Team KCMG travels to the Suzuka Circuit this weekend for Round 3 of the 2022 Super Formula season, building on Kamui Kobayashi’s points finish at Fuji Speedway.
Kobayashi, winner of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, took ninth place in the second race of the season-opening double-header at Fuji earlier this month, returning to the track where he stood on the Formula 1 podium in 2012. .
Super Formula 2022 season opener starts with points for KCMG
Teammate Yuji Kunimoto has also had success at the 5.807km track, where he claimed the Super Formula win and title in 2016, along with a podium finish for KCMG in 2020.
Japan’s most famous circuit features iconic curves such as the S Curves, Spoon Curve and 130R, and is a unique circuit thanks to its figure-eight layout. A driver’s favourite, Suzuka is fast, fluid and always delivers great races.
The 2022 campaign marks the 50th year of Japan’s top open-wheel racing series, as well as the 10th year under the Super Formula name. Qualifying for Round 3 of the season will take place on Saturday, April 23, with the race on Sunday, April 24.
Yuji Kunimoto: “It hasn’t been long since the last race at Fuji, but we worked hard and prepared well for Suzuka. I have fond memories of the track, I won the title here in 2016 and was on the podium with KCMG two years ago. It’s one of my favorite tracks, so I want to have a strong weekend and score points.”
Kamui Kobayashi: “Earlier this month we opened our account for the season at Fuji and at Suzuka we are going for more. We only have one race this weekend, which will be easier for the team to manage. We have prepared together with the engineers so that we can start this weekend and hopefully get a positive result.”
Ryuj Doi, KCMG Head of Motorsport: “We had a good pre-season test in Suzuka and Kamui was the top-10 at Fuji, so we hope we can keep improving for this race. We want to score points with both cars and a challenge for the podium this weekend. It will be great to see the fans at Suzuka, it’s a special place to race, so hopefully we can put in a strong performance on the track.”
images © KCMG Japan