KC Motorgroup Ltd’s (KCMG) attempt to claim LMP2 victory on home soil came to a premature end when the #47 Oreca 03R – Nissan incurred damage after a collision with a GTE Pro car on the opening lap of the 6 Hours of Shanghai.
A promising start to FIA World Endurance Championship’s sixth event at Shanghai International Circuit saw Richard Bradley, Matt Howson and Alexandre Imperatori complete two of the 90-minute free practice sessions in the top three despite tricky weather conditions. The Hong Kong-based outfit went on to secure second position on the LMP2 starting grid after Bradley and Imperatori posted a four-lap average of 1:55.301 during Saturday’s qualifying.
From the front row, Imperatori made a blistering start to take the lead from G Drive Racing’s Olivier Pla. Unfortunately, the Swiss ace sustained race ending rear-end damage at Turn 8 after the blue and white #47 LMP2 experienced a technical issue and collided with AF Corse’s #51 Ferrari during the first lap
Imperatori suffered minor injuries in the incident, but the impact of the crash has heavily damaged the #47 Oreca. Due to the casualty, repairs will take a significant amount of time and might compromise KCMG’s attendance in the 6 Hours of Bahrain, which takes place on November 15. Updates regarding this matter will be announced soon.
Richard Bradley: “Its very frustrating because after the changes we made in qualifying, we were confident of a good result. We definitely made progress from Fuji and what happened today was very unfortunate. Now there is a question mark over Bahrain so I hope we can do enough to have it repaired in time. But I have faith in our crew and I know they’ll give it their best shot.”
Matt Howson: “It was really disappointing to retire on the first lap as we were very competitive and felt confident of the win. It is a huge relief though that Alex was not injured. Now the team faces a big challenge to repair the car for Bahrain, which was badly damaged due to the impact. We shall keep our fingers crossed!”
Alexandre Imperatori: “It’s a shame that we retired after half a lap, especially when the car was running good throughout the practice sessions and qualifying. We could’ve finished the race at the front. The positive side is that I was not seriously injured. I have a little pain in my knee but I’m sure I’ll be alright before the event in Bahrain. The team’s focus now is to rebuild the LMP2 and make sure it’s ready for the next round. That’s something that we’re not sure of at the moment as there’s some extensive damage to the car.”
Paul Ip, KCMG Managing Director: “It’s quite frustrating for the weekend to end this way as we’ve made significant progress and we were aiming to challenge for victory here in Shanghai. The incident earlier had caused a major damage to the car, but importantly, we’re relieved that Alex was not seriously injured. There’s definitely a lot of work to be done as repairs will be extensive and we’re hoping that the car will be ready for the next round in Bahrain.”
To know more about the FIA World Endurance Championship, please visit: www.fiawec.com
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 and Instagram.
