KC Motorgroup (KCMG) had a difficult event in Round 8 of the 2026 SUPER FORMULA season at Sportsland SUGO as neither Kenta Yamashita nor Giuliano Alesi were able to score points for the outfit.
Saturday saw both drivers narrowly miss out on advancing into the second part of qualifying, with Yamashita lining up in 17th while Alesi started in 20th after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impending another driver during the session.
Yamashita gained a couple of positions on the opening tour of the 51-lap race, but after being held up at the beginning of his second stint, was unable to make further progress through the field, eventually crossing the line in 14th.
On the other side of the garage, Alesi had a technical issue during the opening laps which continued throughout the event, meaning he was limited and unable to show his true pace, finishing 19th.
The squad will be back in action on 9-11 October as the championship heads for a double-header at Fuji Speedway.
#8 KENTA YAMASHITA
“We struggled for pace throughout the weekend and this led to a frustrating result for us. We need to analyse the data carefully and continue working to improve as there are still many areas we are lacking in. It’s not something that can be solved easily, but we’re looking to make improvements step by step. We saw some positive signs last time out at Fuji Speedway and I hope we can make further progress at the next rounds in October.”
#9 GIULIANO ALESI
“We gradually found some positive areas on the car set-up and after FP2 on Sunday morning, I felt that we had the potential to fight in the midfield group. However, during the opening stages of the race, we had an issue which limited us from improving our pace and showcasing our true potential. We need to investigate carefully and understand what happened. We will work together as a team to do our best to improve the car and put us in a better position to score points.”
RYUJI DOI KCMG HEAD OF MOTORSPORT
“It was a challenging weekend for us and unfortunately we also had some bad luck on top of that. Yamashita was going well in the early stages of the race and we were hopeful he could score some points. However, after his pit-stop he got stuck behind another car for several laps, resulting in a significant loss of time and made the second stint extremely difficult. For Alesi, an issue developed on his car in the first half of the event which meant he couldn’t show his true pace. Overall, it was a very frustrating race and we know that it can’t continue like this. We will make the most of the two-month break to prepare thoroughly and come back stronger for the next rounds.”
Media enquiries: 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 X and Instagram.
About 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.
