Thread: Kia 200 Continental guma sportski automobil izazov na Homestead izvješće

U subotu sam prisustvovao utrci Kia 200 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge na Homestead-Miami Speedwayu. Iako sam redovito pokrivao utrke, ovo je bio prvi put da je Id vidio utrku u ovoj seriji od 2009. godine.

Broj prijava me se dojmio (66) kao i broj različitih modela automobila (20) koji se natječu. Podsjećamo, Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ima dvije klase koje trče u istoj utrci s automobilima u rasponu od Chevrolet Camaros i Ford Mustangs dolje u veličini do Mini Coopers i Honda Civics. Unatoč nesrazmjeru, tijelo za sankcioniranje ima dobar posao u tome da utrke postanu stvarno konkurentne unutar svake klase.

Tijekom utrke od 200 milja oko 2. 3 milje duga cestovna staza na Homestead-Miami Speedwayu bilo je dosta akcije, a konačni pobjednici bili su Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana u Turner Motorsport BMW M3 (automobil br. 96) u klasi Grand Sport (GS). Ryan Ellis/Ian Baas uzeo je kockastu zastavu u klasi Street Tuner (ST) vozeći APR Tuned VW GTI (automobil br. 171).

Bilo je razočaravajuće koliko su puta natjecatelji morali izdržati žute staze za manje incidente. U svih 25 od 87 krugova trčalo se pod žutom bojom što je značilo da je automobil Kia Optima Turbo pace bio ispred pobjedničkog automobila oko polovice krugova koliko je prikazan kao službeni vođa.

Drugo razočaranje bio je nedostatak gledatelja koji su prisustvovali divovskoj stazi. Tribine su bile praktički prazne, čak i za prethodnu glavnu igranu utrku za automobile Rolex Grand-Am.

Danas, pretpostavljam da stvarni broj gledatelja utrka nije toliko važan kao prije jer je televizijski prijenos ono što stvarno čini financijsko ulaganje vrijednim za dobro sponzorirane timove.

Iako mnogi timovi dobivaju određenu pomoć od proizvođača, jedini istinski tvornički sponzorirani timovi su iz Forda, Honde, Kije, Mazde i Subarua. Bio sam tamo kao gost Kije, najnovijeg proizvođača koji je ušao u seriju s Kia Forte Koup. Timom s dva automobila upravlja Kinetic Motorsports iz Gruzije. Budući da je ovo Kiasov prvi pokušaj utrke, tim spremno priznaje da je prošla sezona bila iskustvo učenja.

U Daytoni, u prvoj utrci ove sezone, Koupsi su završili na 2. i 12. mjestu u ST klasi. U utrci Homestead Nic Jonsson/Michael Galati (automobil br. 10) završio je na 7. mjestu u klasi, dok je Adam Burrows/Trevor Hopwood (automobil br. 12) završio na 25. mjestu nakon što mu je u jednoj fazi tijekom utrke odletio stražnji branik. Unatoč donjem mjestu u utrci Homestead, Jonsson je treći po bodovima, a Kia je nakon dvije utrke druga po broju bodova proizvođača.

Baš kao i sa svojim NBA sponzorstvom, Kia potiče vlasnike da prisustvuju utrkama i bilo je dosta obitelji u vlasništvu Kije koje su tražile potpisane plakate za svoju djecu. Kia vjeruje da će utrke pomoći u podizanju profila u SAD-u, a također će pomoći u poboljšanju budućih proizvodnih automobila jer Kia inženjeri dobivaju vrijedne povratne informacije od trkaćeg tima.

Kao ljubitelj utrka uvijek je sjajno vidjeti proizvođače automobila redovite proizvodnje kako aktivno sudjeluju u utrkama limuzina. Čak i ako nema toliko ljudi koji zapravo osobno pohađaju utrke, prednosti uključuju tehničko znanje koje pomaže u poboljšanju pasmine.

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.