Following the successful rollout of their ORECA 05 early this month, KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) is primed for FIA World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) official pre-season test at Circuit Paul Ricard on March 27-28. The two-day test provides FIA WEC entrants the opportunity to gauge various technical aspects of their cars ahead of the world championship’s first six-hour round at Silverstone Circuit in April.
The Hong Kong-based squad is set to further optimize set ups as development of their Dunlop-shod ORECA 05 – Nissan package continues at Paul Ricard this week. Richard Bradley and Matt Howson, who completed the initial shakedown of the closed cockpit LMP2, will be joined by their new teammates, Nick Tandy and Nicolas Lapierre in Le Castellet.
The Prologue will witness 29 of the 35 full season entries of FIA WEC participate in five sessions of on-track testing action on Paul Ricard’s 5.8km circuit. With nine other prototypes lining up on WEC’s 2015 LMP2 grid, KCMG is looking forward to the beginning of the world championship’s most competitive season to date.
Richard Bradley: “I’m looking forward to The Prologue and build on the progress that we’ve made at the shakedown of the ORECA 05. We had a fantastic start with the car and were able to accomplish most of the simulations and checks during the initial rollout. There’s more work ahead and the team is focused with the on-going preparations for the test and first race at Silverstone next month.”
Matt Howson: “We had a successful shakedown of the car early this month and our objective is to further improve the set up at The Prologue. We also welcome Nick Tandy and Nicolas Lapierre, who both will be huge assets to the team. This year’s class line-up presents the most competitive LMP2 grid since WEC began. Our aim is to be stronger and faster than 2014 and we’re looking forward to this new challenge!”
Nicolas Lapierre: “This will be a new and exciting challenge and The Prologue will be an opportunity for me to learn more and drive the ORECA 05 ahead of Spa and Le Mans. The two-day test will be about getting to grips with the LMP2 and to finally meet the entire team and my new teammates. I’m looking forward to get back behind the wheel again and to contribute to KCMG’s campaign in WEC and Le Mans this year.”
Nick Tandy: “I’ve heard a lot from the team about the first time the new car was run a few weeks back, and almost everything was positive. This test at Paul Ricard will be my first time in the LMP2, so its very important for me to be able to learn as much as possible about the team, the car, the Dunlop tyres and much else besides. The Silverstone event is only a few weeks away but the season really starts with this test at The Prologue.”
Erich Kolb, KCMG WEC Team Manager: “The Prologue is an important outing for the team as it allows us to fine tune the car’s set up and provide an opportunity for the drivers and crew to work together in an environment similar to a real race. In addition, we’re also looking forward to have Nick and Nicolas test since they both missed the shakedown early this month. Once again, many thanks to Oreca, Dunlop and to our hardworking team of mechanics and engineers, they have been working round the clock to prepare the car for this event and WEC’s first race at Silverstone next month.”
FIA WEC’s opening round, the 6 Hours of Silverstone, will be held on April 10-12 at Silverstone Circuit. 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.
