Team KCMG is set for Round 6 of the 2021 Super Formula season at Twin Ring Motegi, with Kamui Kobayashi returning to the Hong Kong outfit to join Yuji Kunimoto in the penultimate race of the championship.
2021 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Kobayashi will make his first Super Formula appearance of the year following his World Endurance Championship commitments with Toyota. The former F1 driver has strong history with KCMG at Twin Ring Motegi, taking a pair of second-place finishes in 2017 and 2019.
2016 Super Formula champion Kunimoto narrowly missed out on points last time out, but has tasted victory before at Motegi in the 2013 Super GT Series.
The 4.8-kilometre Motegi circuit hosts its second event of the 2021 campaign, having held the previous round seven weeks ago, with the season finale set for Suzuka at the end of October.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday 16 October, with the race scheduled for Sunday 17 October.
#7 KAMUI KOBAYASHI
“I’m excited to return to Super Formula for my first race of the year. I’m very grateful to KCMG for understanding my WEC commitments and welcoming me back this weekend. The season has been a tough one for the team so far but Twin Ring Motegi is a track that suits me and the car, so I’m really looking forward to giving it my best and hopefully securing a positive result.”
#18 YUJI KUNIMOTO
“Last time out at Twin Ring Motegi we were unfortunate to just miss out on points, so I’m hoping to improve on that and finish in the top 10. The race pace has been strong recently, but we’ve not qualified as well as we should have. It’s the second time we’ll compete at Twin Ring Motegi this season, both the team and myself have analysed data from the previous event and look to fight further up the field.”
RYUJI DOI KCMG HEAD OF MOTORSPORT
“Firstly, I would like to welcome Kamui back to the team following his success with Toyota at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Kazuto Kotaka did an admirable job filling in for Kamui and we thank him for all his hard work this season. We’ve got a great opportunity this weekend to bounce back from some disappointing results. Yuji came very close to a points finish last time out, missing out by one position, so we know we are close to competing at the front. Kamui has twice scored podium positions at this circuit with KCMG, so the potential is there for us this weekend.”
