carrozzeria Team KCMG showed good potential in the 2020 Super Formula season opener from Twin Ring Motegi, but unfortunately came away with no points after a difficult race.
Running a two-car entry for the first time in Japan’s premier single-seater championship, the Hong Kong squad had both ex-Formula 1 driver Kamui Kobayashi and 2016 series champion Yuji Kunimoto in the top 10 in qualifying.
Starting from eighth on the grid, Kobayashi made up two places off the line and was running well in the early stages, but a puncture caused by contact with another car brought him into the pits and restricted him to a 14th-place finish. The driver involved in the incident called carrozzeria Team KCMG’s Team Manager Tsugio Matsuda to apologise.
Kunimoto also progressed through the field, going from 10th to ninth in his first race for carrozzeria Team KCMG. He unfortunately retired after an issue occurred with the bodywork on his car.
carrozzeria Team KCMG aims to come back stronger at the second round from Okayama on 26-27 September.
Kamui Kobayashi: “We had a strong start to the weekend, making it into Q3 and starting eighth. I picked up two places, our pace was great and we were looking set for a good result. I made several attempts to pass the car in front but the effort wore out my tyres. I had a coming together with another driver and got a puncture which ultimately ruined my race. Qualifying is vital to secure a good result with the championship’s new race format so we need to work harder in the upcoming races to start higher on the grid. The team did a great job to deliver a quick car but we were just unfortunate so let’s aim higher at the next one.”
Yuji Kunimoto: “Not the start to the season we were hoping for. We tried a lot of different set-ups during free practice and the adjustments we made for qualifying worked quite well, having just missed out on Q3 by 0.07 seconds. I knew I needed to push hard to make up places on the first lap as it’s very difficult to overtake at Motegi. Then I was saving my tyres to push at the end but we had to retire because of issues with the bodywork. The overall result is disappointing but I’m glad to have started my time racing with carrozzeria Team KCMG. My feeling in the car is constantly improving, so we’ll push for a good result at Okayama.”
Ryuji Doi, KCMG Head of Motorsport: “This weekend was a big moment for the team, with our first two-car entry in Super Formula. Unfortunately, the 2020 season hasn’t started as well as we would have liked. Both cars showed good speed in the race and made progress but Kamui had contact with another car which massively affected his race. Yuji was very impressive in his first weekend with us but had an issue with the bodywork and we decided to retire his car. Hopefully we will have a change of fortunes at Okayama.”
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.
