Hyundai’s Avante edged out South Korea’s fastest man, Kim Kuk-young, in a race at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, 330 kilometers from Seoul. The Avante finished in 7.544 seconds while Kim recorded 7.739 seconds.
“My start was not as good as I expected due to the strong wind,” Kim said following Thursday’s race, held as part of the ongoing 2016 Motor and Leisure Sports Festival organized by the Jeonnam Development Corp.
The car was driven by Kwon Bom-yi, a three-time Female Driver of the Year by the Korea Automobile Racing Association (KARA).
During practice, organizers said Kim averaged around 7.40 seconds while the car was 0.02 seconds faster.
Despite the loss, Kim said he would like to face the car again after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games in August.
Before the competition, the 25-year-old Kim was confident he can outrun the Avante, a subcompact from South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.
“It feels a little strange because I heard that this is the first time in South Korea that a man will race against a car,” said Kim, who has been training in Japan for his first Olympic appearance.
“I agreed to compete in this race because I hope many people will start paying attention to track and field due to this event.”
Kwon, the 29-year-old car driver, earlier said she was excited to face Kim but expressed concern because the car is not her usual racing vehicle.
Kim qualified for the Brazil Olympic after he beat his own, five-year-old 100-meter mark by 0.07 second at the 2015 Universiade. He holds the South Korean record in the men’s 100m at 10.16 seconds.
Competitions at the Motor and Leisure Sports Festival, held from May 5 to 15, include drone piloting, powered paragliding, virtual racing and parasailing under the four themes of land, sky, water and culture.
