KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) continued to push forward as Super Formula and All-Japan Formula 3 Championship’s latest rounds concluded at Okayama International Circuit. The Hong Kong-based outfit yielded mixed results as Yuichi Nakayama and Struan Moore challenged for championship points in two of Japan’s most competitive grids in Formula racing.
Yuichi Nakayama began his Okayama outing by logging competitive lap times during Super Formula’s free practice sessions. As fine circuit conditions graced the 3.703km configuration, the Japanese driver went on to secure fourteenth place on the starting grid for the top Japanese single seater series’ second round. However, the progress made during the weekend came to naught as an unfortunate incident during the opening lap prematurely ended Nakayama’s race.
Jersey-born driver Struan Moore continued to make headway in his blue and white Toyota-powered Dallara F312, as he took on All-Japan Formula Three Championship’s third event. The two-race affair marked Moore’s maiden outing at Okayama’s arduous track, which featured a highly technical layout. Saturday’s qualifying session saw Moore seal an eighth and seventh place start for JF3’s Races 6 and 7.
In dry conditions, a superb start in the 18-lap challenge at Okayama moved Moore several places up the field. The British driver went on to defend his position from rivals and ultimately finished the race in fourth place, securing significant championships points in the process. JF3’s second race once again witnessed Moore demonstrate competitive pace in his #19 F312, posting his fastest lap of 1’25.233 during the taxing 25 lap challenge. Moore eventually finished the race in seventh place and currently sits eighth in the overall drivers standings.
Yuichi Nakayama, KCMG Super Formula Driver: “We’ve shown improvements at Okayama. We were catching up with the pace during the practice and qualifying sessions and it’s a shame that we were not able to finish the race. The team is not disheartened by this as we will keep on working harder and try to win that first point in Fuji.”
Struan Moore, KCMG JF3 Driver: “I’m so chuffed with how the weekend played out for Round 3 in Okayama. The biggest step forward was the race pace – if I had qualified higher we would have had the pace to finish on the podium possibly so this is clearly a step forward from Round 1&2. I feel as though I understand what it takes now to string together a strong weekend with this car, all I need to do now is make that happen at Fuji in two weeks time. The team was meticulous in their preparations this weekend and I’m pleased to have rewarded the guys with some positive results. Thank you KCMG!”
Ryuji Doi, KCMG Head of Motorsport: “We started off the race weekend focused on delivering strong results, which I undoubtedly believe we did. Yuichi and Struan are both improving steadily as we go further along the season and this previous outing proved that we are very near our goal. For Yuichi, I can say that we were in the running to secure very good results if only he had the chance to finish the race. Meanwhile, Struan is consistently improving and has shown significant progress since we started our JF3 campaign in March. I’d like to commend everyone in the team for the hard work each exerted over the weekend. Needless to say, we will continue to work and develop the cars further through the interval that we’ll have before the Fuji event in July.”
To know more about Super Formula and All-Japan Formula 3 Championship, visit: http://superformula.net and http://www.j-formula3.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.
