KC Motorgroup Ltd. is delighted to announce that it will field a Honda Civic Type R TCR for João Paulo de Oliveira in the final WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup round at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia (13-15 December).
Having entered the previous two WTCR rounds as a wildcard in Suzuka and Macau, KC Motorgroup has elected to run Brazilian Super GT and Formula Nippon legend de Oliveira for the Race of Malaysia.
De Oliveira is no stranger to the Hong Kong squad, having raced for KCMG in this year’s Nürburgring 24 Hours and was part of the team’s recent Kyalami 9 Hour line-up, where he impressed throughout the weekend.
With a racing career spanning more than 20 years, de Oliveira had success in Japan’s premier single-seater and GT series, and was a regular championship challenger in both Formula Nippon (now Super Formula) and Super GT, winning the 2010 title in the former.
The WTCR entry will mark de Oliveira’s first touring car appearance since his one-off FIA World Touring Car Championship entry at the Japanese round from Suzuka in 2009, with the Brazilian also making his maiden outing in the Honda Civic Type R TCR.
KC Motorgroup will be in Sepang for Wildcard testing on 9-10 December, before Free Practice at the 5.542 km circuit gets underway on Friday 13 December (10:00 and 12:45, GMT+8). Qualifying will take place that afternoon (15:15 and 19:30), with all three races scheduled for Sunday (R1: 15:15, R2: 18:15, R3: 20:10).
João Paulo de Oliveira: “I’m looking forward to taking part in the WTCR race in Sepang. It will be quite a challenge as I have never driven a TCR car before, but I hope to adapt quickly and be competitive throughout the weekend. My goal is to be able to challenge the more experienced drivers and fight for a top 10 position in the races.”
Paul Ip, Team Founder: “We are delighted to have João Paulo de Oliveira join KC Motorgroup for the WTCR finale in Malaysia. He has been a huge asset to the team during his Nürburgring 24 Hours and Kyalami 9 Hour appearances this year, not only with his speed but with the in-depth feedback he provided. It will be his first race in the Honda Civic Type R TCR, but we’re confident that he will have no issue adapting and being competitive.”
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.
