KC Motorsport Ltd. (KCMG) demonstrated brilliant speed at the Fuji 24 Hours, the third round of the 2019 Super Taikyu endurance series, but it went unrewarded after the Honda Civic Type R FK8 suffered from reliability issues.
After impressing with a debut podium at Suzuka and showing strong pace at Sugo, KCMG aimed for a maiden series win at Fuji, one of four 24-hour races the team will be entering in 2019.
From the front row, a brilliant opening lap by TCR rookie Josh Burdon put him into the lead. He then built a 50 second advantage over the chasing pack, which was maintained by the end of Paul Ip’s stint.
2015 Le Mans LMP2 winner Matt Howson took over, and the lead was stretched to a mammoth 80 seconds at the five-hour mark when World Touring Car Cup racer Attila Tassi got behind the wheel, but an exhaust problem hampered the TCR Europe and TCR International race winner’s stint.
After losing 10 laps to resolve the problem, a resilient fightback brought the team up to fourth with strong stints from each driver, demonstrating the immense performance of the Civic Type R.
Refusing to give in despite a further issue later in the race, the car made it across the finish line in seventh.
Next up for KCMG will be the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the second round of TCR Japan on June 22-23.
Matt Howson: “KCMG’s first Fuji 24 Hours was a weekend of contrast. As a team we dominated the first six hours of the race, only to run into technical trouble which ruled us out of the fight for victory. Finishing was important for championship points so we’re happy we managed that, but certainly we were the benchmark throughout the event. I want to thank my team-mates for all their excellent work.”
Attila Tassi: “It was a hell of an experience! I enjoyed it a lot despite the fact that we had issues and we haven’t finished as we wanted. It was good to see that our pace was the best, but this time luck was not on our side. My thanks to the team, they did an outstanding job. Hopefully everyone will get a well-deserved rest.”
Josh Burdon: “It was a privilege for me to join the Fuji 24 Hours with KCMG. It was a really fun weekend but unfortunately we did not walk away with the result we deserved. After a strong qualifying and leading the race after six hours, we had some mechanical trouble which took us out of the race lead. Finishing seventh is still solid points for the teams’ championship though. Thank you to the team and my team-mates for their hard work.”
Paul Ip: “I amazed by the performance of our car. We came to Fuji looking for our first Super Taikyu win, which we knew would be a challenge, especially in a 24-hour race. But the pace is very encouraging so it’s only a matter of time before we get the results we’ve been aiming for.”
Ryuji Doi, KCMG Head of Motorsport: “The technical problem was a shame and the result was not what we wanted but our car was very fast. Our drivers’ performances were especially strong and consistent, even the ‘lift and coast’ pace was very competitive. Many thanks for the team’s hard work and effort.”
