Kia Returns to Sponsor Race at Homestead
"We are pleased to continue our relationship with Kia for GRAND-AM racing," said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer. "We're proud to have them as a partner as we again host the best road racing circuit in America. It's a natural given the tremendous success Kia has had on the GRAND-AM circuit with last year's Street Tuner championships and their podium finish at the season opening event last month."
"Motorsports continues to provide a powerful platform to raise awareness and perception of the Kia brand with racing enthusiasts, and we are thrilled to again partner with Homestead-Miami Speedway and share an exciting weekend of road racing with fans in South Florida," said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing and communications, KMA. "Our third-year Kia Racing program is enjoying a lot of momentum and returning as the title sponsor of the Kia 200. After a championship-winning season in 2011, and with 2012 off to a tremendous start with our second-consecutive podium finish at Daytona, the Kia Racing team is experiencing tremendous success and we want to share that success with race fans and keep our momentum going."
Kia made its road racing debut in 2010, when it joined the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with a pair of Forte Koups. Kia's racing partner, Kinetic Motorsports, campaigns the No. 10 and No. 12 Forte Koups in the ST class, which are co-piloted by Andy Lally and Nic Jönsson and brothers Mathew and Mark Pombo, respectively.
The 2 hour, 30 minute Kia 200 race will be run on the speedway's 2.3-mile, 11-turn stadium road course. Like the GRAND-AM Rolex Series' Grand Prix of Miami (Sun, April 29), the Kia 200 CTSCC features two classes of race cars – the big-bore Grand Sports (GS) and the smaller ST. This April's race will mark the fourth consecutive year the series has run in Miami and the seventh time overall.