Kids Com Team KCMG scored Super Formula points for the third consecutive race as Kamui Kobayashi secured a ninth-placed finish in Round 6 of the 2023 campaign at Fuji Speedway.
Neither Kobayashi nor teammate Yuji Kunimoto were able to show the pace they were hoping for in qualifying, and would line up on the grid in 14th and 15th respectively.
Both drivers had positive opening laps, and ex-F1 driver Kobayashi made ground in the pit-stop phase thanks to a strong strategy from the team. Having moved into the points-paying positions, he defended well from drivers behind to secure ninth and two championship points.
Meanwhile, Kunimoto had a slow pit stop and was unable to break into the top-10, crossing the finish line in his starting position of 15th.
Super Formula now heads to Mobility Resort Motegi for Round 7 of the 2023 season on 18-20 August.
#7 KAMUI KOBAYASHI
“In qualifying, we didn’t optimise the set-up so we were unable to record a strong lap time. We made a great decision on strategy in the race to pit early, but unfortunately the pace wasn’t there to challenge for the top positions. I’m pleased to continue our run of points finishes, but we had hoped for more from this weekend. Motegi is next, it’s a strong circuit for me, the temperature is expected to be high, which will be tough, but we’ll look to put up a good fight and improve on this result.”
#18 YUJI KUNIMOTO
“I felt good at Fuji in the mid-season test, so we arrived with high hopes, although unfortunately our qualifying speed wasn’t enough. I got a strong start in the race, but I got boxed in during the first lap and had to back off to avoid making contact with Kamui. While our pace was ok, it was not at the level to score points. We’ll look back on this weekend and learn from our mistakes to prepare for the next round at Motegi.”
TETSUYA TANAKA RACE MANAGER
“It was disappointing for neither of the drivers to make it out of Q1. We didn’t get the right set-up and this cost us a lot of time, meaning we would start further back than we had hoped for. Kamui did a great job with tyre management in the race after we opted to pit early, which turned out to be the right strategy. He defended well in the closing laps to secure a valuable points finish. Yuji was going strongly, but a mistake during the pit stop prevented him from challenging for the top-10. The next round at Motegi will be interesting because it will be hot, making it much more of a challenge for all of the teams. We’ll look to continue the hard work and secure a better result there.”
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.
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. 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.
