Kinetic And Kia Racing Close To Home In The Barber 200

Burford, April 4, 2011: After another Top Ten finish for the #10 Infinity Audio Kia Forte Koup in the 2011 GRAND-AM Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge season’s second race at Homestead Miami Speedway, Kinetic Motorsports and Kia Motors America are ready to take on the third race of the season with all the might of the first two races combined. The Barber 200 race will be held at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 12:30pm ET., Kinetic Motorsports cars include the # 10 ST class Kia entry of drivers Nic Jönsson and Michael Galati, and the # 12 ST class Kia entry of drivers Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood.

Kinetic Motorsports is especially anticipating racing at Barber Motorsports Park because it is a home track for the team and many Kinetic supporters will be there cheering them on. Barber Motorsports Park is also very close to Kia Motors’ first U.S. manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia. . Many Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) team members have been invited to the race, which has given extra incentive to the Kinetic team to produce good results at Barber.

”We entered the 2011 racing season with increased expectations and a desire to move up in the standings and the Kinetic Motorsports team has responded brilliantly with Kia Motors’ first-ever podium finish and two top-ten results in the first two events of the year,” said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing and communications, Kia Motors America. “Throughout the off-season we had an eye on Barber Motorsports Park as the venue that would showcase the gains our second-year racing program has made, and there is the added bonus of racing in front a contingent of fans from our plant in West Point, Georgia.”

“We can’t wait to race at the Barber 200 because it is the home track on the Grand-Am schedule for the Kinetic shop, and also in very close proximity to KMMG, so we will have a ton of support there,” said Russell Smith, owner of Kinetic Motorsports. “Our two Infinity Audio Kia Forte Koups tested at Barber a few weeks ago, and we feel ready for the race. Kia Motors has done a great thing in inviting their plant’s team members to Barber and we are very excited for them to see the Forte Koups in racing action.Hopefully we can award them with a fantastic result.”

“We obviously set the goals for 2011 to be more competitive and have at least one podium finish, and we have already achieved that,” said Nic Jönsson, #10 driver and Kinetic team principal. “Now we have to raise the bar even more, and get a win and be more consistently running in the Top 5. Barber suits the Kia Forte Koup better than the first two tracks of the season, and we have a good car and our drivers are very comfortable on more technical tracks. We have high hopes at Barber, and the key will be to stay on the track and stay out of trouble. Knowing how we’ve been running so far, I am very optimistic for this race.”

“The Barber event is always very well attended and that’s a tremendous help for Grand-Am,” continued Jönsson, who is currently second in points in the ST class of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. “We are close to Barber, which we consider a home track, and with the nearby Kia plant we will have quite a few people there to see the second-year race program in action. We’re thrilled to have the team members from the plant coming to the race as fans and supporters and we are looking forward to a great event.”

“I think at Barber we will be more competitive, and I am expecting that because the track suits the car a little bit better than it did at Homestead, so we are hoping for better results,” said Michael Galati, competing in his second race with co-driver Nic Jönsson and Kinetic. “The team is working together very well. The car will perform better at Barber, so we plan to put on a great show for the many Kia guests.”

“We had some tough luck at Homestead that took us out of the running for a top ten finish, but I love running at Barber fully believe that we have the car and the team for a strong finish this weekend,” said Trevor Hopwood, who co-drives the #12 Infinity Audio Kia Forte Koup with Adam Burrows. “It’s going to be exciting to have so many Kia Motors team members on hand and hopefully they will be a good luck charm for us!”

Adam Burrows, Hopwood’s co-driver, is looking forward to another chance to show off the Kia Forte Koup to fans at the race. “Kia Motors has given our team so many opportunities, and they are now offering the chance to their factory employees to see our cars in action. I hope we can put on a good race for them and that we can get a turn in our luck. Trevor and I have been on the podium at Barber before, and I’ll admit it’s a pretty nice view!” Adam will be visiting the West Point Kia plant on Wednesday prior to his arrival at the Barber Motorsports Park circuit.

All four Kia factory drivers will be visiting with and signing autographs at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama tent on Friday afternoon, April 8, at the race track. They will also host many of the kids in the paddock to see their blue, green and silver race cars with the bright red and white Kia logos. Children’s Hospital of Alabama engages the motorsports community in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the hospital. Kia Motors and the Kinetic Motorsports team will also attend the Children’s Hospital of Alabama Inaugural Dinner at Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum Friday evening, a fundraising event that benefits the UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Children’s Hospital in addition to other hospital initiatives. Tickets are still available. For more information go to www.chsys.org or www.racin4kids.org.

The Barber 200 race will be televised tape delay on Saturday, April 16th at 2:00 p.m. ET on SPEED.