong on the first lap, and John Gaw was out as a result of the same incident as well. Next year!!”

John Gaw had been steadily improving across the weekend, and he was right in the thick of the action off the start and well and truly in the wrong place at the wrong time as a result of the Mücke and Bamber clash.

“There was absolutely nothing I could do. I thought once we got around Lisboa at turn two everything would be fine, but it was just chaos ahead and then a car bounced off the wall. I very nearly got through, but it just clipped the front wheel and broke the upright. There’s hardly any damage but I couldn’t get it back to the pits.

“It’s really unfortunate because looking at what unfolded, clearly there was a top five there.

“Fantastic news for Frank though to get on the podium from P6, that is just brilliant, I’m really pleased for him. He didn’t win GT Asia this year, but he got very very close. Overall, I’ve had an absolutely fantastic week. It has been a brilliant experience and the reality is I’ll not remember the race but I’ll certainly remember this amazing week.”

Post race Frank Yu was still trying to process what had unfolded in what had been a dramatic 12-lap final to the 2013 season.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Through San Francisco I saw a car exploding right in front of me when I was flat out without any warning actually – I just tried to avoid all the debris, like wheels flying, tyres flying, there was just carnage all around me.

“After the Safety Car light was switched off I was right behind the Porsche [Li Zhi Cong] and I had an epic battle with it for the rest of the race. We were bumper to bumper, up on the hill, down below, we were side by side in Mandarin – it was good fun.

“Because we were battling so hard though my tyre was going away and I missed a braking point on one of the corners and the McLaren of Richard Meins got me. We were battling so hard for position that we weren’t going as fast as we wanted to be.

“Yeah, second is okay, but first is always better – we’ll try again next year!”

For the CRAFT Racing AMR team there’s a quick turnaround ahead of the last race of the year, the final round of the Asian Le Mans Series at Sepang in Malaysia (December 6-8) where the team are up for a chance to win an entry into the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours.