KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) rounded off another constructive weekend at Twin Ring Motegi after displaying competitive pace in Super Formula and All-Japan Formula 3 Championship. KCMG drivers Yuichi Nakayama and Struan Moore both posted competitive lap times as they tackled two of Japan’s hotly contested Formula championships on Motegi’s technical 4.8km road course.
Yuichi Nakayama focused on finding pace in dry conditions and made headway after impressively completing the final practice session in P5 – setting his weekend’s best time of 1m35.613s in the process. The Japanese driver however struggled during Super Formula’s qualifying session and had to settle for a P18-start for Sunday’s race. After out maneuvering opposition for a number of laps, Nakayama ultimately concluded the race in P16.
Meanwhile, Jersey-born driver Struan Moore also enjoyed an action-packed weekend at Motegi as he wrapped up JF3’s penultimate round, highlighting two races that were completed with promising results. Friday’s practice runs witnessed Moore deliver impressive lap times and wrapped up the afternoon session in P4. Despite difficulties encountered during qualifying, Moore demonstrated further progress in terms of pace during the races.
Race 1 saw the British driver get off to a strong start and fought his way up to seventh place, which he maintained until he crossed the finish line. For Race 2, Moore’s time steadily improved with each lap and conquered JF3’s 20-lap challenge at Motegi in P7. After competing in seven events and racing on five of Japan’s most demanding tracks, the British driver is keen to finish strong in his debut season in the Japanese series at Sportsland Sugo next month.
Yuichi Nakayama: “We had a trying weekend, especially during qualifying. But pace-wise, I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made since the last round at Fuji. Ultimately, our aim is to finish in the points and we will continue our efforts to achieve this goal. I’d like to thank Toyota and all our supporters, especially those who travelled to Motegi who came to see us race. See you all again at Fuji next month!”
Struan Moore: “Motegi was brilliant in terms of pace, we layed down strong times on Friday to finish P4 at the end of the day. This was the first session of the year we managed to beat the Toms cars all be it by a fraction. Qualy was a difficult task as the character of the track had change dramatically and we failed to deliver a competitive time, which was a shame as the starting position at this track really determines your finishing position. In both races we did salvage competitive times but were unable to move into the top 5 unfortunately. I’m happy with my times but I’m still missing a podium, which was my goal in this rookie year, hopefully we can string together the perfect weekend at Sugo and finish on a high. Thank you to the team for their work and fans for another enjoyable week in Japan.”
Ryuji Doi, KCMG Head of Motorsport: “The weekend brought us several challenges that affected our performance in qualifying and that ultimately gave us a difficult time to get the results that we were aiming for over the weekend. However, we’ve once again proven that our pace is competitive and we can deliver a points-scoring finish in both Super Formula and JF3. The boys are continuously making progress and the team is working non-stop to ensure that we finish strong in both championship’s forthcoming events.”
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.
