Team KCMG has confirmed that it will compete in the third round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie this weekend, as the squad continues its programme at the Nordschleife this year with Mercedes-AMG.
For Saturday’s race, the Hong Kong-based team has presented an eye-catching driver line-up. It retains David Pittard and Jesse Krohn aboard the #47 Mercedes-AMG GT3, the duo having opened their season with a 10th-place finish in NLS2. They are once again joined by team regular Edoardo Liberati, who brings extensive Nürburgring 24 Hours experience with the team dating back to 2019.
Completing the quartet is Toyota Racing WEC driver/team principal Kamui Kobayashi. The former Formula 1 driver set for his GT3 debut on the Nordschleife after completing his permit in GT4 machinery during 2024.
Kobayashi, a long-time KCMG driver in Super Formula, has a CV that needs no introduction at this point. It includes overall victory at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans and 18 wins in FIA WEC competition as part of the Toyota LMP1 and Hypercar programmes.
For Kobayashi, the weekend marks an important personal milestone: “NLS3 will be my very first time to take on the historical Nordschleife in a GT3 car and I’m excited and looking forward to the week with KCMG.
“There is a lot of work to do but I’ll build myself up step by step, and hopefully we learn a lot by the end of the weekend, to help us be prepared for the upcoming races! Huge thanks to Paul-san for this opportunity to be back again with the KCMG family.”
The addition of Kobayashi adds star power to an already strong line-up, as KCMG continues to adapt to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 package ahead of next month’s Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Pittard is encouraged by the early signs shown at the previous round: “After a successful and competitive debut at NLS2 that highlighted the team’s potential, we will continue to work towards unlocking our ultimate performance this weekend! It was a great start to the project and I’m excited to see what else we can achieve in NLS3! We also saw the hype that came with bringing an F1 driver to the NLS, so it’s great to bring our own and welcome Kamui-san to the team!”
Krohn, meanwhile, underlined the importance of the coming events in the build-up to the 24-hour race: “I’m really looking forward to our next two races, starting with NLS3, followed by the Qualifiers the weekend after. We have a good foundation to build on after our debut with the AMG GT3, and I am also delighted to welcome Kamui to the team! These will be the final opportunities to get everything dialled in before the 24h race in May, so we have full focus on getting things right.”
Liberati echoed that sentiment, adding: “I can’t wait to be back on track for NLS3 with KCMG. We’ve been doing a great job with the Mercedes-AMG GT3, and the potential already shown at NLS2 is really promising. I’m super motivated to get back behind the wheel alongside my teammates Jesse Krohn and David Pittard, and to share the car with an iconic driver like Kamui Kobayashi. I’m looking forward to continuing to build on what we’ve started.”
Team manager Matt Howson emphasised both the opportunity and the challenge ahead: “We’re looking forward to NLS3 and building on the obvious potential shown in NLS2. It’s a real privilege to welcome Kamui Kobayashi for his Nürburgring GT3 debut, it will be a learning weekend for him, but with his speed, experience and the ability to gain knowledge from David, Jesse and Edo, we have a very strong line-up and can target a top result.
“KCMG is adapting to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 quickly, NLS3 is another important step in this process and our objective is to gather more data, improve on NLS2 in all areas and continue to refine the overall package as we head towards Nürburgring 24 next month.”
KCMG founder Paul Ip added: “As we approach NLS3, the priority for KCMG is to keep building and refining step by step ahead of the 24 Hours. We are very pleased to welcome Kamui Kobayashi back to KCMG – his experience adds a strong dimension to an already competitive line-up. This weekend is about continuing to learn, improve and strengthen our overall performance as we develop the whole team for what’s to come.”
Qualifying for NLS3 is scheduled to begin at 08:30 local time on Saturday, with the four-hour race set to get underway at 12:00.
Featured image courtesy of FIA WEC/DPPI, AMG image courtesy of Frozenspeed
