SGC by KCMG took its 5th podium of the season in Japanese Formula 3’s intense 5th round at the Okayama Circuit last weekend. The fierce battle for the championship title has driven Gary Thompson and Matt Howson to determinedly pursue victory despite the challenges that the team faced during the weekends races.
In their newly-modified Toyota Dallaras, both drivers demonstrated strong form and performed well in both testing and qualifying. During the first qualifying session, Thompson took 3rd place while Howson secured 6th for Race 1. Underlining the team’s aim to progress, Howson moved up to 4th while Thompson maintained 3rd position on the grid during qualifying for Race 2.
Battling for another victory after a successful Motegi outing early this month, Thompson was off to a good start and was running a strong 2nd when his Toyota Dallara encountered issues with its throttle body which caused the component to partially stick open intermittingly. The Irish driver went off the circuit due to this glitch which compromised a better position. Despite this setback, the Irish driver still finished strong in 3rd place, giving his team its 5th podium of the season.
Meanwhile, British team mate Howson – who was eyeing for a double podium in Okayama-also fought hard to overtake his opponents and to get further towards the front. After a strong drive, Howson took 5th position in Race 1.
As both drivers felt a significant improvement in the cars, Thompson and Howson arrived at the circuit the following morning for Race 2 recharged with a positive disposition. Howson had a tight battle with Takamoto Katsuta for 3rd position all throughout the race and finished taking 4th place.
According to Howson, “5th and 4th place finishes in Okayama sound only solid on paper, but in reality there was a huge gain in performance, with my Dallara F308 being transformed through engineering by the KCMG team since the start of the season. Okayama was the most significant gain so far, and with just small changes now we can threaten for wins. As the expression goes, to make an omelette you have to be prepared to break eggs, and we have finally broken our first eggs!”
Thompson, who was once again challenging for 2nd after a faultless start, found himself drop to 8th position after avoiding Richard Bradley who spun off track at Turn 1. Despite this block, Thompson was able to fight back to 5th position with very good pace.
Thompson states, “We had a good weekend. We made a lot of progress and the team all worked very hard for us to be 3rd in qualifying with the possibility for pole had it not been for traffic on my best laps in both sessions! I got off to good starts and was challenging for 2nd in both races. We had very good pace. I think if not for the driver ahead spinning in Race 2 we could finish 2nd for sure.”
With two more events left in the season, KCMG Japan General Manager Ryuji Doi believes that the odds to take the championship title is still possible. “The disparity is great in terms of car improvement from the last race in Motegi and here in Okayama. The latest developments in the cars have hugely complemented our driver’s performance. Gary and Matt are happy with the modifications done and the team and I cannot be happier to have provided them with great cars.”
SGC by KCMG will be back for the 6th event of the highly lauded Japanese championship on September 22-23 at Sportsland SUGO.
For more information about KCMG, visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow @KCMotorgroup on Twitter.
