GMG Racing Wins GT America, Earns Pro-Am P2 at Road America

GMG Racing secured a Sunday GT America powered by AWS race win with team Founder and Principal James Sofronas and a P2 Pro-Am class podium in Saturday’s Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race with co-drivers Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent in a competitive SRO America championships weekend at Road America.

Sofronas, who began his professional driving career 30 years ago at Road America, drove his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 to an emotional flag-to-flag win from the pole Sunday. The victory was the final step of successful comeback after Sofronas was sidelined for several months after a testing incident in the Audi at the SRO Road America event in 2023.

“This is where I wanted to race from day one in World Challenge,” Sofronas said. “When an opportunity came up in 1994, I took my entire savings out – $1,800 bucks – and rented a factory-supported car from an Oldsmobile team, a touring car that was actually a pretty stout piece. I was hooked, Road America is the best track in North America by far, and for me it was just the beginning of a journey that I didn’t know would take me to where I am today. The team we have right now is firing on all cylinders. That’s what I am the most proud of.”

Washington and Sargent began the weekend’s solid results Saturday with their second podium appearance in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the last three GT World Challenge races after their first series victory last month at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). The No. 32 team rebounded from a pit stop less than 10 minutes into the race for a swap to slicks from rain tires after a pre-race rain shower subsided. Washington kept the pressure on despite falling a lap down and handed off right at the race’s 50-minute mark to Sargent, who immediately went to work in his race-closing stint.

“Tom drove amazing,” Washington said. “His drive at the end was incredible, we had a yellow flag that was very timely, and he took advantage of that and drove like an absolute star in the fight to the finish. He put it in overdrive and just rocked it.”

A typically strong pit stop by the GMG Racing crew, and the well-timed yellow flag with 12 minutes to go, not only put Sargent in a position to get the No. 32 back on the lead lap, but to also to battle for the class win in the race’s closing minutes.

“The key to race was getting past the overall leader right as the safety car came out, and that gave me the ability to unlap ourselves,” Sargent said. “I caught up to the pack and was at the back of the train for the restart. We caught the field right as we were going green, and from then on it was just a dog fight to the finish. The car was amazing all race.”

Sargent was fourth in Pro-Am and eighth overall when race was restarted with just over five minutes to go. He defended the position through the race’s penultimate lap and quickly pounced when a Pro-Am class competitor up front slid off course in Turn 1. The field bunched up to avoid the off-course car, but Sargent maintained his momentum to move from fourth to second in the span of just a few corners. He took the white flag second in Pro-Am and fifth overall and held the positions to the finish.

“We were a little conservative on the tire choice at the beginning but we wanted to give Kyle a good car for the start and let him charge,” Sofronas said. “We pitted under green to change tires and Kye was consistent, kept pushing, and then we let Tom do what he does after the pit stops. Everything unfolded with just three minutes to go. Tom is coming into his own. He is showing he is a front runner in a Porsche and in this series.

Sunday’s convincing GT America victory was remarkably the sixth race win for Sofronas since his Road America incident last year. His five other victories have come in IMSA Carrera Cup competition, including his most recent win in that series two weeks ago at Road America. This weekend’s event completed Road America’s annual August stretch of races – IMSA, Porsche Sprint Challenge and SRO – and GMG Racing was one of the few teams to compete on all three race weekends.

Even more notable was that Sofronas was the only driver, of the more than 50 race winners across all series competing at Road America this month, to score multiple race wins at “America’s Park of Speed” on different race weekends.

The Sunday victory was the first for Sofronas in SRO America competition since winning at Road America in an Audi in 2021, the third of his three GT America wins that season.

Next up for GMG Racing in SRO America is the event weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, September 6 – 8.

GMG Racing Shop Moving Sale, Aug 24

GMG Racing is moving to its new and state-of-the-art race shop at The Thermal Club in just two months and everything in the Santa Ana-based race shop that has served us so well the last two decades must go!

GMG Racing’s doors are open to all for a three-hour only Moving Sale next Saturday, August 24, from 9 a.m. to Noon at our Santa Ana shop, and it’s a good idea to get there early! We are located at 3210 S. Shannon Street, Santa Ana, California 92704, and our general office telephone number is 1 (714) 432-1582.

Nothing but the latest fixtures and equipment are going into GMG Racing’s new 30,000 square foot facility (pictured below) nearing completion at The Thermal Club, so there’s plenty of next-to-new equipment, fixtures, competition and street parts and much more in Santa Ana that needs to be liquidated.

Just a few of the available items include lifts, work benches, compressors, take-off wheels, exhaust systems and street and competition performance parts for Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi and more.

For a preview list of all available items, please contact Tate Fredlow at Tate@GMGRacing.com.

On now for GMG Racing on track is the team’s third-straight Road America race weekend competing in the SRO America Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and the GT America powered by AWS single-driver sprint-race series.

Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent co-drove to their first GT World Challenge victory one race ago at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and and finished second in Pro-Am in today’s first race of the weekend.

Washington is also entered in GT America in a similar 992 No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and competes alongside Sofronas in his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2.

Sofronas, who won in Carrera Cup competition at Road America two weeks ago, now seeks a victory in the Audi in his return to Elkhart Lake in the No. 14 R8 LMS GT3 EVO2. Sofronas was sidelined for the remainder of the summer in a practice accident in the Audi at this event last year but has recovered to drive as well as he has at any point in his 30-year championship career, which started at Road America in 1994.

GMG Racing Achieves Four Podiums at Road America

GMG Racing and team drivers Kyle Washington and Patrick Mulcahy scored a four-pack of podium finishes in a successful weekend of USAC Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and USA West by Yokohama series competition Saturday and Sunday at Road America. Washington backed up a pair of Masters-class runner-up showings in the weekend’s Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West doubleheader in the No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with a third-place finish Saturday in a last-minute Sprint Challenge North America effort in the No. 234 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Meanwhile, Mulcahy put the crowning touch on his best USA West race weekend to date in his first year of top-level motorsports competition with a third-place Pro-Am finish Sunday in his No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“This was the middle event of a three-weekend stretch at Road America and the results were a great follow up to our first race over a week ago,” said GMG Racing President and Founder James Sofronas. “Kyle continues to be the ‘Iron Man’ that he is and Patrick getting his first podium after a competitive performance all weekend is just fantastic. I was fortunate enough to win a Carrera Cup Pro-Am sprint in the previous weekend of competition at Road America, and now we are looking for even more hardware and podiums this weekend in the SRO America event.”

The second of three national Porsche Sprint events on this year’s calendar, Road America included doubleheaders for both the North America and USA West championships in addition to the second race in the inaugural season of the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America, which ran a one-hour race to conclude the weekend late Sunday afternoon.

Washington is a USA West regular in the No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup but he added both the North America doubleheader and the Endurance Challenge race to his packed schedule of five races on Saturday and Sunday. He drove his 992 Type Carrera Cup car that GMG shifted to Sprint Challenge specs and series markings to compete in the North America series races as the No. 234 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“The P3 in Porsche GT3 North America felt amazing and was even a little more satisfying than the pair of second-place finishes in USA West,” Washington said. “In the first race in the West series, where I was on pole, it was kind of mine to lose, and I made a mistake, but that’s a big field in the North America championship with more than 20 cars alone in the Masters class. I love that bigger field, we will be together again at Sonoma, and I even heard some chatter this weekend that there might be more joint events in the future.”

Mulcahy came to Road America primed for a breakout performance and delivered. He matched his Sprint Challenge-best fourth-place finish in Saturday’s first USA West race after battling in the top five with the best drivers in the series. Building on that success, Mulcahy stepped it up even more in Sunday’s final USA West sprint for his first career podium finish in third place in Pro-Am.

“Finally reaching a podium in my first season feels absolutely amazing,” Mulcahy said. “Coming back from my bad crash at Utah, missing COTA as a result, and Laguna Seca not going our way, last weekend’s result is what the team and I expect to produce with all the work and preparation we have put into my first season in a top-tier racing series. GMG Racing hands down crushed it in every aspect of the weekend and everything leading up to it. They provided me a car that was in an amazing performance window all week and it was up to me to drive and execute the weekend to the fullest potential. I believe we accomplished that this weekend and showed what we are capable of doing as a team.”

Mulcahy’s top weekend came in his Road America debut.

“Road America has always been a legendary track with several high-speed and high-risk areas to make moves,” Mulcahy said. “Very big track with lots of long straights with extended heavy brake zones, so you have to get every corner right or you pay dearly on lap times and risking position. It was my first time here so places like the kink, the carousel, even turn 1 were all a great learning experience as a driver. 100% I’m leaving as a better driver, but I couldn’t have done so without the support of my team.”

Washington made his Endurance Challenge debut in the No. 232 with his coach and co-driver Tom Sargent. Despite a time-draining accident deeper in the field at the start, Washington still managed to put in a few solid laps in the top five when the race finally went green before handing off to Sargent. Although their Silver/Bronze driver lineup required a significantly longer pit stop than some competitors, Sargent still charged through the field in the final half of the race to climb back to sixth at the checkered flag.

“It was great to race with Tom in the Enduro,” Washington said. “Obviously, we are racing in some other series together, and we are partners for the year in GT World Challenge America, but the Silver and Bronze driver pairing in Porsche Endurance really makes it a challenge. The pit stop time delay difference with our kind of driver combination really makes us not in it to win it. It really doesn’t work for a Silver and Bronze pairing, but it was great racing. I was happy with my performance, and Tom drove his ass off, and made some amazing passes. It was really enjoyable to watch the end of the race.”

Next up for GMG Racing is the team’s third-straight Road America weekend, August 16 – 18, competing in the SRO America Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and the GT America powered by AWS single-driver sprint-race series. Washington and Sargent co-drove to their first GT World Challenge victory one race ago at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and look for two more wins in this weekend’s twin 90-minute races.

Washington is also entered in GT America in a similar 992 No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and competes alongside Sofronas in his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2.

GMG Racing Fields Washington & Mulcahy at Road America

GMG Racing’s three-straight weeks of competition at Road America takes on a triple-threat twist of its own this weekend with team driver Kyle Washington campaigning a pair of GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entries in each of the three USAC Porsche Challenge series races taking place on the four-mile road course this Saturday and Sunday. Washington’s across-the-board Porsche Challenge campaign is joined by first-year team driver Patrick Mulcahy who continues his inaugural season of Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama competition with his Road America debut in the No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

The second of three national events on this year’s calendar, the Road America weekend includes doubleheaders for the Sprint Challenge West series and its counterpart Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama championship, which races primarily on the East Coast. The packed Road America schedule also features the second round of the first-year Porsche Endurance Challenge North America, which runs a one-hour race to conclude the weekend Sunday afternoon.

Washington primarily runs a No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Sprint Challenge West, but GMG’s three-week stand at Road America has provided the chance to add a foray into the North America championship as well. The similar Type 992 Porsche Washington drove to a top-five finish in last weekend’s IMSA Carrera Cup races at Road America has been prepared by the team for Washington to race as the No. 234 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the North America series races. Washington competes in each series in the Masters Class.

“Kyle wants to race as much as possible and even thrives on a full-slate of races on any given weekend,” said GMG Racing President and Founder James Sofronas. “After last weekend’s Carrera Cup event, we evaluated the option of changing Kyle’s car over to Sprint Challenge specifications just this weekend and jumped at the chance. Including the entry in the all Pro-Am 992 field in Porsche Endurance Challenge, Kyle will be running in a total of five races this weekend. Patrick Mulcahy competes alongside Kyle in the Pro-Am class in the Sprint Challenge West series doubleheader, and Kyle’s extra track time will provide additional data and feedback that will benefit both drivers and their respective teams. We look forward to helping both Kyle and Patrick achieve all they can this weekend at Road America.”

Mulcahy secured a season-best fourth in Pro-Am and a top-five finish overall in the second race of the season-opening weekend at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch last March. Improving one position or more for Pro-Am podium results this weekend is the goal for Mulcahy.

Meanwhile, Washington concludes his powerhouse weekend sharing the No. 232 with professional coach and co-driver Tom Sargent in the debut race for the drivers and GMG in the new Porsche Endurance series. The first-year duo scored its first victory together last month at VIRginia International Raceway with a fast and flawless run in the debut of a new No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in Fanatec GT World Challenge competition at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).

Following three days of unofficial testing and opening practice that concluded Friday, the Road America schedule kicks into high gear on Saturday.

Qualifying for both the North America and West series takes place Saturday morning in preparation for the opening sprints in both championships that afternoon. The West competitors race first at 2:55 p.m. CDT with the North America race wrapping up the day with a 4:50 p.m. CDT green flag. Sunday’s second and final rounds for both championships go off at 11:30 a.m. CDT for the West and 1:10 p.m. CDT for the North America finale. All Sprint Challenge races are 35 minutes + 1 lap in length.

The weekend concludes Sunday at 4:35 p.m. CDT with the one-hour Porsche Endurance Challenge race.

Visit www.porschesprint.com for results from every session and live timing and livestreaming of all of the races from Road America.

Sofronas and GMG Racing Score Third Porsche Carrera Cup Victory of The Season Sunday at Road America

James Sofronas took the Pro-Am class lead on the first lap of the 40-minute IMSA Carrera Cup North America sprint at Road America and went on to score his third race win of the season in the No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Sunday on the 4-mile Wisconsin road course.

Sofronas passed Pro-Am polesitter Pedro Torres with a convincing outside move in Turn 5 and led every lap for the victory, which is his fifth series win in just 10 career Carrera Cup race starts. Sofronas, a multiple sports car racing series champion, swept the Pro-Am class wins in his Carrera Cup debut in 2023’s season-ending race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). In addition to Sunday’s win, Sofronas started the 2024 season with a victory at Sebring International Raceway and also won at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in June. The three 2024 victories lead the Carrera Cup Pro-Am class even with Sofronas not scheduled to compete in the full season and not participating in last month’s doubleheader at Watkins Glen International.

“This was a total team effort, and I knew right away we had a great car,” said Sofronas, who is the Founder and Principal of GMG Racing. “Our car wasn’t quite there in Saturday’s race but all credit to the guys for getting it right today. We put our heads together and this win is a result of the efforts of everybody on the team.”

Sunday’s win also came in the first race for Sofronas at Road America since he was sidelined for four months after sustaining an injury in a testing incident at the track last August.

“The COTA sweep made for a successful and somewhat emotional return to racing last year,” Sofronas said. “That race proved to me that I could still do this, that I can still run at the same competitive level I have for the last three decades. But coming back to Road America after last year was another important step in reaffirming my race craft. I began my professional driving career right here at Road America back in 1994, so it is fantastic to be able to mark that 30-year anniversary, especially after last year’s incident, with a win today.”

Sofronas finished second in Pro-Am in Saturday’s opening Carrera Cup race while veteran GMG Racing competitor Kyle Washington secured a weekend-best fifth-place Masters Class finish in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the same race.

Also in Saturday’s race, debuting team driver Yves Baltas charged from the back of the field for a top-10 Pro Class finish in the No. 15 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Baltas, who was sent to the rear of the grid for a non-performance related sensor issue, passed a race-high 22 cars in his charge to the front.

GMG Racing Brings an IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America Entry in Every Class to Road America

GMG Racing fields for the first time an entry in every class competing in this weekend’s IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America race at Road America that features twin 40-minute sprints on the 4-mile “America’s National Park of Speed” on Saturday and Sunday.

Masters class contender Kyle Washington and two-time 2024 Pro-Am division winner James Sofronas welcome debuting team driver Yves Baltas, who competes in the No. 15 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Pro class at Road America. Joining Sofronas as a Carrera Cup race winner last month at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the arrival of Baltas adds a Pro-class front-runner to GMG Racing’s competitive stable of Carrera Cup entries.

“It’s certainly exciting to have Yves onboard,” said GMG Racing Founder and Principal Sofronas. “He’s a young and up-and-coming star and we are looking forward to showcasing his talent with ours with a Pro entry in Carrera Cup. We both won our classes in a rainy first race in Montreal, and Kyle did great too with a Masters podium in the wet, so maybe this is destiny bringing us together! It’s great for GMG Racing to have a car in all three classes. Of course, it would be real nice to sweep the weekend in all three classes, but the main mission as always is giving Kyle and Yves the best cars possible while I am just coming along for the ride, enjoying a fun season in Carrera Cup.”

Washington secured his second season-best third-place Masters finish of the year in Montreal to join Baltas and Sofronas on the podium and looks to build on that momentum this weekend at Road America in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“I’m looking forward to another weekend at an amazing yet challenging race circuit,” Washington said. “I really need to work on the Kink and get my speed up on that turn, as everyone knows it eats cars if you get it wrong. If I can sort that one out, I love the rest of the track. Being Canadian, I love the braking zone in the Canada Corner. Getting those two spots right will give me a great chance.”

Baltas shifts to GMG Racing just two races after his first Carrera Cup win at Montreal that he followed up with a second-place overall and Pro-class finish the next day in the Canadian Grand Prix weekend’s final race.

“I’m thrilled to join GMG Racing and can’t wait to hit the track with them this weekend,” Baltas said. “This is an exciting new chapter, and I’m eager to work with the team to push for the best results. The passion and energy at GMG Racing are inspiring, and I’m ready to give it my all on race day!”

Sofronas scored a Pro-Am victory in Montreal for the second time this season after winning the opening race of the championship last March at Sebring in his No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. He also swept both races in his Carrera Cup debut in 2023’s season-ending race weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) to give him a stout record of four wins in the span of his last seven Carrera Cup races coming into Road America.

This weekend also marks the return of Sofronas to Road America after he was sidelined for four months following an August 2023 practice accident there. The COTA Carrera Cup doubleheader last October were the first races for Sofronas since last summer’s incident, and he courageously made it a winning return.

“It’s always good to get back to Road America, and I have had more than a month off since Montreal, so I am kind of anxious to jump back into a race car for the first time since then,” Sofronas said. “And what better place to get back in action than the best track in North America. My first professional race at Road America was in 1994, but my biggest race incident also came there last year. At this point I am just looking to get back there and tackling all of that four-mile circuit after a bit of a summer break. I am anxious to get back behind the wheel.”

On track for four full days, Carrera Cup practice sessions are scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT on Thursday and 9:35 a.m. CDT on Friday. Qualifying takes place Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. CDT.

The weekend’s pair of 40 minute races are scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. CDT Saturday and 11:35 a.m. CDT on Sunday.

Both races air live at PorscheCarreraCup.us, on NBC’s Peacock streaming app, on the IMSA YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@imsaofficial and on IMSA.tv. The Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel also archives all races at https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.