Coming After six calendar months of round-the-clock vehicle build-up and testing in preparation for the 2010 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season, Kia Motors‘ inaugural U.S. motorsports program reaches the track later this week with two Forte Koups vying in the Fresh From Florida 200 at Daytona Speedway on January 29. KMA and racing partner Kinetic Group have built the No. 10 and No. 12 Kia Forte Koups, which are sponsored by Infinity® Audio Systems, to campaign in the Street Tuner (ST) class.

The No. 10 car – representing Kia’s industry-leading 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty – will be co-driven by Andy Lally and Nic Jonsson, while the No. 12 car will be navigated by the 2007 GRAND-AM ST champions Trevor Hopwood and Adam Burrows.

The Forte Koup’s performance-inspired styling and splendid driving dynamics are a complete fit for road racing, making Kia Motors’ first two-door coupe the rational choice for KMA’s initial motorsports efforts. KMA selected the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Challenge Sports Car Challenge series, which utilizes production-based race cars from the U.S., Europe and Asia, for its competitive nature and use of weight and intake restrictions to maintain a level playing field for all starters.

As part of the motorsports program development, KMA partnered with the Kinetic Group to prepare, build and campaign the two Forte Koup Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race cars. Headquartered near of Atlanta, Kinetic has competed in GRAND-AM racing since 2006 and added several specialists to its team of engineers, mechanics and crew for the Kia Motors racing program while also working closely with GRAND-AM to make the autos within strict series guidelines. The two-door, front-wheel-drive race cars utilize the Forte Koup production car’s 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine.