Tråd: Kia 200 Continental Dæk Sports Car Challenge på Homestead Rapport

I lørdags deltog jeg i Kia 200 Continental dæk sportsvogn udfordring løb på Homestead Miami Speedway. Selvom jeg brugt til at dække løb på en regelmæssig basis, dette blev set første gang Id en race i denne serie siden 2009.

Antallet af poster imponeret mig (66) og det samme gjorde antallet af forskellige modeller af biler (20), der konkurrerer. Som en påmindelse, Grand-Am Continental Dæk Sports Car Challenge har to klasser, som køre i samme løb med biler spænder fra Chevrolet Camaros og Ford Mustangs ned i størrelse til Mini Coopers og Honda Civic. På trods af den forskel, straf krop har ned et godt stykke arbejde i at gøre racing virkelig konkurrencedygtige inden for hver klasse.

I løbet af 200-mile løb omkring 2. 3-mile lange vej, der er løbet på Homestead-Miami Speedway der var masser af action og de senere vindere, var Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana i Turner Motorsport BMW M3 (bil nr 96) i Grand Sport (GS) klasse. Ryan Ellis/Ian Baas tog det ternede flag på Gaden-Tuner (ST) klasse at køre APR Tunet VW GTI (bil nr 171).

Det var skuffende, hvor mange gange racere var nødt til at udholde fuld kursus-gule farver for mindre hændelser. I alt 25 ud af de 87 omgange blev kørt under en gul, som betød, at Kia Optima Turbo-tempo bilen var i front af den vindende bil for omkring halvdelen af omgange, som det blev vist som den officielle leder.

Den anden skuffelse var manglen af tilskuere til stede ved den gigantiske raceway. De tribuner var praktisk talt tom, selv for de foregående vigtigste træk race til Rolex Grand-Am biler.

I dag, jeg tror det faktiske antal af race tilskuere betyder ikke noget så meget, som det bruges til, da det er tv-dækning, der virkelig gør den finansiel investering værd for de sponsorerede hold.

Selvom mange hold får nogle bistand fra producenter er kun virkelig fabrik-sponsoreret holdene fra Ford, Honda, Kia, Toyota og Subaru. Jeg var der som gæst af Kia, som er den nyeste producent til at komme ind i serien med en Kia Forte Koup. To-bil holdet er ledet af Kinetic motorsport i Georgien. Da dette er Kias første forsøg på racing, indrømmer holdet let sidste sæson var en lærerig oplevelse.

På Daytona, i det første løb i denne sæson, Koups færdig 2nd og 12 i ST klasse. I Homestead race Nic Jonsson/Michael Galati (bil nr 10) blev nummer 7 i klassen, mens Adam Burrows/Trevor Hopwood (bil nr 12) færdig 25th, efter at dens bageste kofanger skubbet ud på et tidspunkt under løbet. På trods af den lavere efterbehandling spot i Homestead race, Jonsson er den tredje i point og Kia er anden producent point efter to løb.

Lige som det gør med sin NBA sponsorering, Kia opfordrer ejere til at deltage i løbene, og der var en hel del Kia-eje familier, der søger autografer plakater til deres børn. Kia mener, at racing vil bidrage til at øge sin profil i U. S. og også bidrage til at forbedre fremtidige produktions-biler som Kia ingeniører får værdifuld feedback fra race team.

Som en racing fan sin altid dejligt at se producenter af regelmæssig produktion biler aktivt deltage i sedan racing. Selv om der ikke er, at mange mennesker rent faktisk at deltage i løb i person, omfatter fordelene tekniske viden som hjælper med at forbedre racen.

On Saturday I attended the Kia 200 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Although I used to cover races on a regular basis this was the first time Id seen a race in this series since 2009.

The number of entries impressed me (66) as did the number of different models of cars (20) competing. As a reminder, the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge has two classes that run in the same race with cars ranging from Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs down in size to Mini Coopers and Honda Civics. Despite the disparity, the sanctioning body has down a good job in making the racing really competitive within each class.

During the 200-mile race around the 2. 3-mile long road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway there was plenty of action and the eventual winners were Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana in the Turner Motorsport BMW M3 (car no 96) in the Grand Sport (GS) class. Ryan Ellis/Ian Baas took the checkered flag in the Street Tuner (ST) class driving the APR Tuned VW GTI (car no 171).

It was disappointing how many times the racers had to endure full course yellows for minor incidents. In all 25 out of 87 laps were run under a yellow which meant that the Kia Optima Turbo pace car was in front of the winning car for about half the laps that it was shown as the official leader.

The other disappointment was the lack of spectators in attendance at the giant raceway. The grandstands were practically empty, even for the preceding main feature race for the Rolex Grand-Am cars.

Nowadays, I guess the actual number of race spectators does not matter as much as it used to since it is television coverage that really makes the financial investment worthwhile for the well-sponsored teams.

Although many teams get some assistance from manufacturers the only truly factory-sponsored teams are from Ford, Honda, Kia, Mazda and Subaru. I was there as a guest of Kia, which is the newest manufacturer to enter the series with a Kia Forte Koup. The two-car team is managed by Kinetic Motorsports in Georgia. As this is Kias first attempt at racing, the team readily admits last season was a learning experience.

At Daytona, in the first race this season, the Koups finished 2nd and 12th in the ST class. In the Homestead race Nic Jonsson/Michael Galati (car no 10) finished 7th in class while Adam Burrows/Trevor Hopwood (car no 12) finished 25th after getting its rear bumper bumped off at one stage during the race. Despite the lower finishing spot in the Homestead race, Jonsson is third in points and Kia is second in manufacturer points after two races.

Just as it does with its NBA sponsorship, Kia encourages owners to attend the races and there were quite a few Kia-owning families seeking autographed posters for their kids. Kia believes that racing will help raise its profile in the U. S. and also help improve future production cars as Kia engineers receive valuable feedback from the race team.

As a racing fan its always great to see manufacturers of regular production cars actively participate in sedan racing. Even if there are not that many people actually attending races in person, the benefits include technical knowledge which helps improve the breed.