Following two very successful seasons competing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Kia has decided to step things up a notch for the 2012 season.

Moving to the Pirelli World Challenge Championship, Kia and partners Kinetic Motorsports will enter a pair of turbocharged Kia Optima SXs in the Grand Touring Sport (GTS) class. That will pit them against potent competitors like the Mustang and Camaro.

"As a brand with no previous racing experience in America, for Kia to win two motorsports championships in just its second year is an incredible accomplishment, and expanding our motorsports footprint with the turbocharged Optima entering World Challenge will continue to build passion and enthusiasm for the brand with an entirely new fan base at different race tracks across the country," said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing & communications, KMA. "With its aerodynamic styling and outstanding driving dynamics, the Optima SX should be well suited to the ultra-competitive environment of World Challenge racing."


The SCCA sanctioned series features production based cars which have been race prepared and are piloted by World class drivers. The competition is fierce and provides loads of excitement for the fans. Drivers for this effort will be announced at a later date.


Having announced their entry into the new B-Spec showroom stock series last week at SEMA, this brings Kia's motorsport involvement to a level that few other manufacturers can claim. With three pro series on the go, Kia fans are in for an exciting year!