KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) is hoping to return to the top of the TCR Japan Touring Car Series field this weekend (13/14 July) at the Fuji Speedway with Matt Howson, Yukinori ‘Yuke’ Taniguchi and debutant Paul Ip.
Approaching the halfway point in TCR Japan’s inaugural season, KCMG will be aiming to match its recent performance in the World Touring Car Cup, where Tiago Monteiro scored a historic first series win for the team in Portugal with the Honda Civic Type R TCR FK8.
The famous foothills of Mount Fuji will once again set the scene for Howson and the #18 Civic Type R, having shown winning potential during the 24-hour Super Taikyu race held there in June. Howson has also stood on the Fuji podium in Japanese F3 and the FIA World Endurance Championship with KCMG.
Despite a difficult weekend at Sportsland Sugo, the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner leads the overall and Saturday Series standings and is well within contention for the Sunday Series title heading to the former Grand Prix venue.
On board the #72 car is team-mate Taniguchi, whose strong start to the season has put him in the lead of the Gentleman class Saturday Series, having taken two wins amongst his fellow bronze-graded drivers. He too returns to a happy hunting ground after winning here in Blancpain GT Series Asia last year.
KCMG Founder Paul Ip makes his series debut in the #22 machine, having raced the previous generation Civic Type R at the Dubai 24 Hours in January.
Matt Howson: “The Fuji round of TCR Japan takes us over half way in the season. As in Sugo, the objective is to preserve our championship lead. The last round was difficult to win outright due to the Balance of Performance going against us. Hopefully there will be adjustments and the layout of the track will help us get back into contention. The long straight will make for some close action, so they should be exciting races until the final lap.”
Yuke Taniguchi: “I’m looking forward to this weekend in Fuji, where I have some happy memories. I scored my best overall result at Sugo so I hope to improve on it to consolidate my lead in the Gentleman class Saturday Series, but also get to the top of the Sunday Series.”
Paul Ip, KCMG Founder: “I can’t wait to make my debut in TCR Japan, especially after seeing the wonderful performances by Matt and Yuke in the first two rounds, and to do so around the Fuji Speedway will be very special. It’s an incredible circuit with a lot of technical challenges. The car has shown great potential here in other series, so we hope we can fulfil that.”
For more information about KCMG please visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of all the latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Who is KCMG?
KC Motorgroup Ltd (KCMG) is an international motorsport services group established in 2007 by Paul Ip. The group, with its headquarters located in Hong Kong, has operations reaching across the Asia Pacific region. KCMG operates closely with many partner companies and racing organisations around the world to provide unrivalled motorsport services, equipment, team management and quality distribution in the automotive industry. For more information on all of the team’s activities please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.com.hk.
