![Le Mans 2013 (9347498324)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Le_Mans_2013_%289347498324%29.jpg)
KC Motorgroup Ltd, known as KCMG, is an
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
team based in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. Founded by former racing driver
Paul Ip
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
in 2007, KCMG has participated in a variety of championships across the world in
touring car
Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof).
"Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s.
Th ...
,
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
, and
open-wheel racing
Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-s ...
.
History
KCMG entered the
Formula Nippon
The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...
series in 2010 as a Toyota customer team, with
Katsuyuki Hiranaka
is a Japanese race car driver.
Career
Katsuyuki began karting in 1995 when he was 14, and in 2002 moved to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship, as a member of the TOM'S team. In 2002, he achieved one fastest lap and came fifth in one rac ...
finishing 12th. In 2011,
Alexandre Imperatori
Alexandre Emmanuel Imperatori (born 19 April 1987 in Châtel-Saint-Denis) is a Swiss racing driver who lives in Shanghai, China.
Career
Karting
Imperatori started kart racing at the age of four in Spain. He raced karting in Spain and Germany a ...
finished 12th. In 2012, Ryo Orime finished 19th. In the 2013 Super Formula,
Richard Bradley finished 21st.
Yuichi Nakayama
is a Japanese racing driver, best known for winning the 2013 All-Japan Formula Three Championship.
Career
Karting
Born in Tokyo, Nakayama began his racing career in karting at the age of six and raced in various local championships, progressin ...
finished 20th in 2014, 16th in 2015, and 18th in 2016.
In 2013, KCMG expanded outside Asia with an entry in the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
before entering the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
in 2014, during which the team won three races.
The team went on to win the
2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 83e 24 Heures du Mans) was an 24-hour automobile endurance event for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 10 to 14 June 2015 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close ...
in the LMP2 category on its way to a second-place finish in the
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
WEC season. However, in the following year, KCMG pared down its LMP2 participation to a one-off entry at Le Mans. KCMG did contest the full
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
WEC season, albeit in the GTE Am category, finishing fourth in what would be its final season in the championship.
Beginning in 2017, KCMG has partnered with
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
in the
NASCAR Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
, sponsoring drivers
Brandon Jones,
Matt Tifft
Matthew Kenneth Tifft (born June 26, 1996) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, and current team owner. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports unt ...
,
Tyler Reddick
Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...
and
Earl Bamber
Earl Anderson Bamber (born 9 July 1990) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, currently competing as a factory driver for Porsche Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class.
He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup an ...
. Reddick won the
2019 LTi Printing 250 with KCMG as the sponsor.
KCMG Driver Development Project
In April 2021, KCMG announced the launch of a new young driver programme named the KCMG Driver Development Project with Irish racer Alex Dunne being named as its first signing the following day.
The program provides its members with dedicated coaching staff on race weekends, and physiotherapists, managers and tutors to improve their fitness, media skills and education.
Current members
Former members
Drivers
*
Alexandre Imperatori
Alexandre Emmanuel Imperatori (born 19 April 1987 in Châtel-Saint-Denis) is a Swiss racing driver who lives in Shanghai, China.
Career
Karting
Imperatori started kart racing at the age of four in Spain. He raced karting in Spain and Germany a ...
(2011, 2013–2014, 2018–present)
*
Matthew Howson(2013–2016)
*
Ho-Pin Tung
Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Chinese-Dutch racing driver who races with a Chinese license.
Career
Born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, Tung started kart racing in the Netherlands in 1997 before graduating to single-seaters. I ...
(2013)
*
Richard Bradley (2013–2016)
*
Tsugio Matsuda
is a Japanese professional racing driver. He has won the Formula Nippon series twice, in 2007 and 2008. He has also competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Matsuda has also become a regular participant in the Super GT series which ...
(2014–2016, 2018–present)
*
Nick Tandy
Nick Tandy (born 5 November 1984) is a professional British racing driver currently racing for Corvette Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the 64 Corvette C8.R. His major victories include the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2015 ...
(2015)
*
Nicolas Lapierre
Nicolas Lapierre (born 2 April 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He raced with Toyota and with Alpine Racing in the past seasons of the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, with overa ...
(2015)
*
Christian Ried
Christian Ried (born 24 February 1979) is a German racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Career
Ried's father Gerold founded Proton Competition in 1996, the team which Christian has spent most of his caree ...
(2016)
*
Wolf Henzler
Wolfgang Henzler (born 5 April 1975) is a former German Porsche factory racing driver. He began racing in 1991 with a win in the German Junior Kart championship.
Born in Nürtingen, Baden-Württemberg, he won one time the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2 ...
(2016)
*
Joel Camathias Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to:
* Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name.
* Joel (surname), a surname
* Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...
(2016)
*
Yuichi Nakayama
is a Japanese racing driver, best known for winning the 2013 All-Japan Formula Three Championship.
Career
Karting
Born in Tokyo, Nakayama began his racing career in karting at the age of six and raced in various local championships, progressin ...
(2014–2016, 2018)
*
Katsuyuki Hiranaka
is a Japanese race car driver.
Career
Katsuyuki began karting in 1995 when he was 14, and in 2002 moved to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship, as a member of the TOM'S team. In 2002, he achieved one fastest lap and came fifth in one rac ...
(2010)
*
Ryo Orime
is a professional race car driver.
Complete Super GT Results
References
1982 births
Living people
Japanese racing drivers
Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers
Super GT drivers
{{Japan-autoracing-bio-stub
KCMG drivers
Formula Ni ...
(2012)
*
Kamui Kobayashi
is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and the ...
(2017–present)
*
Katsumasa Chiyo
is a Japanese factory racing driver, currently competing in the Autobacs Super GT Series as a factory driver for Nissan. He is a graduate of the Nissan Driver Development Program (NDDP), and a past champion of the Bathurst 12 Hour race, and t ...
(2019–present)
*
Oliver Jarvis
Oliver Jarvis (born 9 January 1984) is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Mazda Team Joest.
Jarvis won the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing.
Early life
Bo ...
(2018–present)
*
Brandon Jones (2017)
*
Matt Tifft
Matthew Kenneth Tifft (born June 26, 1996) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, and current team owner. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports unt ...
(2018)
*
Tyler Reddick
Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...
(2019)
*
Josh Burdon
Josh Burdon (born 5 September 1992) is an Australian professional racing driver and 2016 Asian Formula Renault Series champion.He is currently driving for Hong Kong-based KC Motorgroup in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Nürburgring Langstr ...
(2018–present)
*
Attila Tassi
Attila Tassi (born 14 June 1999) is a Hungarian racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup. Having previously competed in the SEAT León Eurocup, TCR International Series and Hungarian Suzuki Cup.
Racing career
Tassi bega ...
(2018–present)
*
Kris Richard (2018–present)
*
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup, driving a Honda Civic TCR for Engstler Motorsport. He competed in Formula One between 2005 an ...
(2019–present)
*
Earl Bamber
Earl Anderson Bamber (born 9 July 1990) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, currently competing as a factory driver for Porsche Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class.
He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup an ...
(2020)
Racing record
24 Hours of Le Mans results
FIA World Endurance Championship results
Formula Nippon/Super Formula results
References
External links
*
{{autoracing-stub
Hong Kong auto racing teams
Chinese auto racing teams
2007 establishments in Hong Kong
Auto racing teams established in 2007
FIA World Endurance Championship teams
24 Hours of Le Mans teams
Formula Nippon teams
Super Formula teams
Super GT teams
Japanese Formula 3 Championship teams
Formula Renault teams
Blancpain Endurance Series teams
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams
Toyota in motorsport
Nissan in motorsport
Porsche in motorsport
Racecar constructors