The thrilling fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) witnessed KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) engage in an epic class battle and secure its fourth WEC podium at Fuji Speedway on Sunday. Represented by Richard Bradley, Matt Howson and Alexandre Imperatori, the Hong Kong-based squad finished in second place after a gripping assault for the LMP2 lead transpired throughout the closely contested six-hour affair in Japan.
Friday’s two 90-minute free practice runs kicked off the weekend’s racing action. The Dunlop-shod #47 Oreca 03R – Nissan completed both sessions in the top three, covering a total of 88 laps on the first day of running on Fuji’s 4.563km circuit. The final 60-minute practice session the following morning saw the #47 LMP2 finish in third place – logging 30 laps in the process. Imperatori and Bradley’s four-lap average secured third position for the #47 Oreca on the LMP2 starting grid. However, post-qualifying penalties promoted the Asian team to pole position.
Imperatori commenced the race and was off to a strong start to lead during the initial hour of the race. Fans were on the edge of their seats as a frantic battle for the LMP2 lead took place between the Swiss driver and G-Drive Racing’s Olivier Pla. As Imperatori fiercely ploughed his way through traffic, the #88 Porsche collided with his LMP2, causing the car to spin and lose the lead to the #26 Ligier. After 62 laps, the Swiss driver handed over the #47 Oreca to Matt Howson.
The British driver joined the field and maintained the gap between him and G-Drive Racing’s Julien Canal before handing over the #47 LMP2 to Richard Bradley. Within a few minutes in the car, Bradley’s determination resulted in impressive lap times and was steadily closing the gap to Roman Rusinov’s #26 Ligier. Bradley completed 64 laps before handing over the #47 Oreca to his Swiss teammate for the final stint.
Rejoining the race in second position, Imperatori was behind the #26 Ligier for several laps when G-Drive Racing called for an unplanned pit stop to change front tyres. This allowed Imperatori to recover the LMP2 lead. Another riveting battle for first place ensued between the Swiss ace and Pla during the final minutes of the race. However, a bold move by the French man to overtake Imperatori on Fuji’s 100R corner paid off. After 218 laps and six hours of sensational racing, KCMG crossed the finish line in second place, with only 5.4 seconds between the top two LMP2’s.
Richard Bradley: “While second is a very good result, we are still gutted to lose the race by such a small gap. We didn’t have an easy weekend, but to get that close to winning despite some of the issues we had is a credit to the team. We have shown previously that we can win and we nearly did again in Japan, so I am looking forward to challenge for victory in China!”
Matt Howson: “It was disappointing to be so close to the win and we had a bit of bad luck with the full course yellow, but a second place keeps us well in the championship battle. Alex and Richard drove perfectly and we have identified several areas where we can improve significantly so we’re confident we’ll be stronger in Shanghai.”
Alexandre Imperatori: “It was a nice race for us and I enjoyed my stints with some good battles. In the end we missed the win but we gave a good fight and we have to be happy with the result. I tried to hang on to the lead and could defend well but lost time through traffic and that was it. But overall the team did a good job and we are in the mix! I’m looking forward to Shanghai.”
Paul Ip, KCMG Managing Director: “Second place wasn’t what we were eyeing but overall, our performance in Fuji equates to a strong result. The gap was so close and Richard, Matt and Alex pushed hard throughout the race. Everyone did a commendable job and we’re all looking forward to the World Championship’s next event in Shanghai, which is KCMG’s home track.”
KCMG heads to FIA WEC’s sixth round in China in third place with 80 points in the LMP2 Team Classification. To know more about the FIA World Endurance Championship, please visit: www.fiawec.com
For more information about KCMG please visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of all the latest updates ‘Like’ KCMG’s Facebook page or follow @KCMotorgroup on Twitter and Instagram.
