KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) heads to Belgium for the third round of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge, the fourth and final 24-hour race it will take part in this year, the Total 24 Hours of Spa (25-28 July).
Having shown podium potential at the two prior rounds, the Bathurst 12 Hours and California 8 Hours, KCMG’s pair of Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 cars are ready for action once again after being utilised in VLN and the Nürburgring 24 Hours.On board the #18 machine, 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner Oliver Jarvis knows the historic venue
well, having taken victory there in the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. He has since sampled the circuit in GT3 machinery when he took part in the 2017 24-hour event.
After running strong in KCMG’s Nürburgring 24 Hours assault in June, Edoardo Liberati returns to Intercontinental GT Challenge, as does Alexandre Imperatori.
In the #35 car 2015 Bathurst 12 Hours winner Katsumasa Chiyo is back alongside double Super GT and Formula Nippon champion Tsugio Matsuda.
Also returning from KCMG’s Nürburgring programme, Australian Joshua Burdon is fighting fit after his heavy Nordschleife collision, where he was hit by another car during a Code 60. Having demonstrated podium potential during the season, he and his team-mates are eager to secure a deserved rostrum.
Practice will begin on Thursday 25 July at 11:10 local time with qualifying starting at 20:00, culminating in a Friday Super Pole shoot-out at 19:05. Lights out for the twice-around-the-clock race is at 16:30 on Saturday.
Oliver Jarvis, #18 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3: “It’s great to be here in Spa with KCMG for one of the biggest GT races in the world. There’s an incredible line-up this year and I’m pleased to be part of it. It’s going to be a tough race, that’s for sure, with so many competitive cars and strong competition, anybody who wants to win will have to execute the perfect race. I think we’ve got a really strong package here, we had a good test day a few weeks ago. There’s definitely some unknowns with the weather predicted to be bad, particularly Saturday and Sunday, but we’ve done everything we can and look forward to getting the race weekend started.”
Edoardo Liberati, #18 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3: “We’re ready for the biggest GT3 race in the world. The official test day was useful to collect as much data as possible and KCMG has been working full-time to prepare the cars, the crew has done their absolute best to be competitive here. I love this track and I am confident we can achieve something really good.”
Alexandre Imperatori, #18 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3: “I’m really looking forward to the big race of the year, it’s the highlight of our season. This is the first time here for the team and a lot of the drivers, but we still want to be fighting for victory. We’ve been working hard in this respect. Up to now in IGTC, we’ve shown that we have a good car. However, we’ve come up short of a good result, so we want to make it happens this weekend. It won’t be easy because competition is high, but we’ll focus on our job and aim for a good result.”
Katsumasa Chiyo, #35 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3: “We are heading to one of the biggest GT races here at the Spa 24 Hours, which is also the toughest event on the IGTC season. The team has been working non-stop since Bathurst, as well as competing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. I hope we can get a good result here and we’ll throw everything we can at it.”
Tsugio Matsuda, #35 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3: “This is the first Spa 24 Hours for KCMG but I’m looking forward to fighting for them and hoping that we can score a good result.”
Joshua Burdon, #35 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3: “I am excited for my first Spa 24 Hours. 72 GT3 cars around this track is going to be fun. We have a lot of hard work ahead but after the official tests and the preparation from KCMG, I feel confident we can fight for a top position. I can’t wait to hit the track and get started.”
Paul Ip, KCMG Founder: “We have competed in three other big 24-hour races so far this year, but this last one is probably where we want to perform well at most. Not only because it will nicely bookend an impressive chapter in our 2019 campaign, but also because this is the pinnacle of GT3 racing. All eyes are on this one and I have great confidence in the team, car and drivers ahead of the weekend.”
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. For more information on all of the team’s activities please visit www.kcmg.com.hk or email info@kcmg.com.hk.
