Prinditav vaade
Laupäeval osalesin talukoht-Miami Speedway Kia 200 Continental rehvi Sportauto Challenge rassi. Kuigi ma kasutada katmiseks võistlused regulaarselt, see oli näinud esimest korda Id selles seerias rassi alates 2009. Kirjete arv muljet mulle (66) nagu erinevad mudelid autod (20) konkureerivad number. Nagu meeldetuletus, Grand Am Continental rehvide Sportauto Challenge on kaks klassi, mis töötavad sama sõidus lõpetades autodega Chevrolet Camaros ja Ford Mustangs ette suurused Mini Coopers ja Honda kodanikuõpetuse. Vaatamata erinevus, karistusliku kehal on head tööd tehes racing ühesuguseid konkurentsitingimusi allliigid alla. Jooksul 200-miilises rassi ümber 2. 3 miili pikk tee kursuse talukoht-Miami Speedway seal oli palju tegevust ja võimaliku võitjad olid Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana Turner Motorsport BMW M3 (auto nr 96) Grand Sport (GS) klassis. Ryan Ellis/Ian Baas võttis ruuduline lipp Street tuuner (ST) klassi sõidu APR Tuned VW GTI (auto nr 171). See oli pettumus mitu korda racers pidanud taluma täieliku kursuse kollased väiksemaid intsidente. Kõik 25 välja 87 ringi joosta alla kollane, mis tähendas, et Kia Optima Turbo tempo auto oli umbes pool ringi, et seda näidati kui ametlik liider võitnud auto ees. Muud pettumus oli pealtvaatajate käimist hiiglane raceway puudumine. Mille tribüünidel oli praktiliselt tühi, isegi eelmise põhijooneks rassi autod Rolex Grand-Am. Tänapäeval vist rassi pealtvaatajate tegelik arv ei ole oluline, niipalju, kui seda kasutada kuna televisiooni levialas, mis tõesti muudab rahaline investeering tasub hästi sponsoreeritud võistkondadele. Kuigi paljud meeskonnad saad mõned abi tootjate ainult tõeliselt factory-sponsoreeritud meeskonnad on Ford, Honda, Kia, Mazda ja Subaru. Seal oli meie Kia, mis on uusim tootja siseneda seeria Kia Forte Koup. Kahe auto meeskond haldab kineetiline Motorsports Gruusias. Kuna see on Kias esimene katse võidusõidu, meeskond kergesti möönab eelmisel hooajal oli õppimise kogemus. Daytona, esimese võistluse sel hooajal on Koups lõpetas 2. ja 12. klassi ST. Kodudes rassi Nic Jonsson/Michael Galati (auto nr 10) lõpetas seitsmenda klassi samas Adam Burrows/Trevor Hopwood (auto nr 12) valmis 25. pärast saada oma tagumise kaitseraua bumped ühes etapis võistluse ajal. Vaatamata madalama viimistlus spot talukoht rassi, Jonsson on kolmanda punkti ja Kia on teise tootja punktid pärast kaks sõitu. Nagu seda teeb oma NBA sponsorlus, Kia kutsub omanikke osalema võistlused ja oli üsna vähe Kia omavad pered otsivad autogrammidega plakateid saavad lapsed. Kia usub, et võidusõidu aitab tõsta oma profiili U. S. ja aidata parandada tulevasi Seeriaautod Kia insenerid saavad väärtuslikku tagasisidet rassi meeskond. Võidusõidu fänn tema alati tore näha püsitootmises autode tootjad aktiivselt osaleda võidusõidu sedaan. Isegi kui seal ei ole, et paljud inimesed tegelikult käivad võistlused isiklikult, eelised hõlmavad tehnilisi teadmisi, mis aitab parandada tõugu. 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.
