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SULLIVAN, Wis. (January 22, 2003) - King Motorsports announced today that the team will compete in the 2003 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship, with Bob Endicott in the driver's seat of a Mugen-powered Acura RSX. King Motorsports is the sole authorized North American distributor for Mugen Co., Ltd. and will rely heavily on involvement from Mugen in their SPEED Touring Car campaign.

"The SPEED World Challenge format allows us to showcase that the Acura RSX is a worthy successor to the Acura Integra as the premier tuner car in the country," said Scott Zellner, owner of King Motorsports. "In addition, it allows us to showcase that Mugen and King Motorsports parts are the ideal aftermarket parts to use on the car. All the parts that we use on the race car will be available for people to buy."

With the first race of the season on March 14th at Sebring International Raceway, the team is rapidly building their new Acura RSX.

"The car is being methodically constructed from the ground up here at our facility," added Zellner. "The engines and transmissions will come directly from Japan. The motors are in Japan on Mugen's dyno right now. With Mugen, you never have to worry about one-lap wonder motors. The power and reliability is always there"

Bob Endicott, a two-time professional champion (1998 PSCR Speedvision Cup, 2001 Grand Am Cup STI), SCCA Valvoline Runoffs Champion and SCCA Tire Rack Solo 2 National Champion, will be at the wheel of the team's lead Acura RSX.

"While Endicott may not have much World Challenge experience, he knows how to win professional races," said Zellner. "He has sprint racing experience from his SCCA National racing, and we have full confidence in his abilities."

For King Motorsports, sprint racing is where they began racing. In 1986, King Motorsports helped introduce the Acura Integra to professional competition when they campaigned it in the IMSA International Sedan Series. Recently, King Motorsports has been busy winning championships in endurance racing and amateur levels of sprint racing.

"The whole shop is very excited about this project," said Zellner. "With help from Mugen Power, American Honda Motor Co., Moton Suspensions, H&R Springs, Red Line Oil, and Pagid Brakes, we are able to put this campaign together. We are currently in negotiations with additional partners to put a second car on the track mid-season. If that deal comes to reality, we will be able to put Kris Skavnes in a second car to support Bob.

"It will take awhile to learn about this series and these tires, but with Bob's developmental abilities and enough testing miles, I think we can overcome that pretty quickly."

The SPEED World Challenge season starts on March 14th at Sebring International Raceway. To learn more about King Motorsports or Mugen Power, visit their website: http://www.kingmotorsports.com/.

for pics and the official article go to http://www.speedvisionwc.com/news/03press04.html

CivicSiRacer

Cool!