Team KCMG is ready for the eighth and ninth rounds of the 2026 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) season this weekend, with an all-Japanese quartet sharing driver duties across the event.
NLS8 and 9 will be the squad’s first competitive running at the Nürburgring since June, when the outfit lined up on the front row after qualifying second, before securing a top 10 finish in the enduro.
Both Kamui Kobayashi and Naoya Gamou raced on that occasion, with the duo returning behind the wheel of the #47 Mercedes-AMG this weekend, forming the line-up for the first four-hour event of the double-header in NLS8.
Sunday’s action sees Nirei Fukuzumi step into the #47 car, with the Japanese driver fresh off his impressive SUPER FORMULA victory at Sportsland SUGO last month. For NLS9 he’ll be joined by Sho Tsuboi, who has won SUPER GT500 races in both Okayama and Fuji Speedway since his last appearance with Team KCMG at NLS2 in March.
Qualifying on both days gets underway from 08:30 local time (UTC+2), with lights out for Saturday and Sunday’s enduros at 12:00.
KAMUI KOBAYASHI
“We’ll see much cooler track conditions than when we last raced here in June, so that’ll be an interesting difference. The main target of the weekend is to gain more valuable mileage and confidence. It’s a pleasure to drive this iconic circuit and I’m looking forward to working with the team again.”
NAOYA GAMOU
“I’m very happy to be back with KCMG competing in NLS once again this weekend. I’ll do my best to gain as much experience as possible and contribute to the team in any way I can.”
NIREI FUKUZUMI
“It’s great to be returning to the Nürburgring and I’m looking forward to working with KCMG again. We’ve got an all-Japanese quartet for this double-header so let’s see what we can achieve.”
SHO TSUBOI
“This will be my second time racing in the GT3 category at the Nordschleife, so I’m much more familiar with the series than I was earlier in the year. My main goal for the weekend is to further improve on my performance from NLS2 in March.”
MATT HOWSON TEAM MANAGER
“As we head towards the end of the 2026 season, we’re delighted to return to the Nürburgring once again for the double-header at NLS8 and 9. With the split line-ups of Naoya Gamou and Kamui Kobayashi on Saturday, before Nirei Fukuzumi and Sho Tsuboi take on Sunday, it’s the perfect opportunity for maximum driver track time as they continue to build experience on the Nordschleife. After the #47 KCMG Mercedes-AMG started on the front row last time out at NLS6, we have high expectations to continue running at the front, and we look to convert our speed into a strong race result.”
PAUL IP KCMG FOUNDER
“We’re pleased to return to the Nürburgring for the NLS8 and 9 double-header. Throughout the 2026 season, the team has continued to make strong progress and consistently demonstrated the pace required to compete at the front, while also providing our Japanese drivers with valuable experience in GT3 machinery on the Nordschleife. These two races represent an important opportunity to bring together everything we have learned so far, continue the development of our drivers and convert our performance into the strong results the entire team deserves.”
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.
