Kids com Team KCMG had a difficult race weekend at Suzuka International Racing Course in Round 3 of the 2023 Super Formula season, with neither Kamui Kobayashi nor Yuji Kunimoto scoring points.
Following strong showings in pre-season testing at the circuit and Kobayashi’s promising performance in Round 2 at Fuji Speedway, the team was hopeful for a positive result at Japan’s most famous motorsport venue.
The weekend started well, with both drivers in the top-10 in Free Practice. However, neither were able to make it out of Q1 in qualifying, with 2016 Super Formula champion Kunimoto less than a tenth of a second from progressing.
Both drivers struggled for pace on race day, with ex-F1 racer Kobayashi 14th and Kunimoto 16th.
#7 KAMUI KOBAYASHI
“In qualifying I felt more confident than in Free Practice, but it didn’t go to plan. The rear of the car locked up when I hit the brakes at the chicane and I went off track, which prevented us from moving on to Q2. We had the potential for a lot more, so we were hopeful for the race, but unfortunately we didn’t have the speed to compete. There’s a long way to go this season, so I’m confident we can learn from this weekend.”
#18 YUJI KUNIMOTO
“The tyre warm-up in qualifying was difficult due to the changes in air and track surface temperatures. We also caught some traffic in Sector 1, which made it tough for me to improve my time and we just missed out on Q2. I got a good start in the race and gained some positions, but from then on, the pace was not what we were hoping for. It was a frustrating race, but we’ll look to bounce back strongly at Autopolis next month.”
TSUGIO MATSUDA TEAM MANAGER
“Tsugio Matsuda, Team Manager: “We were happy in Free Practice and unlucky in qualifying as Yuji missed out on Q2 by less than a tenth of a second. Our pace in the race was poor, but this is a result of the risks we took with our aggressive set up choices. We tried to take advantage of the Safety Car and pitted, but the drivers struggled with tyre warm up. As a team, we need to improve our speed, so that’s the challenge ahead of Autopolis, where hopefully we will have a better performance.”
Media enquires: Cristina Villar
Email address: cristina@kcmg.com.hk
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.
About 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 organizations around the world to provide unrivaled motorsport services, equipment, team management and quality distribution in the automotive industry. This includes the FIA Motorsport Games, where KCMG is the official supplier of hybrid F4 cars, and the KCMG Driver Development Project. For more information on all of the team’s activities please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.com.hk
