KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) made a successful debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) by claiming 6th position in the LMP2 category during the 6 Hours of Silverstone over the weekend. Represented by a diverse driver lineup of Alexandre Imperatori, Matthew Howson and Ka To Jim, the blue and white #47 Morgan-Nissan LMP2 did not disappoint and had set several fastest laps throughout the race.
Headed by KCMG team owner Paul Ip, the team displayed an inspiring level of deftness since the onset of the Morgan-Nissan’s shakedown and pre-season testing in Magny-Cours. The leading Hong Kong-based motorsport group had barely 3 months to prepare for WEC’s opening event at Silverstone. However, this did not deter the team’s objective to compete and finish the race with strong results.
Dubbed as the “new Asian team” to take part in a European WEC event, KCMG made history by becoming the first Chinese team to compete in the highly anticipated 6 Hours of Silverstone last weekend – and notably, the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in June. Competing against 34 cars from world-class sports car marques from across the globe, KCMG successfully represented China in its Morgan-Nissan prototype throughout the event.
The team produced dynamic results during the 3 sessions of free practice that preceded Saturday’s qualifying. Finishing 6th position for sessions 1 and 2 and 5th position for the last practice session signaled other teams that KCMG was aimed at challenging for top positions. The team took a satisfying 8th position during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session.
The 6 Hours of Silverstone commenced the following day at 12:00pm GMT.The event has been considered as KCMG’s platform to properly gauge the team’s technical proficiency and each driver’s endurance in extremely physical race situations.
Former KCMG Japanese F3 driver Matthew Howson was first set to drive the LMP2 but had to start the race from the back of the grid after a spin on the formation lap. Nonetheless, the British driver had strong race pace and made a great recovery. Howson came through the field, taking 6th position with 2nd fastest time at the end of his double stint.
Alexandre Imperatori, also a former KCMG Formula Nippon and Japanese Formula 3 driver, took the wheel from Howson as the British driver pitted for fuel and tyres. The Swiss driver had strong pace and had no difficulty in catching up with his competitors ahead. As clouds over Silverstone hinted at rain, Imperatori took a successful pit stop for wet tyres. The Swiss driver later pitted for slicks and challenged for 2nd position. Impressively, Imperatori continued to set best lap times and was the fastest LMP2 on the circuit.
Next to drive the blue and white #47 LMP2 was Chinese Hong Kong driver Ka To Jim. The 28 year old driver also made history last weekend by becoming the first Chinese Hong Kong driver to compete in a WEC event. Jim also had strong race pace and was running in 4th position before the car encountered some oil pressure issues. The Chinese Hong Kong driver completed a good double stint in his debut WEC race and passed on the car to Imperatori from 6th position.
After 179 laps and 6:01’49 hours, the team completed its debut WEC event in 6th position – a remarkable feat for a team running in its first year in the series.
Alexandre Imperatori: “Overall, I’m quite happy with our WEC debut in Silverstone. It was a big challenge and we had a lot thrown at us but the team reacted well and it was great practice ahead of Le Mans to test everybody in live conditions. The weather made it particularly difficult but the team can be proud of how it handled all the small issues we had. There is obviously a lot of room for improvement but we knew that coming into the week-end so now it will be important to debrief and learn all the lessons to come to Le Mans in top shape. We also showed we had a strong potential and a good pace, even though we had virtually zero running in dry conditions prior to the race. Thanks to all the crew for putting in the efforts they have to get this car ready and through the week-end!”
Matthew Howson: “KCMG’s WEC debut at Silverstone was phenomenal. The team was created just 8 weeks previously and there were nothing but compliments from the rest of the paddock about KCMG’s presentation, efficiency and performance! The car was excellent and considering the limited experience in endurance racing between us drivers we were competitive enough to fight for a podium, robbed by an oil pressure problem and a long pit stop. It was a pleasure racing with Alex and Ka To, the mechanics did a great job and there wasn’t one mistake, engineering and strategy to the same standard. All of this was only our ‘shakedown’ race so it gives us great confidence for Le Mans. On to night testing and longer stints, and we’ll be ready!”
Ka To Jim: “I’m still on a high after racing for KCMG’s WEC debut at Silverstone. We have been given limited time to practice and work as a team but the results at the actual race were amazing. I’m happy to be part of such an efficient and hard working group. Racing in Silverstone is a dream realized for me. Being the first Chinese Hong Kong driver to participate in a WEC event is such an honor. It was also great racing alongside Alex and Matt and working with the rest of the team. We all learned a lot from each other. Lastly, I’d like to thank Paul Ip for this wonderful experience!”
KCMG team owner and Managing Director Paul Ip has been very hands on the past several months as the team formed and worked on the WEC project. From the onset of this new motorsport initiative, Ip frequently travelled from Asia to Europe and back to supervise the Morgan acquisition to the team’s initial technical practices in France. Ip is happy to have achieved such an accomplishment in KCMG’s first year competing in WEC. He states, “Everyone in the team has done an extremely good job. We gained great results over the weekend and our efforts as a team have been very rewarding. Our drivers have displayed such proficiency and have adapted well despite their first time to compete in a highly physical race. I’m very happy and impressed with how everyone performed. It makes all the hard work and lengthy time spent on this project worth it. I’m now looking forward to bigger challenges, and that would be the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. I’m proud to be representing Asia, particularly China and Hong Kong in such a massive and prestigious venue. Everyone is excited and getting ready to compete in June. As always, our work never stops.”
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.
