Kia teammates ruin 1-2 finish in Pirelli World Challenge race

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Kia



Kia had a bright start to the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge season, capturing its first podium in the series earlier this month with a solid third place finish at the Streets of Long Beach. It looked like Kia was going to build on that momentum this past weekend when its two Optima race cars found themselves in a 1-2 position with just a few laps left in the race. Would Kia capture their first World Challenge win in spectacular fashion? Well, the result was spectacular, but not in the way Kia would have preferred.

With just one lap to go, the two Kia teammates had developed a comfortable cushion between themselves and the rest of the GTS class field, and it seemed they would cruise home to a 1-2 finish. Apparently Colin Braun, driver of the No. 38 Kia, wasn't about to let his teammate, Michael Galati, take the win that easily and made several bold attempts to pass with just a few turns to go. In the last corner of the last lap, Braun pushed too far and smacked into the rear fender of Galati, spinning him off track in the process.

The third place Acura of Peter Cunningham was collateral damage, leaving a pleasantly surprised Andy Lee to burst through the wreckage and take the checkered flag in his Chevrolet Camaro. Braun managed to finish second while his teammate Galati got back on track fast enough to finish in fourth. In a fitting twist of irony, the crash was reportedly named the Kia Turning Point of the Race.

You can watch the race footage over at www.world-challengetv.com. In case you don't want to sit through all 65+ minutes of footage (although it's an entertaining race), fast forward to the 56:30 mark to watch the final lap carnage. You can also read all about the race in the official results below.Continue reading Kia teammates ruin 1-2 finish in Pirelli World Challenge race

Kia teammates ruin 1-2 finish in Pirelli World Challenge race originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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