KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) once again showed their speed around the iconic Nordschleife during the 50th running of the ADAC TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Nürburgring, with Earl Bamber, Dennis Olsen and Nick Tandy cutting through the field to run as the leading Porsche.

After qualifying 27th for the main race, the team enjoyed a great start with two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Bamber at the wheel, who made up several places in the opening stages. Norwegian Olsen then took over driving duties in the Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific-supported #18 Porsche 911 GT3 R to move into the top ten after three hours, before 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans victor Tandy continued the charge for KCMG as darkness fell on the 25.378-km circuit.

Olsen was forced into the pits for an unscheduled stop after being hit by another competitor during a Code 60, which delayed the Hong-Kong squad’s progress. Despite the setback, more superb stints from the trio overnight saw KCMG establish themselves in the top ten.

With less than an hour to run and drivers battling the ever-changing conditions on track, an incident for Olsen on the approach to Döttinger Höhe unfortunately forced the team to retire from the event.

DENNIS OLSEN
“It’s been an up-and-down weekend for us. We were working very hard to keep on top of everything, but we were forced to stop for a long time in the pits and that took us out of contention for the win. I’m not sure what happened towards the end, I tried to catch the car but wasn’t able to, so I’m very sorry to the team for the accident. I’m proud to be a part of this crew, we’ll come back stronger, and we’ll continue to achieve great things together.”

EARL BAMBER
“It wasn’t the result we wanted in the end, but as a team we can be really proud of what we achieved. Over the three events, we improved strongly to become one of the quickest cars on the grid. We made great progress with the car leading up to the weekend, and without the technical issues we had the pace to finish on the podium. I can’t wait to return and to fight for the victory here next year.”

NICK TANDY
“We went into the weekend with high hopes, but several things unfortunately didn’t go in our favour. To lose time in the pits making repairs due to contact from another competitor is hard to take, but the fact that the team could fix the engine mounting in just eight minutes is exactly why I enjoy being part of KCMG. They worked exceptionally hard all week, the car felt amazing during the race and if we had a bit more luck on our side I’m sure we’d have been fighting at the front. But that’s endurance racing, and these events can be very difficult to win.”

MATT HOWSON TEAM MANAGER
“This event often gives you the entire spectrum of challenges that a racing team and its drivers can face, and we certainly experienced most of them this weekend. Contact from other competitors during the race caused a technical issue which lost us several minutes, and we couldn’t regain that time. It was unfortunate not to finish, but I’m proud of the way the crew and drivers fought throughout a very challenging 24 hours. Being strong when it’s going your way is one thing but staying positive when things go against you is the true measure of a great team, and we did exactly that this weekend. We now focus our efforts on the next challenge with even more confidence and we’re looking forward to being back out on track soon.”

PAUL IP KCMG FOUNDER
“It was amazing to see KCMG back on the Nordschleife competing in this incredible event. The weekend didn’t go as we hoped, but we can be proud of our speed and progress throughout the race. We were able to slice through the field, showing great potential, and the team took the challenging conditions in their stride. It was a fantastic effort from everyone in the garage, and the drivers showed their ability on track to keep us heading in the right direction. Now we move on from the Nürburgring, and we look ahead to continuing the improvements we’ve made together so far this year.”

ALEXANDRE GIBOT MANAGING DIRECTOR, PORSCHE MOTORSPORT ASIA PACIFIC LTD.
“It was a busy weekend for KCMG as they returned to the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and it was good to see them perform so well. They made constant headway throughout the race, so it was a shame to see it end in retirement. Despite not reaching the finish, the drivers put in a fantastic effort and the team worked incredibly hard to fight all weekend. We’re very excited to see what’s next for KCMG and to continue supporting them in future events!”