Pictured at the announcement are, from left, Woo Jai Kim, President of Kia Motors Ireland, David O’Connor, Aftersales manager, Kia Motors Ireland, with David Conroy and Brian Conroy of Pop Up Races. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Pop Up Races, one of Ireland’s leading chip-timing and sports event management companies, has officially announced its partnership with Kia Motors Ireland for the duration of 2017 / 2018. This is a key milestone for Pop Up Races, a company that is growing from strength-to-strength and is currently the fastest growing company in this sector. Since it was established in 2014, the company has increased its total number of employees fivefold.

As part of the partnership, Kia Motors Ireland has provided Pop Up Races with a Kia Sportage, one of the best-selling car models in Ireland this year. In addition to this, the KIA logo will appear on the Pop Up Races race numbers this summer. Earlier this month, Olympian and European 1500m medallist, Ciara Mageean was announced as Brand Ambassador to Pop Up Races for 2017/2018.

The company, which operates in over 23 counties in the Republic of Ireland, will time over 180 races in 2017, and expects 60,000 runners to cross their finish line this year. Securing prestigious races such as the Achill Half Marathon, Trim AC 10 Mile and the Streets of Portlaoise 5km has enhanced the company’s Irish portfolio as they plan to expand into the UK market in 2018.

Brian Conroy, Co-Founder of Pop Up Races said: “Pop Up Races is delighted to team up with Kia Motors for this partnership deal. To date, 2017 has been a successful year for Pop up Races. Due to the scope of work and high quality technology that we utilise from race-to-race, it is essential that we have a reliable and secure mode of transport to deliver this service. The new Kia Sportage, along with our two vans sourced in our local KIA dealer, Dunleas Kilcullen, has improved our service delivery and it’s great to travel across the country in style.”

from left, Woo Jai Kim, President of Kia Motors Ireland, David O’Connor, Aftersales manager, Kia Motors Ireland, with David Conroy and Brian Conroy of Pop Up Races. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

David O’Connor, Head of Aftersales, Kia Motors Ireland said: “Kia Ireland are delighted to announce their partnership with Pop Up Races. Kia as a brand is always looking to support local business whenever possible and with sports sponsorship being a prime focus for Kia globally, Pop Up Races were an obvious choice for us. Both companies are experiencing strong growth in their respective industries, something that looks set to continue well into the future.

He continued, “As one of the world’s leading car brands, and the fastest growing car brand in Europe, we are delighted to partner with Ireland’s leading race timing company for the next 12 months to drive our biggest selling model, the Sportage. This model is sporty and dynamic in style and it’s great to see it parked at the Pop Up Races finish line where thousands of runners will pass on a monthly basis, so exposure like this to such a niche market is something we are very happy with.”

Pop Up Races provides event management services to sporting groups all over Ireland and as part of its service facilities online entry and payment, race numbers, timing chips, finishers medals and the provision of a race lead car on behalf of race meetings.