Sunday Group Management

Strong Qualifying Effort From Adam Burrows ahead of Kia 200

Strong Qualifying Effort From Adam Burrows ahead of Kia 200

Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media
(317) 908-2975-Mobile

Recent video with Adam Burrows checking out the Kia Optima Turbo machine:

Homestead, FL (4 March 2011)– Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood are eager to do Kia Motors proud in the Kia 200 race weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, and that effort got off to a fast start on Friday in qualifying. Burrows set a fast lap time of 1:32.530 seconds with the No. 12 Kia Forte Koup to net seventh on the starting grid for Saturday’s Kia 200.

The performance was the best of the young season to date, and was all the more remarkable after a small mechanical issue saw the No. 12 entry not participate in one of the two practice sessions ahead of qualifying. But the Kinetic Motorsports crew hard work saw the car ready to go for the 15-minute qualifying session as Burrows delivered yet another stout performance.

“Thanks to the guys for getting everything sorted out and having the car ready to go in time for qualifying,” said Burrows. “We missed some time to work on the handling, so I think there could be some more speed still to be unlocked in this car. But I’m happy to be so close to the pole time and I feel like we’ve got a car thats going to be very good in the race tomorrow.”

The race, which will be paced by the all-new Kia Optima Turbo for the first time in Series history, will see Burrows open the 2.5-hour event from behind the wheel before turning the machine over to Hopwood. The duo often trade the qualifying and finishing race duties to find the best possible result at every track.

Saturday’s race will take the green flag at 4:15 PM local time, with SPEED set to broadcast the race March 19th at 2:00 PM ET.

PR inquiries about Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood should be directed to Matt Cleary at Sunday Group Management; 317.908.2975 (mobile) or media@ sundaymanagement.com

For additional information:
www.trevorhopwood.com
www.Sundaymanagement.com
You can also follow the teams progress at www.facebook.com/kiaracing.

###

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Ozz Negri talks to Autoweek

Michael Shank Racing driver Oswaldo Negri talks about the challenges of the track in Homestead-Miami, and the disappointment of placing 10th in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in January.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110304/GRAND_AM/110309943#ixzz1FfWtCdAR

Insight Racing Intends To Keep Building at Round 2

Insight Racing Intends To Keep Building at Round 2

http://insightracing.com/?p=574

HOMESTEAD, Florida, 4 March – Insight Racing got to the party, and had their first dance at Daytona International Speedway for round 1 of the 2011 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Had they been contestants on a popular dance show, the judges may have praised them for their tenacity and spirit, noted their potential, and encouraged them to keep on dancing, even if the end-result was less than desired.

The party has moved south from Daytona Beach to the Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Kia 200, the second round of 10. Insight Racing will field drivers Tyler McQuarrie and Nico Rondet in the No. 18 ST Class BMW 328i and Paul Gerrard with Martin Jensen in the No. 19 GS Class BMW M3.

Since the opening race, the team has made great strides to bolster its infrastructure. The entire organization had pulled off what may be described as a minor miracle in even getting to the first race with the complete team only truly coming together less than two months before. The ensuing month has been spent tending to a myriad of details that were something of a luxury in the run up to the Daytona race.

“I know how hard the whole organization has been working since we last raced, so I can only say that I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car this weekend,” said Gerrard. “We’re lacking in track time to really develop our race car, so we’ll have an aggressive schedule to get through in order to sort the car out, but I could feel from Daytona that we were already headed in the right direction, despite the setbacks.”

Gerrard’s co-driver Martin Jensen had even less time behind the wheel at Daytona.

“Yes, it was a little frustrating standing on the side so much, but that is part of the job, especially when you are talking about a new team and a new (for Insight Racing) car,” said Jensen. “So obviously, I’m very eager to drive a lot of laps to get the car to where we all know it can be.”

Over on the ST side of the garage, the 328i, which has completed more competitive miles than its sister car, was fast from the outset. In some respects, it was too fast, which led to it’s motor failure. Driver Nico Rondet explains.

“The car had an amazing level of mechanical grip around Daytona, and so we were able to carry quite a bit of speed through the corners. Unfortunately this had the unintended side effect of hampering the oil circulation through the engine, which led to a blown motor in practice,” Rondet said.

Co-driver Tyler McQuarrie adds, “We’re eager to pick up where we left off after the first practice at Daytona – in first place.”

Thursday, March 3rd, was unofficial test day for Continental Challenge series, which Insight Racing used to good effect. The Kia 200 race weekend officially kicks off with practice and qualifying on Friday, March 4th, at 4:35 PM EST, and race day on Saturday, March 5th. The green flag waves 4;15 PM EST. Follow all the action live on grand-am.com, and watch the race telecast on SPEED, Saturday, March 19th.

Rum Bum Racing Looking To Keep the Momentum Rolling at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Rum Bum Racing Looking To Keep the Momentum Rolling at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Home race for Florida squad

HOMESTEAD, Florida, 3 March – Rum Bum Racing comes to their home track, Homestead-Miami Speedway for the GRAND-AM Continental Tires Kia 200 riding a considerable wave of momentum. The BMW M3 team, with drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi, closed the books on 2010 with pair of wins in the final two races of the year. To begin 2011, they promptly opened the season with another win and the team’s first pole position at Daytona International Speedway.

Now the time has come to exorcise the demons of last year’s Homestead-Miami race where a freak occurrence took them out of the running for a certain podium, and possible second win, after likewise winning the Daytona round in 2010.

During the waning laps of the Homestead race last year, Plumb was scything through the field following his final pit stop and while running in the top 5, suddenly had the hood of his BMW M3 open at full speed after some rough and tumble racing had worked the hood stays loose. Plumb was helpless as his vision was entirely blocked, and all podium hopes were dashed.

Today the Joe Varde led team owned by Luis Bacardi has settled into a consistent, well oiled operation anchored by the impressive driving by both Plumb and Longhi. Yet while a win at home would be sweet for so many obvious reasons, the team returns to the home track with a longer view.

“We want the championship this year, and we think we have as good a claim on it as any of the other winning teams in the series,” says Plumb. “There’s no doubt we will drive every lap of this race to earn a win, but we won’t do anything to jeopardize a solid haul of points in the championship. Obviously winning is what Rum Bum Racing is focused on, but we are also thinking about the bigger picture and how every race fits into the championship. But of course, winning at home would be big…”

Keeping a clear and level head is certainly a prerequisite to a successful race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 2.3-mile “roval” course that combines two-thirds of the speedway’s oval with an infield road course will be notoriously congested with an expected field of over 60 cars. Traffic management will require a calm, cool head, patient enough to find the right opportunities, decisive enough to strike when the occur.

Co-driver Nick Longhi will be the first to take on the traffic.

“My task, as it has been since I took on the co-driving role, is to hand the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing machine to Plumb unscathed and in good track position,” says Longhi. “That begins with a great qualifying session where I can hopefully continue to do what we have done so far and put us on or close to the front row. If I can do that, then we just need a good clean start and then I’ll let Joe (Varde) work his strategy magic.”

Qualifying for the Kia 200 takes place at 4:35 PM EST on Friday afternoon, March 4th while race day is set for Saturday, March 5th at 4:15PM. Follow all the action live on grand-am.com and watch the race telecast on SPEED, Saturday, March 19th.

-ends-

3 March, 2011 21:34

A Lap of Homestead-Miami Speedway on Continental Tires With Ozz Negri

Starting at the start/finish line, you have to be looking ahead of course because the turn in for turn one I think is the fastest corner that we take, all year long. You carry so much speed going into there–should be close to 180–and when the tires are new and the car is good, you can turn in flat out. From there, you are right on the braking and taking off as much speed as you can, and that gets tricky right there with the transition from the oval to the road course. Good grip is crucial on the surface changes-this can get to be a pretty exciting braking zone!

You have to get slowed all the way down from fifth gear into second for what we call turn two. You want to carry some speed in, but thats not as important in this corner as it is to get the power down again at the exit and get a good shot into turn three.

Turn three feels funny- you feel like you are absolutely crawling, like you can jump out of the car and run faster! But thats just the impression you have because a few seconds before that, you were just turning into turn one going so fast. So turn three always feels BAD slow. It’s very slippery there, even on new tires.

This entire circuit is tough on tires. I’ve lost track of how many different kinds of tires I’ve driven here at Homestead-it’s always the same challenge. I call it a cheese grater for tires! It’s just so abrasive and I think it’s one of the toughest tracks on tires that I’ve ever seen in all my years racing. The tires are just not going to have the full grip the full stint, so you have to be smart and be patient. Which of course is the hardest thing in the world for us drivers!

Going out of three, you have a little chance to squirt some power for just a half a second before the right hander for turn four. It’s kind of the black sheep on this track–it’s the only corner were there is a little bit of camber. So you feel like you should turn in later but you need take advantage of the camber so you turn in early as you go down the hill a little bit.

From there, you have to be patient–so patient–to get back onto the throttle as smoothly as you can to avoid any wheelspin. Full power through the gears up to fourth as you head to turn five. It’s another right hander and your braking point can depend on what way the wind is blowing there and what kind of grip you still have with the tires. If the wind is in your favor and it is early in the stint with the tires, you can go really really deep and it’s a passing zone possibility too.

Slowing all the way down to first gear again, all you want is to get car placed well by apex so you can get back to throttle to get to full speed as fast as possible, first, second, short shift to third just before you get into the kink–which on new tires and no marbles is easy flat. But it gets really exciting when tires start to go away a little bit and you have to work really hard. The car starts to slide a lot and it’s easy to make a mistake here and go off line.

And going off line at Homestead can be a big deal. Because the tires are getting grated by the cheese grater like I was saying, there is always so much pick up (rubber bits) on the track. And when you drive over it, it can be a night mare. There is a reason why they call them marbles–the tires aren’t making full contact with the track. It takes at least two corners to get your tires clean after that.

And this also makes passing traffic that much harder–you want to get by as fast as possible but sometimes if you go off line and run in the pick up to do that, then you are going to suffer for the next few corners. Staying on the throttle up to fourth gear and then we are going to six– the slowest corner on the track–a full 180 degree corner that you just wait until the last possible moment to brake for.

Then, it’s like the other slow corners coming out of it–getting back to full throttle as fast as you can without getting any wheelspin. Patience is key just like the other places. From the slowest corner you go into two of the fastest, what they call NASCAR 3-4.

Early in the run this is another easy, flat out corner. But it’s tricky because unlike Daytona, the banking really creates a lot of compression. You can feel it pushing you in the seat and sometimes, in the middle of the corner, the steering locks up a little bit with the G’s and you just have to trust that the car will stay there. It’s a very exciting corner, and with GT traffic even more so. You have to place the car so you can not get slowed down by the GTs and try to time everything so you can make the pass without losing any momentum.

From there, you are right there back at the start finish line, and checking the speeds again and just getting ready for the turn into turn one again, hoping that you can do it flat out again! The speed differential (between GT’s and DP’s) going into one is pretty big, so that can be the best place to get a pass done.

When we tested at Homestead with the Continental Tires in December, the temps were pretty mild so I think this weekend will be another challenge if it is as warm as it is expected to be. Hopefully we can get back on the podium with Mike Shank and fight back from the disappointment of Daytona.

New Challenge for Brian Frisselle

New Challenge for Brian Frisselle

www.frisselleracing.com

3 March 2011-From the front of the field to the thick of a championship battle to the top of the podium, Brian Frisselle has experienced just about everything in GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series competition. But starting with the Grand Prix of Miami this weekend, he’ll have a new role to play as he serves as the anchor driver for GRAND-AM’s newest Pro-Am combination.

Frisselle, who has four Rolex Sports Car Series wins to his credit, will team with Henri Richard in the No. 77 Office Depot Ford-Dallara as the duo target a podium finish in round 2 of the 2011 Rolex Sports Car Series championship. Richard, who raced motorcycles in his native France as a youngster and has a wide range of experience in GT machines, showed well in his Daytona Prototype debut in the Rolex 24 season-opener. Richard will do battle for the Pro-Am championship crown as he stages an ambitious rookie year of Daytona Prototype competition.

The Rolex 24 saw the No. 77 Office Depot machine shared by Frisselle, Richard, and two other co-drivers, but Homestead event weekend will mark the debut for the Frisselle and Richard two-driver combination.

“This is a new experience for me and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Frisselle, who finished 3rd in the 2009 GRAND-AM championship. “Driving for a team that has the history and depth of experience that Doran Racing has is a great opportunity for me. Henri did a great job at Daytona and was very smart with his approach, so we will build on that this weekend. I’m very motivated to be a part of his progress and think we will get even stronger as the season progresses.”

The opening round saw the Office Depot effort compromised after a co-driver suffered damage and the machine was not able to finish. But with a compact field and the move to the sprint race format, Frisselle is optimistic about gaining some championship traction this weekend.

“The Rolex 24 didn’t end at all like we were hoping that it would, but we’ve got the chance to make up some ground at Homestead this weekend. We were encouraged with how things went in testing and even though there are not as many cars entered this weekend as there were at the 24, they are all very strong teams. So we know it’s going to be very competitive, but I can’t wait to get down there and get going.”

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Burt Frisselle Feeling at Home ahead of Homestead

Burt Frisselle Feeling at Home ahead of Homestead

Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
Media
317.908.2975

www.frisselleracing.com

2 March 2011-When Burt Frisselle straps into the No. 61 AIM Autosport BMW/Riley for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Miami, he won’t be able to help but feeling like he is right at home.

After a strong outing in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona with Action Express Racing, Frisselle has rejoined AIM Autosport in GRAND AM Rolex Sports Car Series competition starting with Saturday’s sprint race at Homestead Miami Speedway.

For Frisselle, the move is a natural one, as he first raced with the Toronto-based team in 2007. AIM made the decision to allow its drivers (Frisselle and talented Canadian Mark Wilkins) to race for other teams in the season-opening event as it elected to open the season with round two at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Despite the long layoff since the season-ending race in Utah last September, it has been a busy off-season for AIM Autosport as the organization was enticed to join the BMW brigade and will now boast Dinan-tuned BMW Power mated to the venerable and class-leading Riley chassis starting this weekend.

That combination has proven to be a winning one multiple times at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Frisselle is eager to get some laps under his belt with BMW power this weekend as he looks to return to the Homestead podium in Rolex Series competition.

“This is almost the exact same group of guys that I’ve worked with through the years, so it is absolutely like coming home to be racing for AIM Autosport again,” offered Frisselle. “That gives you a lot of confidence, and when you already know everybody and have good relationships and communication with the team, you can just show up and get to work.”

Another familiar element this weekend for Frisselle will be the sound coming from behind him as AIM’s move to Dinan-prepared BMW Power will see him return to the BMW fold, having raced with the motor in the 2005 GRAND-AM campaign.

“I’m really looking forward to having BMW power again this year and that’s going to be another familiar face for me this weekend–I worked with Dusty (Dinan engineer) back in 2005 and he’s going to be supporting us again this year so I’m really looking forward to that as well. We’ve seen what that combination is capable of and hopefully we can get our season started off on the right foot.”

AIM Autosport, which is continuing to work to develop the budget needed to run the full slate of remaining races in the 2011 season, hopes to make up ground quickly starting this weekend. The team scored fourth at Homestead in the 2010 event, and a result like that would be relished by Frisselle.

“Homestead hasn’t always been the track where AIM has necessarily shown the most speed,” said Frisselle of the team that has scores of poles and wins to its credit in a wide range of categories including Rolex Series competition. “But this is a smart team, and we had a top five last year here at Homestead. With Mark and I being in the hunt with drivers championship points, it’d be fantastic to be able to do that again this weekend. If we can come out of Homestead with a top five, that would be a great way to launch in to some of the tracks where we know we have more speed this spring.”

The weekend race event is the sprint format of 2.75-hours, with the weekend schedule also reflecting a fast pace as Friday’s practice sessions in the morning precede the afternoon qualifying sessions, with a race-day warm up the last chance for track time ahead of the 12:00 PM ET race start (live-SPEED, 12:00 PM ET)

-ends
Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Bell Ready to FIght Back at Homestead

Matt Bell Ready to FIght Back at Homestead

Tough run at Daytona creates uphill climb for Bell ahead of round two

Contact: Matt Cleary
Media
317-908-2975

Homestead, FL (2 March 2011) –The worlds top athletes are known to use visualization techniques to help picture what they will do in order to achieve the maximum result. But no matter how Matt Bell might have pictured the opening round of the 2011 racing season, there was no way he envisioned what actually played out as he and co-driver John Edwards suffered a disappointing opening to the year.

After Bell scored fourth on the Daytona grid in qualifying, he launched towards the front in the early stages of the race, only to see a mechanical problem sideline the effort and force the duo to accept a 28th place finish. That result sets Bell deep in the points order for the ten-round championship.

“This is a tremendously competitive championship — we saw that last year when the winner wasn’t decided until the very last lap of the season,” said Bell, who finished third in the 2009 championship standings. “So while it’s obviously disappointing to have faced mechanical problems at Daytona, there is still so much racing left to do this year. We also know we have the opportunity to make up ground and we just have to concentrate on that. The objective will be the same — go out and win as many points each race weekend as we can.”

This GRAND-AM weekend will also see Bell fully focused on the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge effort, unlike Daytona where he was also tabbed by Doran Racing to share the driving duties in the Daytona Prototype in the Rolex 24.

Bell had the opportunity to test the rapidly-evolving Chevrolet Camaro for Stevenson Motorsports in an open GRAND-AM test at Homestead-Miami Speedway late last year, and is eager to pick up where that test left off.

“Driving the Camaro at Homestead in December, it was almost like driving a completely different car than we had at this race last year,” said Bell. “Stevenson has been amazing, pushing and developing this Camaro, and I expect that it will be even better this weekend. It’s going to be a dogfight and we’ve got an uphill battle with the championship points, but I’m optimistic about our chances this weekend. We had a very solid car and great early race pace at Daytona, so hopefully we can build on that again at Homestead.”

The race will be shown on SPEED Channel March 19th, starting at 2:00 PM ET. Thursday’s promoter test sessions will precede Friday’s official practice and qualifying sessions, with the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race set to take the green flag at 4:15 PM ET on Saturday following the Rolex Sports Car Series race.

PR inquiries about Matt Bell should be directed to Matt Cleary at Sunday Group Management; 317.908.2975 (mobile) or media @sundaymanagement.com

For additional information:
www.sundaymanagement.com

###
Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Tim Bell Aiming High at Homestead

Tim Bell Aiming High at Homestead

Looking to put previous experience to good use

Contact: Matt Cleary
Media
317-908-2975

MIAMI (2 March 2011) – Making his first-ever pro racing start at one of the most iconic tracks in the sport, Tim Bell impressed with his poise, pace and performance last month at Daytona International Speedway. The California youngster will bring that confidence-building experience with him this week as he heads back to Florida for the Kia 200 and round two of the 2011 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge championship.

The Kia 200 will mark Bell’s second start with Doran Racing in the No.14 BMW 128i, and will see him looking to build on what he learned at Daytona as he once again teams with co-driver BJ Zacharias.

Bell made quite the impression at the prestigious track with a top-10 qualifying effort to start ninth on the GRAND-AM 200 Street Tuner grid. Through the beginning stages of the race, Bell had a thrilling run toward the front of the field, but a hit from behind forced the No.14 machine to the pits for an extended pit stop. In a race that promised a strong result early on for Bell and co-driver BJ Zacharias, the Doran Racing squad team had to settle for a 16th place result.

As Bell prepares for his second GRAND-AM start this Saturday (SPEED, March 19 2:00 PM ET), he is ready to tackle what is considered to be one of the more challenging tracks on the GRAND-AM circuit.

Bell has a lot to take in this year as he learns the nuances of endurance racing, his competition, the tracks and his BMW 128i machine. But his official Homestead-Miami Speedway race debut will at least see him benefit from some previous experience on the 2.3-mile circuit as Bell tested the BMW for Doran Racing in December.

“I’m eager to get back down to Homestead and get the weekend going,” said Bell. “It’s great to already have experience not only at Homestead, but also with this car, so I’m feeling good about the weekend. I learned a lot at Daytona, but I’ll admit it didn’t end up like we wanted. It would be great to get a little bit of redemption with a better result. Things were going to plan at Daytona and hopefully, if we just use the same playbook and avoid any bad luck, we can make up for it this weekend.”

In looking for a strong result in the Kia 200, Bell will continue his campaign for the 2011 MESCO Rookie of the Year award.

Bell will get the chance to get re-acclimated with the track during a promoter test day on Thursday followed by the official practices and qualifying for the ST class at 5:05 PM (ET) on Friday, March 4. Saturday after one more practice session and the fan walk and autograph session, the green flag for the Kia 200 is set to drop on at 4:15 PM (ET) for the 2.5 hour race.

The race will air March 19 at 2:00 PM (ET) on SPEED.

Tim Bell Notes, Homestead-Miami Speedway Kia 200:

Championship position: P15/Team Championship (Street Tuner Class)

Bell will contend for the MESCO “Rookie of the Year” Award as he steps up to the pro ranks

Bell’s previous racing experience has been focused in the BMW Car Club of America (BMWCCA) racing series.

Family Affair:

Bell’s pursuit of racing success will see the weekend events become a full-fledged family activity for the Bell family. Tim’s older brother, Matt, has already established himself on the GRAND-AM circuit with his award-winning drives in the Daytona Prototypes and record-setting runs in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series.

-ends

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Burrows and Hopwood Ready for Kia 200 at Homestead

Burrows and Hopwood Ready for Kia 200 at Homestead

Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media
(317) 908-2975-Mobile

Recent video with Adam Burrows checking out the Kia Optima Turbo machine:

Homestead, FL (2 March 2011)– Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood will look to continue the fast start to Kia’s 2011 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge effort as the duo target a strong result in Saturday’s Kia 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (SPEED, March 19 2:00 PM ET).

Round one of the championship saw the former champions effort thwarted as contact from behind early in the race weekend compromised the capabilities of the Koup at race time. But in the closing laps of the race, Burrows helped to make some lemonade with those lemons as he pushed his fellow Kinetic Motorsports teammate to a dramatic debut podium for Kia’s best-ever GRAND-AM race result to date.

The trip south is the second in as many weeks for Hopwood, as the high school teacher spent his winter break enjoying the warm climate of South Florida recently.

“Daytona was of course a disappointing outcome for Adam and I, but then getting to see the Kinetic guys enjoy celebrating the podium and being a part of that accomplishment for Kia was as good a way to feel better about the weekend as I could picture,” said Hopwood. “Now we’re all focused on Homestead and hopefully we can bring some new success for Kia.

“It’s going to be exciting to meet all of the Kia dealers that will be on hand this weekend–they have so much enthusiasm for this program and it’s great to see how what we are doing is translating into excitement about the products in the showroom. Hopefully we can put on a good show for them. I’m also looking forward to meeting our new teammate Michael (Galati) and we of course will be rooting Andy (Lally) on this weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race.”

This weekend, the Kia Optima has been selected as Pace Car for the race as Kia has grown the support of the sport beyond utilizing the Kinetic Motorsports racing platform to promote the capabilities of the Kia Forte Koup, as the brand looks to also harvest the marketing potential that teaming with Homestead-Miami Speedway and securing naming rights for the race can offer.

“Two years ago, you would have never believed that Kia would have this much commitment to the sport and be making such a statement not only with the result that Kinetic achieved at Daytona, but also with this level of support for a race event,” offered Burrows. “So we’re of course tremendously motivated this weekend, as ever. There is going to be such a large contingent of Kia dealers and associates and I’m really looking forward to showing them the No. 12 up close.

“Every track we visit is naturally different in terms of suiting the characteristics of our Kia Forte Koups, and we should be reasonably competitive at Homestead,” offered Adam Burrows. “We might not have the top end speed that a lot of the turbo and larger displacement machines do on the oval, but this car always handles well and has outstanding braking. It’s also a very abrasive surface, so the fact that the Koup’s handling is pretty easy on the tires will hopefully also help us on the long runs.”

The official running will get underway on Friday with practice and qualifying. Saturday will see the Rolex Sports Car Series play opener to the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, which will take the green flag at 4:15 PM local time.

PR inquiries about Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood should be directed to Matt Cleary at Sunday Group Management; 317.908.2975 (mobile) or media@ sundaymanagement.com

For additional information:
www.trevorhopwood.com
www.Sundaymanagement.com
You can also follow the teams progress at www.facebook.com/kiaracing.

###

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, https://sundaygroupblog.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup