Kia Racing made history in the Motor City last weekend as the first Korean brand to capture the checkered flag at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Round Six of the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge (PWC). The win also marks the team’s first victory of the season. A second-place finish in Round Seven of the doubleheader weekend was the third-straight podium finish for Kia driver Mark Wilkins. Wilkins’ stellar weekend behind the wheel of the No. 38 turbocharged Optima moves him into second place in the Grand Touring Sport (GTS) Driver Championship as the season hits the midway point. Leading into the weekend, Wilkins captured the pole position for Round Six with a qualifying lap of 1:41.475 before leading Saturday’s 50-minute contest flag-to-flag to notch Kia Racing’s first victory since the PWC event at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2012. Wilkins’ dominating performance in Motown continued Sunday in Round Seven with a second-place result, inching him closer to the GTS points lead.
“It’s just awesome to have such a successful weekend in Detroit. Bringing home the win on Saturday and taking second place on Sunday is a testament to the team and the No. 38 Kia Optima. The new track configuration really suited the Optima, and the Kinetic crew did an amazing job prepping the car for this rough street circuit,” said Wilkins, who found himself drenched in celebratory champagne not once but twice in victory lane. “It was a huge weekend for us in the point standings and keeps us on track for our goal of winning the GTS Championship. We are looking forward to keeping the momentum going next month at Lime Rock Park.”
Kia Racing is now second in the GTS Manufacturer Championship point standings, moving past Acura and trailing Chevrolet by only 16 points.
The weekend was not without its setbacks. Teammate Nic Jönsson’s No. 36 turbocharged Optima sustained serious damage in Round Six Saturday morning and was unable to finish the race or be repaired in time to participate in Round Seven. Coming to the green flag, Jönsson made contact with Peter Cunningham’s Acura TSX. Jönsson spun head-on into the inside concrete wall, impacting it hard and spinning wildly down the front straight. Amazingly, no other cars were involved in the incident. Jönsson was uninjured and walked away from the accident, however his Optima was not so lucky.
“It’s disappointing to say the least. The car was running well and with a fourth-place qualifying slot, we were poised to potentially hold two podium positions by Saturday afternoon. We certainly didn’t expect to be out of the race on lap one,” said Jönsson. “It’s a shame when you consider how hard the crew worked on the car between Austin and Detroit, but I’m happy for Mark. He ran one heck of a weekend and is really riding some momentum right now. So, big picture, I am happy for the Kia Racing team and Kinetic Motorsports as we get ready for Lime Rock.” Jönsson currently sits in 12th place in the Driver Championship standings.
Kinetic Motorsports will head back to its shop in Buford, GA. to prepare and repair the Optimas for yet another doubleheader weekend in Rounds Eight and Nine at Lime Rock Park July 4-6.
Article and image courtesy of Kia.
No comments:
Post a Comment