Following an encouraging pre-season test in March, carrozzeria Team KCMG returned to Suzuka Circuit to tackle Super Formula’s opening round for 2018. The Japanese formula series’ first race witnessed Kamui Kobayashi pull out all the stops to secure a top ten finish in the #18 Toyota-powered Dallara SF14 despite a challenging weekend that was stymied by car balance issues.
Kobayashi started the race weekend with promising results and emerged second fastest in Friday’s Free Practice 1. Sampling soft and medium tyres on warm track conditions, carrozzeria Team KCMG ran a total of 15 laps with the Japanese ace clocking his best time of 1’38.692.
Difficulties with the car’s set-up began during Saturday morning’s free practice run. Kobayashi was struggling for pace due to car stability issues and only managed to finish the session in 17th place.
Even with this hitch, the three part knock-out qualifying session saw Kobayashi advance to Q2 after clocking the 11th fastest lap during the first run. He was then able to set a best time of 1’37.940 during the second session, but missed less than a few tenths to get into Q1. This result ultimately secured a top ten grid spot for Super Formula’s 51-lap race the following day.
Race day began with a positive pre-race warm up that finished with Kobayashi back in the top two. carrozzeria Team KCMG was optimistic but after a rough start, the #18 car dropped several places down the field.
Despite this setback, Kobayashi’s unrelenting determination paid off as he steadily moved up the order, securing 9th position with several minutes remaining on the clock. The Japanese driver also opted for a one pit-stop strategy for the 300km race, starting with soft tyres and changing to medium after 16 laps.
Kobayashi’s thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Kenta Yamashita during the final minutes was notably one of the main highlights of the race. Yamashita executed a two-pit strategy and was running on fresher tyres as he chased Kobayashi during the last five laps. Despite his best efforts to fend off his rival, Kobayashi lost his position on the final lap and had to settle for a Top 10 finish.
Kamui Kobayashi: “We started and finished the race in P10, which was not the result that I wanted. We got off to a good start on Friday, with results comparable to what we produced during the winter tests. However, we began having issues with the car balance on Saturday and did not manage to adjust it perfectly so were struggling throughout the race. The team had a good strategy, just that we didn’t have enough space to catch up. We have to work harder to develop the car and recognize areas where we need to improve. Where we are at the moment is not too far away from the top – so our objective now is to focus on correcting the car and come back stronger in the next race at Autopolis.”
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Images by Mamoru Atsuta
