Team KCMG showed promising pace in Round 4 of the 2021 Super Formula season at Sportsland SUGO, but fell short of scoring points.
On a wet Saturday, Yuji Kunimoto couldn’t escape Q1 but the 2016 Super Formula champion made a strong start and picked up places after good work from the team in the pit stop phase. In the latter half of the race, Kunimoto was able to pass competitors, running at the pace of the leaders for the final 20 laps before crossing the line in 13th.
Kazuto Kotaka secured his best qualifying performance of his rookie Super Formula season, lining up 11th on the grid. The 22-year-old had solid race pace, but lost positions at the start. Despite finishing in 17th, Kotaka showed his continued improvements during his maiden campaign in Japan’s premier single-seater series.
The Super Formula season continues at Twin Ring Motegi on 28-29 August, with Kotaka set to make his final appearance for the team in 2021 before the return of Kamui Kobayashi.
#18 YUJI KUNIMOTO
“I struggled to find a good set-up in the wet qualifying session, and that affected our race. It was frustrating to be eliminated in Q1, but we have to look at the positives from this weekend. My start was good and the team did a great job in the pits. After my stop, the car felt brilliant and we were able to run at a very strong pace, matching the lap times of the leaders. It’s a shame we didn’t qualify well, because we definitely had the potential to score good points.”
#7 KAZUTO KOTAKA
“My qualifying performance was better than in previous rounds, but I was still disappointed not to reach Q3. I feel we had the pace to be in the top eight, but I was satisfied to start 11th. I didn’t get a great getaway and that made the race difficult. We also lost out in the pit stop phase and couldn’t recover the positions. However, my confidence and performance in the car are definitely improving and I’m making good steps towards reaching my full potential. I’m looking forward to racing again at Twin Ring Motegi and securing a better result.”
TSUGIO MATSUDA TEAM MANAGER
“Saturday was difficult for us, Kazuto performed well to take 11th but Yuji struggled in the wet conditions. The qualifying performance prevented Yuji from scoring points, but he had a really strong race overall. Kazuto continues to improve, we are pleased with his development and it’s good to see him feeling more confident with the car. Despite the result, we showed promising signs ahead of the final three rounds of the season. We need to analyse what happened here in qualifying before we travel to Motegi. We have a two-month break ahead of the next round so we have plenty of time to continue working and return with a car capable of finishing inside the points on a regular basis.”
For more information about KCMG please visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of all the latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Who is KCMG?
KC Motorgroup Ltd (KCMG) is an international motorsport services group established in 2007 by Paul Ip. The group, with its headquarters located in Hong Kong, has operations reaching across the Asia Pacific region. KCMG operates closely with many partner companies and racing organisations around the world to provide unrivalled motorsport services, equipment, team management and quality distribution in the automotive industry. For more information on all of the team’s activities please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.com.hk.
