KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG), leading Hong Kong-based motorsport team, is pleased to announce its entry into the opening event of the 2013 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The prestigious endurance series shall commence at Silverstone Circuit on April 14-15. KCMG will compete against 34 cars in the 6 Hours of Silverstone, with a strong driver lineup of Alexandre Imperatori, Matt Howson and Ka To Jim.
Organizers’ Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) unveiled a diversified list of participating teams from across the globe last March 7. It highlights KCMG as the first Chinese team to run in the highly celebrated motorsport event. KCMG representatives’ Imperatori, Howson and Jim will share a Morgan-Nissan LM P2 prototype manufactured by Oak Racing’s constructor department, Onroak Automotive.
KCMG’s debut in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship also coincides with the team’s first year to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. KCMG’s dynamic 2013 campaign has brought the team to the biggest motorsport arenas as it takes part in two of the biggest endurance races in the world.
Swiss driver Alexandre Imperatori is assigned as KCMG’s lead driver for its new endurance racing project. Imperatori has previously represented KCMG in Japanese Formula 3 and Formula Nippon. Once again, the Swiss driver is glad to be a part of KCMG as it extends its reach to the European racing scene. He expressed, “I’m massively looking forward to racing at the opening round of the WEC in Silverstone with KCMG. It’ll be our first race in LMP2 so everything will be new: not just for me but for the entire team. We are fully aware that we are facing a steep learning curve but it will be a great opportunity to learn and improve ahead of Le Mans. All we have to do is focus on ourselves and ramp up our operation step by step. I have never been to Silverstone but I look forward to discovering the track which looks very challenging.”
British driver and KCMG Japan Formula 3 representative Matt Howson is delighted to join the team as it competes in one of the world’s most lauded motorsport events. He is also looking forward to race alongside Imperatori and Jim. Howson remarked, “I’ve been involved with KCMG since Paul Ip began the team and have raced in both Asian and Japanese championships with them. I’m extremely happy to be part of their first season racing in Europe, and be making my endurance racing debut! The team is brand new, but we have a professional and highly motivated group of people running the proven Morgan-Nissan package. Silverstone WEC is the team debut but I think KCMG can surprise a lot of people and show how much Chinese motorsport has progressed thanks to them. Being part of that is exciting and getting in the car can’t come soon enough!”
After his stint with Red Bull’s young driver’s programme in 2005, Hong Kong Chinese driver Ka To Jim will return to Europe this year to represent KCMG in Silverstone. Jim states “It will be exciting to go back to Europe to finally compete and represent KCMG. I have been racing touring cars for the past few seasons and endurance racing will definitely be a new challenge. It will be a whole new experience for me as a race car driver and I’m grateful for the opportunity that Paul Ip has given me.”
KCMG Managing Director Paul Ip has been working on this initiative for months and is happy with the team’s expansion in Europe. Ip was quoted, “I believe that the realization of this project is a product of hard work and total dedication. I am glad that we have broken into the most celebrated platform of endurance racing in Europe. I, together with the entire KCMG team, am looking forward to the event in Silverstone with Alex, Matt and Ka To. It is definitely a hectic yet exciting year for us and we are working round the clock to ensure that we will be very competitive in this discipline of motorsport.”
To know more about the World Endurance Championship events, visit www.fiawec.com/a
For more information about KCMG, visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow @KCMotorgroup on Twitter.
