Kids com Team KCMG showed excellent qualifying pace at Autopolis during Round 5 of the 2025 Super Formula campaign, starting the race from the second row as they took home a double-points finish.
Welcoming back Kamui Kobayashi after he missed Rounds 3 and 4 at Suzuka, the squad displayed superb one-lap speed during qualifying. The session was delayed to Sunday due to adverse weather conditions, but the team’s pace was unaffected, with Kobayashi taking third and teammate Nirei Fukuzumi narrowly behind in fourth.
A tough start to the race saw the duo drop positions, and the team opted to pit early, looking to make the most of new tyres. However, neither driver had the speed to keep up with the frontrunners, with Kobayashi maintaining his 100% points-finishing rate in 2025 in seventh, ahead of Fukuzumi in ninth, adding a combined six points to the team’s championship tally.
Super Formula now takes a two-month break from racing before returning for a double-header at Fuji Speedway on July 18-20. The cars will be on track at the same venue in the meantime, with a mid-season test scheduled for 7-8 June.
#7 KAMUI KOBAYASHI
“We were strong in qualifying and I was able to take my best grid position of the year in third. Unfortunately I had too much wheelspin at the start and lost places. I was stuck behind the car in front so we opted to pit early. The Safety Car came at a bad time for our strategy and although we were fast in the early stages, we lost some pace as the race went on. I’m happy to score points again, but we know we can do more in the upcoming rounds.”
#8 NIREI FUKUZUMI
“We had the potential to take pole position in qualifying, but I couldn’t complete the perfect lap, which left us fourth. I didn’t get a great start but I was finding my pace when we pitted. We came in just before the Safety Car, which was not ideal for our strategy. I’m still pleased to have scored points, even though we didn’t get as many as we hoped, and I’m looking forward to Fuji.”
RYUJI DOI KCMG HEAD OF MOTORSPORT
“Although we faced a delay before qualifying, the team stayed fully focused and our drivers showed superb pace. We had potential to take pole and were pleased to lock out the second row. However, poor starts and a difficult race meant we were unable to reach our goal of scoring a podium finish. We’ll look to improve in certain areas in the test at Fuji next month, before we return there for Rounds 6 and 7 in July. A positive was our pit stops, which were much better compared to previous rounds, proving our hard work has paid off. We will continue to do our best in pursuit of our goals this season.”
Media enquires: Cristina Villar
Email address: cristina@kcmg.com.hk
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. This includes the FIA Motorsport Games, where KCMG is the official supplier of hybrid F4 cars, and the KCMG Driver Development Project. For more information on all of the team’s activities please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.com.hk.
