KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) continues to lead the overall and Gentleman class Saturday Series in the TCR Japan Touring Car Championship, despite suffering from misfortune during a sodden Fuji round.
Starting from fourth on the grid, Matt Howson fought his way into the lead on board the #18 Honda Civic Type R TCR FK8. However, tyre trouble in the damp conditions caused him to slip back down the order, but a sixth-place finish was enough for the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner to retain his lead in the Saturday Series.
The Brit continued to show strong pace during a soaked race two on Sunday, battling for the lead after qualifying third until a misfire caused his first retirement of the season. Nonetheless, Howson remains a strong contender for the overall title with two rounds remaining.
Two podiums were scored in the Gentleman class for bronze-grade drivers, firstly with Yukinori ‘Yuke’ Taniguchi who came third in race one to retain his lead in the class’ Saturday Series.
KCMG Founder Paul Ip took to the podium on his debut weekend, finishing third in class in the treacherous conditions during race two following an impressive fourth-place finish the day before.
The penultimate round of TCR Japan will be held at the Okayama International Circuit on 28-29 August.
Matt Howson: “Fuji was a very tough weekend with changeable weather, having set the pace in the wet in testing we expected better from two wet races. Tyre performance issues in race one meant only sixth could be salvaged having climbed into the lead, and while battling for the win again in race two we suffered a misfire and had to retire the car. That’s motorsport and we will focus on the remaining two rounds while we hold a strong position in the championship.”
Yuke Taniguchi: “We had a good weekend with the Saturday podium and we kept the lead in the championship. The conditions were really tricky so it’s good that we brought the car home because it would have been very easy to go off the circuit. I’m looking forward to the next round at Okayama.”
Paul Ip, KCMG Founder: “It’s a great feeling to have scored a podium on my TCR Japan debut weekend, especially given the conditions we were racing in. We had a difficult round with Matt but these things happen and it’s important that we come back stronger for the final two rounds. With his lead battles and Yuke’s podium though, overall we’re satisfied with the pace we have shown in Fuji.”
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.
