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GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, is fielding seven cars across the three racing series at the 2012 Monterey Grand Prix this week including five in the Pirelli World Challenge. The team is looking to build momentum after a splash of podium finishes and other success so far in 2012.

“The 2012 racing season is well under way and now we approach the time when teams either join the hunt or fall behind,” points out GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas.  “We feel like hunting.”

Sofronas started the Pirelli World Challenge season off with a trip to the podium on a second place finish and has followed up with a pair of fourth place finishes.  This has earned his way into third place in the GT class Drivers Championship standings.  He will take the wheel of the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for Friday’s Round 5 of the Pirelli World Challenge.

Bret Curtis suits up with GMG Racing for Pirelli World Challenge racing for the first time this season.  He will pilot the No. 32 Spectra Resources/United Steel/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the GT class.  Curtis has driven for GMG Racing several times over prior seasons and most recently was a co-driver with Sofronas at the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year.

The world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS continues its debut season with a third GT class race at the hands of 2006 Grand-Am Champion Anders Hainer.  The No. 40 APS, Inc / Under Armour / GMG Audi R8 LMS placed 11^th at the Grand Prix of Long Beach then came in 10^th at the Utah Grand Prix.

Dino Crescentini returns to the driver’s seat of the No. 4 StopTech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for a spin in the GT class after sitting out the recent Pirelli World Challenge stop at the Utah Grand Prix.  Crescentini has scored three World Challenge victories and a slew of top 3 finishes across his career.  He’ll be seeking his first podium of the season at the Monterey Grand Prix.

Bill Ziegler will be aiming to make the third time a charm for the No. 95 Swisher / GMG Mitsubishi EVO in the GTS class after two incomplete races in a row.  His bid ended in the first lap at the Grand Prix of Long Beach after being struck by another vehicle.  Mechanical issues took him down partway into the next race at the Utah Grand Prix.

After wrapping up the Pirelli World Challenge race on Friday, James Sofronas will get behind the wheel of the No. 32 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car on Saturday for the six-hour-long third stop for the 2012 American Le Mans Series.  He will be joined by co-drivers Alex Welch and Rene Villeneuve in the GTC class.

GMG Racing logged a 7^th place finish in the ALMS season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring after recovering from a failed alternator.  The team went on to manage a 4^th place finish for Round 2 in Long Beach after suffering damage to the front splitter from a wayward cone on the track.

The Monterey Grand Prix will also be the 5^th and 6^th stop for the 2012 Yokohama IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Series.  Bryce Miller will represent GMG Racing again in the No. 35 GMG Racing 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup car.  He will come off a hot pair of races in Utah where the 2011 Pirelli Driver’s Cup National Champion visited the podium twice in third place.

“GMG Racing’s drivers, cars, and crew are all poised for victory this season,” notes Sofronas.  “This home state event at Laguna Seca is an important part of our overall drive to win in 2012.”

Round 5 of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge season will be streamed live on Friday, May 11, at www.world-challengeTV.com and live timing will be available for the race, qualifying, and practice events at www.world-challenge.com.  The American Le Mans Series race will be broadcast a day after the race on Sunday, May 13, at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2 with live streaming of the race and qualifying available through ESPN3 and complete live timing at www.alms.com.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (TeamGMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

GMG Racing emerged from the 2012 Utah Grand Prix with lead driver James Sofronas in the top 3 for the Pirelli World Challenge Drivers Championship plus with a pair of IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge podium finishes courtesy of 2011 Pirelli Driver’s Cup National Champion Bryce Miller.

The twenty-one year old Miller, who joined GMG Racing for the 2012 season, cruised to a third place finish in Saturday’s race. “It was a good day. The team had a great set up for me,” noted Miller, who “settled into a rhythm and relaxed and brought it home and was happy with my podium finish.”

Sunday was a bit more of a bumpy ride. Miller ran close in the top three out front until he spun in turn seven, also known as “Witchcraft,” and was thrown 18 seconds behind. He was able to continue on and maintain third place for another visit to the podium. “It was a matter of seconds and the car was coming around on me,” said Miller about the spin. “The two leaders drove a fantastic race and I was sticking with them for awhile until my mishap. I went into cruise control after that and tried to conserve third.”

The two races were Rounds 3 and 4 of the Yokohama IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.  “I am more than pleased to be back on the box in these 3rd and 4th rounds of the series,” concluded Miller. GMG Racing provided me with an excellently set up car and all the tools necessary to be successful at this event and it certainly showed.  The team and myself did exactly what was necessary to keep the car clean and bring home some critical championship points.”

GMG Racing also made headway for the Pirelli World Challenge stop at the Utah Grand Prix.  GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas cracked into the top 3 in the hunt for the Drivers Championship in the GT Class.  His 7th place finish in the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car edged him over Lawson Aschenbach in the point standings.

“The momentum from a pair of fourth place finishes and a second place run in the first three rounds helped me turn today’s finish into progress for the Driver’s Championship,” stated Sofronas.  “Now I am looking forward to building up that momentum with some strong finishes as the season progresses.”

2006 Grand-Am Champion Anders Hainer took the No. 40 APS, Inc / Under Armour / GMG Audi R8 LMS for its sophomore run in the GT class.  The vehicle, the first of its kind approved for Pirelli World Challenge racing, debuted at The Grand Prix of Long Beach to an 11th place finish only 2 weeks after arriving in America from Germany.  The car ran to a 10th place finish this weekend as both driver and team continue to shakedown and collect data from this first-of-its-kind Audi.

Bill Ziegler saw his race cut short for the second time in a row.   This weekend he qualified 8^th in the GTS class out of 18 in the No. 95 Swisher / GMG Mitsubishi EVO.  Unfortunately he was again forced to retire early for mechanical issues. Back in Round 3 he was punted out of the race in the first lap by another car.  Experienced driver Erich Joiner, who was scheduled to suit up for GMG Racing for the first time and take the wheel of the No. 4 StopTech / GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, ended up sitting out the race.

“It was a full weekend of racing supported by our great sponsors including StopTech, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires, APS, Under Armour and Swisher,” summarized Sofronas.  “The Utah Grand Prix came with some triumphs for GMG Racing.  Our job now is to turn up the heat for the rest of the season.”

GMG Racing returns to the track for another full weekend of racing May 10-12 at the Monterey Grand Prix.  For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (Team GMG), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

The number four would seem to be an important one to GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California.  All four of GMG’s GT class cars, which race in the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series, carry this number from the No. 4, No. 14, and No. 44 Porsches to the No. 40 Audi R8 LMS.

GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas has a pair of fourth place finishes this season after starting off with a trip to the podium in second.  He currently sits fourth in the Drivers Championship standings in the GT class.

Now the team prepares to field four cars for the fourth round of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series in the fourth month of the year in the GT class with Bill Ziegler running the only GTS classed car in his Mitsubishi EVO.  “The numbers we like to look at are lap times, though maybe we’ll keep our eyes extra open during Lap 4,” muses Sofronas, who will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the GT class.  The race will follow up his fourth place run during The Grand Prix of Long Beach two weeks ago.  “GMG Racing has a great lineup of drivers and cars in store for Miller Motorsports Park supported by an outstanding crew.”

2006 Grand-Am Champion Anders Hainer will take the No. 40 APS, Inc / Under Armour / GMG Audi R8 LMS for its sophomore run in the GT class.  The vehicle, the first of its kind approved for Pirelli World Challenge racing, debuted at The Grand Prix of Long Beach only 2 weeks after arriving in America from Germany.  “We’ve had a chance to shakedown the vehicle a little more through two track days and a full World Challenge event,” notes Sofronas.  “Hainer is a very capable and experienced driver who will also look to pull more from the car as he gets additional time with this impressive Audi.”

Bill Ziegler will be on hand looking to recover from an early end to his last race. The No. 95 Swisher / GMG Mitsubishi EVO had its GTS class bid end on the first lap of the Grand Prix of Long Beach after getting punted by another GTS car.  Ziegler had launched into 6^th place on the opening as the AWD EVO excelled on the standing start for Bill as he launched the car from his 11^th starting spot.  Round 4 at Miller Motorsports Park looms under a slight chance of showers for the Friday qualifying event and Saturday race and Bill wouldn’t mind a little rain at all.

Experienced driver Erich Joiner will suit up for GMG Racing for the first time this weekend.  He will take the wheel of the No. 4 StopTech / GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, rounding out the 4 GT classed vehicles slated for World Challenge Racing in Utah.

GMG Racing will also participate in two other races as part of the Utah Grand Prix.  Twenty-one year old 2011 Pirelli Driver’s Cup National Champion Bryce Miller will again represent GMG Racing for Round 3 and 4 of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Series.  Miller will pilot the No. 35 GMG Racing 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup car for races on Saturday and Sunday, looking to build on his 9^th and 7^th place finishes in the first two rounds, respectively.

The 2012 Pirelli Drivers Cup season starts at the Utah Grand Prix.  The series will run two races over the weekend.  GMG Racing will be represented by Dave Leyvas in his 2008 997 Cup Car as this will be his second time suiting up for GMG Racing in his career.

“It will be another big weekend of racing for GMG that would not be possible without the support of our great sponsors including StopTech, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires, APS, Under Armour and Swisher,” concludes Sofronas.

The Pirelli World Challenge race will be streamed live at www.world-challengetv.com and other information about the race including live timing for all the World Challenge events can be found at www.world-challenge.com. Live timing for the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge events is available at www.imsachallenge.com.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (GMG Racing), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, successfully debuted the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at the 2012 Grand Prix of Long Beach while racing a total of six cars across two races that included a pair of fourth place finishes.

“It was a weekend full of challenges and successes for GMG Racing as we fielded more cars than any other team in weather ranging from terrible to perfect,” noted GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver James Sofronas.

Sofronas was the only GMG Racing driver to participate in both the Pirelli World Challenge and Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series races this weekend. He placed 4th in the ALMS race on Saturday night in the No. 32 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car along with co-driver Alex Welch in the GTC class. The race hit a snag early for GMG when Welch had contact with a prototype vehicle. Later during Sofronas’ turn at the wheel, a cone kicked up by another vehicle smacked into the car and damaged the front-splitter for the rest of the race.

“Despite the setbacks Alex and I managed to keep our focus, and with the support of our amazing crew we ended up in fourth, just shy of the podium but up two positions better than we started,” said Sofronas.

For Sunday’s World Challenge Race, Sofronas took the wheel of the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the GT class. The 2009 winner and last year’s runner up again pulled a 4th place finish, running nose to tail with teammate Dino Crescentini for part of the time in the No. 4 StopTech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“All in all I had a pretty good World Challenge race,” summarized Sofronas. “We got a great start and both Dino and I squeezed past Lawson Aschenbach to get into 5th and 6th respectively. We each gained another spot by lap 2 and I passed Dino on lap 4. From there I had to contend with a very strong Ferrari into Turn 1 which caused me to become defensive in the braking zones. This allowed the top 3 cars to pull away for the rest of the race, especially after I lost another few seconds through contact with a lapped Mustang.”

The attention-getting car was the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS, which made its racing debut for the Pirelli World Challenge stop in Long Beach at the Grand Prix. GMG took delivery of the vehicle from Germany less than two weeks before the race and worked around the clock to get it tested and adapted to World Challenge spec in time.

The car posted the third best time in its first official practice session, which was a very wet affair with rain and a touch of hail pounding the track on Friday morning. From a 13th place start the No. 40 GMG Audi R8 LMS piloted by 2006 Grand-Am champion Anders Hainer held its own in Sunday’s race. Despite having two stalled cars block the way at the start, Hainer managed to gain two spots to wrap up an 11th place finish.

“It was an exciting honor to debut the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at a legendary event like the Grand Prix of Long Beach,” said Hainer. “It would not have been possible without the support of McKenna Audi, Under Armour and GMG Racing, and on a personal level from my friends and family who were at the race. GMG Racing’s team of guys did a fantastic job getting the car as good as we could in just a week or so, since the car came in from Germany. Now I look forward to working with GMG Racing to further develop this great car as the season progresses.”

“This Audi R8 LMS is the heart of the Audi racing program at GMG,” points out GMG vice president and co-owner Fabryce Kutyba. “It will get focused attention by our development team as we continue to shape the vehicle’s track characteristics and engineer performance motorsport parts for this platform.”

Brent Holden made his 2012 GMG Racing debut in Long Beach behind the wheel of the No. 44 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car in the GT class this weekend. He ran a solid race with lap times faster than his qualifying times to finish right behind Hainer in 12th place.

The big disappointment for the weekend occurred when the No. 95 Swisher / GMG Mitsubishi EVO had its GTS class bid end in the first lap of the Sunday race after getting struck by another vehicle. Bill Ziegler had earned the car a 6th place start after the 4WD vehicle excelled in the damp qualifying session under his skilled driving.

“A team of experienced drivers and a superlative crew came together for a fantastic weekend of driving supported by our great sponsors including StopTech, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires, Swisher, Tracks.io and Endless,” concluded Sofronas.

The Pirelli World Challenge at the Grand Prix of Long Beach will air on the NBC Sports Network (formally Versus) on Sunday, April 29th at 3-4:30PM eastern. The next stop for the series is the Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park on April 26-27. The American Le Mans Series moves on to Laguna Seca for the American Le Mans Monterey from May11-13.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (GMG Racing), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series is coming to Southern California as part of the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Although the race may take place on an 11-turn temporary street course, it feels like home to GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California.

“GMG Racing has called this track ‘home’ for the last six years,” notes James Sofronas, GMG president, co-founder, and lead driver. “There have been minor changes to the track but the philosophy for driving it has remained constant.”

The Southern California native won on this course in the 2009 World Challenge series and was runner-up last year. He admits that the multi-series experience is one of the greatest advantages GMG will bring to the ALMS race on Saturday, April 14 behind the wheel of the No. 32 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the GTC class.

“GMG is running 5 cars in the World Challenge race on the same course, that same weekend. Most of them are Porsche GT3 Cup cars,” Sofronas points out. “The cars will be tuned to different specs but we will get plenty of opportunity to collect some track data and get a feel for the unique characteristics the course offers.”

As the lead driver for GMG Racing he will participate in two WC practice sessions between his ALMS practice session and the ALMS qualifying event.
“Of course our other big advantage is the support we get from great companies behind us like Mobil 1, Tracks.io and Endless.”

Sofronas will be joined by co-driver Alex Welch, who debuted as part of the GMG Racing ALMS team in 2011. “I am very excited to once again be behind the wheel with GMG and co-driver James Sofronas,” said Welch. “This is my first street course race and am looking forward to the challenge, it’s going to be a great weekend with everything going on in Long Beach.”

Both drivers were part of the 3 man team that ran in the challenging 12 Hours of Sebring last month. The team suffered a setback 3 hours into that race when the car experienced a failed alternator and lost nearly a dozen laps in the pits. Pinpoint driving and hard determination allowed them to make up spots. The GMG squad climbed into a 7th place GTC class finish, surviving one of the toughest endurance races in the world.

“Those endurance-length races can be brutal on everyone from driver to crew,” states Sofronas. “Two hour races like the one in Long Beach next weekend fit nicely into our comfort zone.”

The current ALMS season marks the fourth for GMG Racing. Global Motorsports Group made its ALMS debut with a driver lineup featuring Sofronas in the 2009 finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, finishing fifth in the Challenge class. GMG Racing contended its first full ALMS season in 2010 taking two podiums, and competed in limited schedule in 2011.

The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach will be broadcast Saturday, April 14, at 7:30pm EST on ESPN 2. ESPN3 will have live streaming of the qualifying event on Friday, April 13, at 8pm EST and will stream the race live the next day starting at 7:15pm EST.

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (GMG Racing), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, will debut the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at the Grand Prix of Long Beach for Round 3 of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series. The vehicle is just one of five being fielded by GMG for the race, the most of any team, which is fitting for an event practically taking place in the team’s back yard in Southern California.

“GMG Racing got our hands on this vehicle from Phoenix Racing in Germany less than two weeks before race day,” acknowledges James Sofronas, GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver. “We worked closely with SCCA officials to determine how to get the car into World Challenge spec and our crew has been implementing the modifications around the clock in preparation.”

The modified Audi R8 LMS GT3 will debut in the GT Class for the April 15 World Challenge race in Long Beach. The car will be driven by the newest addition to the GMG Racing team, 2006 Grand-Am Champion Anders Hainer from Hidden Hills, California.

“GMG Racing is excited to have a quick and experienced driver such as Anders Hainer piloting the World Challenge Audi R8 LMS,” noted Sofronas. “The Audi R8 LMS represents an amazing racing platform that I predict will have a big impact on motorsports in North America.”

“It’s a real challenge to return to motorsports for an event like this in a car that has yet to be put through its paces in America,” acknowledged Hainer. “I look forward to getting to know the car and how it handles in race traffic as the season progresses. It’s a great opportunity.”

“Racing the R8 LMS starts a new chapter in GMG’s racing history and we are very excited to add the Audi brand to the racing department,” stated GMG vice president and co-owner Fabryce Kutyba. “GMG has a long standing history tuning Audi road cars over the last ten years and now racing the R8 will help with the development of motorsport-proven performance parts.”

The rest of the GMG Racing World Challenge team will be on hand in Long Beach. Sofronas will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the GT class, following up a second place podium finish during the opening weekend of the 2012 World Challenge series in St. Petersburg. Sofronas won the Long Beach event in 2009 and scored a runner up finish there last year.

“St Pete. was a bit of a disappointment as we had a strong car for the first race but couldn’t capitalize with all the yellows,” admitted Sofronas. “For the 2nd race, I had contact with a Volvo on the 4 lap that knocked the toe out so we didn’t have a car that could run up front.”

Dino Crescentini returns to Long Beach to drive the StopTech / GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car in the GT class. The Grand Prix of Long Beach is the site of what he called “the best race of my life” when he fought his way from the back of the pack to a runner-up podium finish in 2010.

Bill Ziegler will be on hand as well to continue his 2012 World Challenge season in the GTS class. He will once again pilot the No. 95 Swisher/GMG Mitsubishi EVO. Ziegler will be looking to build on the momentum from St. Petersburg where at one point was running as high as 3rd place.

Brent Holden will make his 2012 GMG Racing debut in Long Beach behind the wheel of the No. 44 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car in the GT class.

“GMG Racing is coming to the table in Long Beach with a deep lineup of drivers and vehicles that includes our usual staples plus some great debuts that promises an exciting race for us and the fans,” concluded Sofronas. “We couldn’t do it without the support of the great companies behind us like StopTech brakes, Mobil 1, Pirelli Tires and Endless.”

“Needless to say, we want to win Long Beach,” summarizes Sofronas. “Both Dino and I have either won or finished 2nd there multiple times and this race is the biggest one for GMG. We will have over 250 GMG clients in the stands and we want to give them a show!”

The Pirelli World Challenge at the Grand Prix of Long Beach kicks off with practice sessions on April 13 and 14 then a qualifying session on the morning of Sunday, April 15 followed by the race at 4:15pm Pacific that same day. The race will be streamed live online at www.world-challengeTV.com

For more information about GMG Racing, visit www.GMGracing.com or keep up to date through Facebook (GMG Racing), Twitter (@GMGracing) and YouTube (/GMGracing).

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Press Contact: Jonathan Zaleski / The PR Collective / 310-943-7143 / jonathan@theprcollective.com

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