Silverstone – KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) capped off FIA World Endurance Championship’s first event with a top 4 finish in the GTE Am class after the team’s promising perfomance at Silverstone Circuit over the weekend. Represented by Christian Ried, Joel Camanthias and Wolf Henzler, the Hong Kong-based outfit displayed strong form for the majority of the world championship’s first six hour round, until a mechnical setback at the final hour of the race kept the team from finishing on the podium.
Saturday morning saw heavy snow fall on the historic British circuit, prompting WEC officials to cancel the final free practice session. Despite limited running time prior qualifying and the race, the #78 Porsche 911 RSR secured second place on the GTE Am grid. Camanthias, Henzler and Ried went on to deliver impressive stints and managed to lead the class at one point in the race. Unfortunately, the car had to make an emergency pitstop as the race neared the sixth hour mark, ultimately marring the team’s chance of a podium finish.
Quotes from the Drivers:
Christian Ried (WEC Porsche 911 RSR #78): “We had some tough luck over the weekend. Still – not everything was bad in Silverstone. The cars were prepared well, the fast lap times showed this. This is what we can build on. And if we then don’t run into problems and maybe have a bit of luck, success will come in the coming rounds and we are looking forward to this.”
Wolf Henzler (WEC Porsche 911 RSR #78): “This was a challenging weekend. If you are still heading for the podium shortly before the end of the race and then only finish fourth, it’s first of all disappointing, of course. We all would have hoped for a more successful season kick-off. But still, we saw many good efforts in Silverstone, despite the tough luck. This makes me very optimistic for the rest of the season.”
The second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will take place on May 7 at the legendary Belgian race track of Spa-Francorchamps.
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.
Copyright: Jakob Ebrey Photography