Thread: Kia 200 Continental pnevmatike Sports Car Challenge na domačija poročilo

V soboto sem se udeležil dirke Kia 200 Continental pnevmatike Sports Car Challenge na Speedway domačija-Miami. Čeprav sem rabil za kritje dirk na redni osnovi, to je videl prvič Id dirko v tej seriji od leta 2009.

Število vnosov vtis (66) kot število različnih modelov avtomobilov (20) tekmujejo. Kot opomnik, Grand-Am Continental pnevmatike Sports Car Challenge je dva razreda, ki delujejo na isti dirki z avtomobili, ki segajo od Chevrolet Camaros in Ford Mustangs navzdol v velikosti Mini Coopers in Honda državljanska vzgoja. Kljub razlik, sankcionirajo telo ima dol dober job v izdelava dirke resnično konkurenčen v vsakem razredu.

Med dirko 200 milj okrog 2. 3 milj dolga pot na Speedway domačija-Miami tam je bilo veliko ukrepov in morebitno zmagovalci so Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana Turner Motorsport BMW M3 (avto ni 96) v razredu Grand Sport (GS). Ryan Ellis/Ian Baas vzel Silhouette v razredu Street Tuner (ST), vožnja APR Ostanite z nami VW GTI (avto ni 171).

Bilo je žalostno, kolikokrat racers moral pretrpeti celotnem rumenice za manjših incidentov. V vseh 25 od 87 krogov so bili teči pod rumeno, kar pomeni, da je Kia Optima Turbo hitrost avto je bil pred zmagovalni avtomobil za približno pol krogov, ki se je pokazalo kot uradni vodja.

Drugih razočaranje je bilo pomanjkanje gledalcev v obiskovanje velikan raceway. Tribune so bile praktično prazna, celo za prejšnjega glavna značilnost dirka za avtomobile Rolex Grand-Am.

Danes, mislim, da dejansko število gledalcev race ni važno toliko, kot je nekoč, saj je televizijski pokritosti, ki res naredi finančno naložbo koristno za dobro sponzorirane ekip.

Čeprav mnoge ekipe dobili nekaj pomoči od proizvajalcev samo resnično tovarne sponzorirane ekipe so od Ford, Honda, Kia, Mazda in Subaru. Bil sem tam kot gost Kia, ki je najnovejši proizvajalec vstopiti serije z Kia Forte Koup. Dva avtomobila ekipa upravlja Kinetična Motorsports v Gruziji. To je prvi poskus Kias dirke, ekipa takoj priznala, zadnja sezona je bila učne izkušnje.

Pri Daytona, v prvi tekmi te sezone, je Koups končal 2. in 12. v razredu ST. V domačijo dirka Nic Jonsson/Michael Galati (avto ni 10) končal 7. v razredu, medtem ko Adam Burrows/Trevor Hopwood (avto ni 12) končal 25 čez pridobivanje svoj zadnji odbijač vrč na eni stopnji med dirko. Kljub nižji zaključna spot domačija dirki, Jonsson je tretji točk in Kia je drugi proizvajalec točk po dveh dirkah.

Tako kot to počne s svojo NBA sponzorstvo, Kia spodbuja lastnikov, da se udeleži dirke in je bilo kar nekaj Kia ima v lasti družine iščejo autographed plakate za svoje otroke. Kia verjame, da dirke bo pomagal dvigniti svoj profil v U. S. in izboljšali prihodnje proizvodnje avtomobilov kot Kia inženirji prejeli koristne povratne informacije od moštveni.

Kot fan dirke svoje vedno super videti proizvajalci redno proizvodnjo avtomobilov aktivno sodelujejo v limuzino dirke. Čeprav obstajajo ne, da veliko ljudi dejansko obiskuje dirke v osebo, koristi vključujejo tehnično znanje, ki pomaga izboljšati pasme.

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.