Brazilian João Paulo Lima de Oliveira will enter the FIA World Touring Car Cup season finale in Sepang, Malaysia later this month as a wildcard entry, racing a Honda Civic Type-R for KCMG.
De Oliveira last raced in international-level touring car racing back in 2009, when he took part in the World Touring Car Championship races in Japan, at the Okayama circuit, for Sunred Engineering.
He has raced extensively in Japan throughout his career, competing in Formula Nippon and Super GT since 2006, although hew first raced in Japan in 2004 in the All-Japan Formula 3 Championship.
The 38-year-old won the 2010 Formula Nippon title, and then finished as runner-up in Super Formula in 2014 and the Super GT championship in 2015.
More recently he has been working with the Hong Kong-based KC Motorgroup, for whom he will race in the Malaysia night races.
“It will be quite a challenge as I have never driven a TCR car before,” said de Oliveira. “I hope to adapt quickly and be competitive throughout the weekend.
“My goal is to be able to challenge the more experienced drivers and fight for a top 10 position in the races.”
Team Principal Paul Ip is pleased to have de Oliveira continue working with the team after his support earlier in the year in Europe and South Africa.
“We are delighted to have João Paulo de Oliveira join KC Motorgroup for the WTCR finale in Malaysia,” said Ip.
“He has been a huge asset to the team during his Nürburgring 24 Hours and Kyalami 9 Hours appearances this year, not only with his speed but with the in-depth feedback he provided.
“It will be his first race in the Honda Civic Type R TCR, but we’re confident that he will have no issue adapting and being competitive.”
De Oliveira’s drive means he is the fourth wildcard for the season finale, alongside Malaysian MotoGP rider Hafizh Syahrin, young TCR racer Mitchell Cheah and experienced tin-top racer Douglas Khoo.