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Kyle Washington scored his first USAC Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama Masters Class race win Sunday in his No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at the Utah Motorsports Campus. The victory was also the first of 2024 for Washington in a full and multi-series schedule of races this year with GMG Racing and came after Washington charged from 10th on the starting grid to first in Masters in Turn 1 at the start of Sunday’s final 35 minute race of the weekend.

Rebounding from a fourth-place Masters finish Saturday after a contact incident hampered the handling of his Porsche, Washington bolstered his Masters Class championship campaign with his third podium finish in the year’s first four Sprint Challenge West races. In last month’s season-opening doubleheader at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Nevada, Washington secured a runner-up Masters class finish in the first race and a third-place showing in the second.

“A great ending to the weekend for Kyle, winning his class and finishing fourth overall,” said GMG Racing President and Founder James Sofronas. “He’s been knocking on the door in multiple series this year, but to score his first win of 2024 in one of his two fulltime series this weekend in Utah is huge for the Sprint Challenge USA West Masters championship. We will take the momentum to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) the next two weekends where Kyle will race in his other full-season championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge America, this Saturday and Sunday and then be back in Porsche Sprint Challenge West Memorial Day weekend.”

“We started way back in the pack Sunday and I thought the only way we would get a good result today was if there was a big incident in Turn 1,” Washington said. “And what do you know, there was a big incident and we just got lucky when I stayed outside and got around a lot of cars. Then we held off Kevin Woods, who was behind me, filling my mirrors, pressuring me the whole time and it really couldn’t have worked out better. You have to be good to be lucky, and lucky to be good, but I had a lot of family here and we are all happy. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers out there, including mine, Phyllis. Thanks Mom, we will see you for dinner tonight!”

Washington was joined on track in Utah by his GMG Racing Pro-Am class teammate Patrick Mulcahy, who was contesting his second career Sprint Challenge race weekend in his No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Mulcahy was on pace from the start of the weekend but was unfortunately sidelined for both races after a contact incident in Saturday morning’s final practice.

“Patrick had a disappointing end to his weekend, but the important thing is he is okay,” Sofronas said. “His car is heavily damaged, but we have a Plan B we are working on, and Patrick is going to rebound and go to COTA in two weeks.”

Washington’s family at the track included his brother-in-law, mother-in-law and his 14-year-old son Blake Washington, who put in some laps of his own on track. The younger Washington joined Sofronas’ son Jenson Sofronas, 13, in USAC’s on-track testing program throughout the weekend in GT4-spec Porsches. Both second-generation drivers are targeting entry level USAC competition licenses later this year, which makes them eligible to compete in the Cayman GT4 Clubsport division.

“Jenson and Blake received their provisional USAC licenses and had more than five hours of track time over the three days to get them up to speed,” Sofronas said. “They both made big improvements, excelled for their young experience levels, and Jenson really got up to speed on Sunday and showed great pace. I was following him, and I could watch his lines and watch his inputs, and it was super cool.”

The younger Sofronas turned laps in both a Porsche Cayman and later even in his father’s Porsche GT3 Cup car.

“I want to compliment USAC for putting together this program and this evaluation period,” Sofronas said. “It was just us on track in these private run groups, it allowed USAC to observe and monitor, and we left with video, data and captured everything for review down the road.”

Next up for GMG Racing are the back-to-back COTA weekends starting later this week, May 17 – 19, with the SRO America event. Washington and Sofronas both compete in the SRO GT America powered by AWS sprint race series at COTA while Tom Sargent joins Washington for the weekend’s featured Fanatec GT World Challenge doubleheader.

The following Memorial Day weekend, May 24 – 26, will see Washington and Mulcahy return for Porsche Sprint Challenge West Rounds 5 and 6.

GMG Racing persevered through a hot and hard-fought “Florida Double” this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix IMSA Carrera Cup North America doubleheader and the Fanatec GT World Challenge and GT America powered by AWS series races at Sebring International Raceway. Fielding a pair of Porsches in both weekend races, GMG Racing and team drivers Kyle Washington, Tom Sargent, Ofir Levy and James Sofronas overcame near-record temperatures, on-track contact incidents and costly moves by over-zealous competitors for some season-best results and an encouraging debut performance.

The top results of the weekend were a pair of fourth-place finishes by Washington and his first-year co-driver Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Saturday and Sunday GT World Challenge races at Sebring.

The Miami Grand Prix Carrera Cup highlight was debuting driver Levy’s solid seventh-place Pro-Am finish in Sunday’s final sprint that set the stage for that day’s Formula 1 race.

“Sebring and street courses are known for being notoriously tough and we had more than our fair share of hard knocks at both the SRO America event weekend and in the Carrera Cup rounds at the Grand Prix of Miami,” said Sofronas, GMG Racing Founder and Principal. “We didn’t have a single car of the combined four Porsche entries in both races that didn’t take a few body blows, some much worse than others, but in the end it is a testament to our drivers and the GMG Racing team for a no quit effort that still delivered some solid results. Kyle and Tom moved closer to their first GT World Challenge podium with some hard-earned fourth-place finishes at Sebring while Ofir honestly drove smarter than some of his more experienced competitors did for a seventh-place finish in his Carrera Cup debut.”

In only their second race weekend together, Washington and Sargent improved two positions for an overall eighth-place finish and gained a Pro-Am spot for the fourth-place class result in Saturday’s first 90-minute World Challenge race. A podium was the goal in Sunday’s final round but the No. 32 sustained heavy front-end damage in the fight into Sebring’s fast Turn 1 at the race start. The damage created quite a bit of speed-draining drag on the long Sebring straights, but Washington and Sargent still fought to the finish to duplicate Saturday’s P8 overall and P4 Pro-Am results.

“On Sunday the car unfortunately got hurt in the first 100 feet – or about the length of a football field – of the race,” Washington said. “It nailed the splitter on the front side, and Tom was fighting with a tough car from the start. We lost 15 mph down the front straightaway and then it didn’t like to turn left. We tried to fix it as best we could on the pit stop but it was a handful to get to the finish.”

An Australian, Sargent drove the No. 32 Porsche for the first time on a track he knew. In his American racing debut last year at Sebring, Sargent secured a pair of second-place Carrera Cup finishes.

“If you told us at the start of the weekend we would get two P4s, we would have gone to the moon,” Sargent said. “After the race, you always want more. I wish we had a couple of podiums, but ultimately it was still good results for a very, very new team and two very new co-drivers. Kyle and I feel so much more comfortable in the car, and we’re getting up to speed with the rules, regulations, pit stops and all of that type of stuff.”

Washington also drove the No. 32 in the GT America powered by AWS sprint races after his similar Type 991.2 model was sidelined early in the weekend. Battling to crack the top five throughout Sunday’s final 40-minute sprint, Washington secured P5 in the race’s closing minutes and earned the SUPERFUEL Hard Charger Award for gaining four race positions.

Levy survived a pair of true street fights on the temporary and tight Miami circuit, steering clear of the contact incidents that sidelined several competitors. Despite sustaining some damage to his Porsche, Levy made the most of the Sunday race’s limited green flag runs to set some of his fastest laps of the weekend. The seventh-place Pro-Am showing came in his debut with both GMG Racing and in Carrera Cup.

“I visit Miami often, I am familiar with the area, and I like it, and it was great being able to race in the Grand Prix of Miami,” Levy said. “These Formula 1 venues are really what drew me to Carrera Cup. I have been watching some F1 races in person, saw the guys out there racing in their Cup cars and thought, ‘man, I would love to be one of those guys.’ You can go racing and then watch Formula 1 at the same time. It was great to finally have the chance to do it with James and everyone at GMG Racing and I can’t wait for the next one.”

Sofronas competed in the Carrera Cup Pro-Am class alongside Levy, but his best memories from this year’s Miami Grand Prix happened off the track. Starting from the very back of the 37 car field for Saturday’s first race after just missing the minimum ride height in post qualifying tech inspection, Sofronas improved 14 positions to finish eighth in Pro-Am and 23rd overall. He took the green flag in 24th for Sunday’s finale but was one of seven contenders knocked out of the race in the first turn after a competitor’s overly ambitious move into Turn 1.

“For starters, I have to thank Ofir for a truly fantastic time and graciously hosting us all weekend,” Sofronas said. “We made sure he had a good time on the track, and he took care of us off it. Miami is great, the Grand Prix is truly a spectacle, and Ofir gave us an amazing time taking it all in. On track, all I can say is that I hope the driving is better in Montreal when we are on a big stage with Formula 1 again. We will move on from this weekend’s races and look ahead.”

The Sebring and Miami races kicked off a run of four-straight race weekends for GMG Racing and its drivers filling all four weekends in May.

Next up is Rounds 3 and 4 of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama series this weekend, May 10 – 12, at Utah Motorsports Campus.

The following weekend SRO America is back in action at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), May 17 – 19. That event is the first of two in a row for GMG Racing at COTA to close out May.

The Memorial Day weekend race at COTA is the first national Sprint Challenge event of the year, with the USA West teams on track with their peer teams in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama series, which races primarily East of the Mississippi.

The Memorial Day weekend event also features the debut of the new Porsche Endurance Challenge North America that brings the curtain down on the race weekend with a 60-minute race Sunday afternoon.

GMG Racing will do a “Florida Double” this weekend with a pair of Porsches competing in both the Miami Grand Prix IMSA Carrera Cup North America doubleheader and the Fanatec GT World Challenge and GT America powered by AWS series races at the SRO America event at Sebring International Raceway. Kyle Washington competes at Sebring in both the Fanatec GT World Challenge with co-driver Tom Sargent and the single-driver GT America sprint races in a pair of No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R entries. Meanwhile, in Miami debuting GMG Racing driver Ofir Levy makes his first IMSA Carrera Cup race starts in the No. 3 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Levy races in the Carrera Cup Pro-Am division alongside GMG Racing Founder and Principal and Team Driver James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“We have two IMSA Carrera Cup entries at the Grand Prix of Miami Formula 1 race for Ofir Levy and myself,” Sofronas said. “At Sebring, Kyle Washington will be focusing on his full-season championship campaign in Fanatec GT World Challenge with his coach and co-driver Tom Sargent. Kyle will also compete in the Sebring weekend’s pair of GT America races.”

Running multiple programs is more than familiar and practically standard operating procedure for Sofronas and everyone at the championship-winning GMG Racing organization.

“We are up for and honestly excited about the dual events in Florida this weekend,” Sofronas said. “Running parallel programs is familiar to everyone at GMG Racing. Whether it’s at the same track running multiple cars in different series, or doing the same thing at two different tracks a couple hundred of miles apart, it doesn’t change the focus or at-track approach. Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities and we will have competitive cars and maximum effort at both Miami and Sebring.”

Washington and Sargent run their second GT World Challenge race weekend together at Sebring after debuting in the Pro-Am class in the season-opening SRO America race weekend at Sonoma Raceway in the Type 992 No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. The team and drivers shook off some mechanical gremlins and in-race issues in the weekend’s opening round to run on a competitive pace with the other contenders and score a seventh-place Pro-Am finish in Sunday’s final 90-minute race. Washington turned his fastest laps of the weekend in the second half of the Sunday finale after an equally strong race-opening stint by Sargent, who was making his Sonoma debut.

Washington also competes in the Sebring weekend’s dual GT America powered by AWS races after strong and near-podium runs in the year’s first doubleheaders at Sonoma and the Grand Prix of Long Beach less than two weeks ago. Washington drives in GT America his Type 991.2 No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, which he calls a favorite among the cars he owns.

Until recently, Washington was slated to compete at both the Sebring and Miami events. In addition to his SRO America programs, Washington also races in Carrera Cup and scored a third-place Masters Class finish in the season-opening doubleheader weekend in March that was held, ironically, at Sebring.

“Doing the Sebring/Miami double with Kyle was always our intention, but a recent change that moved the Sunday GT World Challenge race up to an earlier start time really threw a monkey wrench into the plan,” Sofronas said. “It basically made doing the Sunday races in both Sebring and Miami impossible, and we had to choose Sebring as Kyle is contesting his first full season of major competition this year in GT World Challenge.”

A native of Australia, Sargent returns to a Sebring circuit on which he secured a pair of second-place Carrera Cup finishes in his American racing debut last year.

“I’m very excited to go back to Sebring, and hopefully we can have a strong showing,” Sargent said. “Kyle did very well in Carrera Cup at Sebring in March. He had a successful result that weekend, and so did James, and that gives us a good starting block. I do feel for Kyle not being able to run under all of the glitz and glamour of the Miami Formula 1 race this weekend too, but the good news is he will be up in Canada very shortly in June for Carrera Cup at the Montreal Formula 1 race, which is a big event for him being a Canadian. For now, we set focus on just the Sebring side of it and GT World Challenge, which is the main championship Kyle is running for this season.”

Levy is a longtime friend of GMG Racing and is part of the team’s driver development program based at The Thermal Club in California, where GMG opens its new headquarters facility this summer.

“It should be exciting, I’m looking forward to it, the platform is new for me, but one I have been interested in,” said Levy, who also competes this season and in recent years in the IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo series. “I have known James for years, and we used to work together on the street side before I got into racing. He’s kind of the Porsche expert that I knew, and so far it has been so good. He’s a good driver, but having a good car is imperative, and James has had some recent wins, which is a testament to what GMG Racing is able to do. I thought it would be a natural fit to go with GMG.”

Sofronas won the season-opening Carrera Cup Pro-Am race at Sebring and a victory in Miami’s first race on Saturday would give him a stout tally of four victories in the last five races. The winning run started with a sweep of 2023’s year-end Carrera Cup doubleheader at Circuit of The Americas and the third-straight win in the Sebring opener.

“First and foremost, we want to welcome Ofir to the racing team and we are going to do everything we can to help make his first Carrera Cup race weekend a success,” Sofronas said. “We wish Kyle was with us, and he should be, but we will be keeping a close eye on him and Tom all weekend in Sebring from Miami. Kyle made it to the podium at Miami last year and we plan to build on that success even more with more podiums and hopefully even a victory.”

This weekend’s GT World Challenge and GT America races at Sebring can be viewed live on SRO’s GT World channel on YouTube.

The Carrera Cup races in Miami can be viewed live on NBC’s Peacock streaming app, IMSA.tv and PorscheCarreraCup.us.

The 40-minute GT America sprints in Sebring begin the day’s racing action on both Saturday at 12:55 p.m. and Sunday at 8:40 a.m. EDT. The first 90-minute GT World Challenge race goes green at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday and is followed by Carrera Cup Round One in Miami at 5:50 p.m. EDT.

The Carrera Cup weekend finale starts Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in Miami with the 11:15 a.m. EDT GT World Challenge race at Sebring wrapping up GMG Racing’s full weekend schedule of six races later that morning.

Picking up where they left off at SRO America’s season-opening event earlier this month at Sonoma Raceway, GMG Racing and its four competing drivers all earned visits to victory lane this weekend on the team’s “Home Turf” with a multi-class effort in the GT America powered by AWS doubleheader at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

It was the first appearance for an SRO America series at the nation’s premier street race since 2018, and GMG Racing, based in nearby Santa Ana just south of Long Beach in Orange County, helped make it a grand return. The team’s four-car assault on Long Beach featured two entries in the top-tier SRO3 class and a pair of cars in the emerging GT2 category.

The four-strong GMG lineup included Kyle Washington in his 991.2 Type No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside James Sofronas – the Founder, Principal and a Team Driver at GMG Racing – in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 in SRO3. The GMG contenders in the GT2 division were Brent Holden in the new No. 44 GMG Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2 and longtime GMG driver CJ Moses making his first 2024 race start in the No. 58 GMG Racing/CrowdStrike/AWS Audi R8 LMS GT2.

“As always, Long Beach was a great show for the fans, great racing and a great time being with lots of friends and family and clients so close to home,” Sofronas said. “Having that huge presence alone makes everything fall into perspective quickly after a race. We came so close to winning both days but there is nothing wrong with a podium and we all raced well. Everybody won an award, from fastest lap to EBOOST Hard Charger, to Brent and I getting on the podium again. So, all in all, I’m pleased with the results of our team. Everybody had a great time and that’s half of it. We want to enjoy this experience, but we also want to have strong results. We had a little bit of both at Long Beach and it was so great to be back.”

The GMG squad combined for three podium showings at Sonoma and went one better at Long Beach where Holden and Sofronas each recorded top-three finishes in both the Saturday and Sunday 40-minute sprint races.

Holden finished third in GT2 both days to match his previous podium finish at Long Beach in GTA competition with GMG in 2016.

“What can you say, this is one of the greatest races there is out there,” Holden said. “Not being here for almost 10 years and getting a podium sweep for the weekend in a brand-new car we just took delivery of a few months ago, it’s just overwhelming. Words can’t describe it. The Mercedes-AMG GT2 has a lot of potential. We’ve got it in a good spot right now and I think it will do even better when we get more time with it.”

Sofronas is a three-time career race winner in SRO America competition at Long Beach and battled for another victory to the end on both Saturday and Sunday. He finished third in tight formation with the other SRO3 leaders on Saturday and improved one more position to a second-place run on Sunday.

“I made one mistake with five laps to go Saturday when the car lunged on a downshift and it wouldn’t engage,” Sofronas said. “I ran wide and into the marbles, so I had to get out of it and I saw the guys scoot ahead. In the end, there’s nothing wrong with a podium, and we had a good race, but there were definitely some expletives shouted in the car! On Sunday I had a car that could compete, and I had zero mistakes. It came down to the traffic. When you are leading, it’s a little easier to manage the traffic than when you’re following the leader and trying to get through it. That really was the difference in the race. Just needed a little bit more luck in traffic and maybe that would have been the difference.”

Washington, who was making his fourth-straight start at Long Beach, was the only Porsche 911 GT3 R competitor in GT America at Long Beach and gave the Goldcrest faithful something to cheer about. Dropped to the back of the starting field for a non-performance related technical infraction on Saturday, Washington was a one-man highlight reel has he sliced through the field to a top-five SRO3 and overall finish.

His quick Saturday pace earned Washington the fourth-place starting position for Sunday’s race and he immediately charged at the drop of the green flag to second place going into Turn 1. Unfortunately, race officials ruled Washington made an improper move at the start, but the assessed drive-through pit penalty only momentarily slowed him down. Undeterred, Washington returned to the race and set the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race on his way to seventh-place SRO3 finish.

“Long Beach is one of the best races of the year,” Washington said. “There’s so much action for families, there’s stuff to do on and off the track, and the series competing here offer so many automotive classes and brands for fans and competitors. It was a great weekend. The GMG Racing engineering team and all of the crew really put a great car under us, and I got the fastest lap at the end. It was pretty fun trying to pick off all the cars in both races, but we want to get back to battling for podiums.”

Moses earned his trip to the Long Beach winners circle for earning the EBOOST Hard Charger Award for improving the most positions in Sunday’s race.

“After a five-year hiatus of running here, it’s amazing to be back on this world stage here at Long Beach,” Moses said. “To race in an iconic race like this and to be back on the track. I need to get some more speed in the driver, but the car was great and I’m having a blast. Really, that’s what this is all about, to have fun around friends.”

Next up for GMG Racing in SRO America competition is the season’s third race weekend of the year at Sebring International Raceway, May 3 – 5. 

Fast off of a competitive and encouraging season-opening SRO America race less than two weeks ago at Sonoma Raceway, GMG Racing heads “Back to the Beach” this weekend with another four-car entry set for a “Home Game” doubleheader in a pair of GT America powered by AWS 40-minute sprint races Saturday and Sunday at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Although SRO America has not raced there in several years, the return to America’s premier street race continues a long history at Long Beach going back to the days of Pirelli World Challenge and its predecessor GT-based sprint race series since 2006. The Santa Ana, California-based GMG Racing team has been there for nearly all of it and is doing its part now in supporting the overdue return to Long Beach with two entries in the top-tier SRO3 class and a pair of cars in the emerging GT2 category.

Longtime team driver Kyle Washington is set for his fourth-straight appearance with GMG Racing at Long Beach this weekend in his 991.2 Type No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. Washington competes in the GT America SRO3 division alongside his friend and teammate James Sofronas, the Founder, Principal and a Team Driver at GMG Racing who wheels his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2.

The GMG Racing contenders in the growing GT2 category include returning team veteran Brent Holden in his new No. 44 GMG Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2 and familiar GMG driver CJ Moses, who makes his 2024 season and career Long Beach Debut in the No. 58 GMG Racing/CrowdStrike/AWS Audi R8 LMS GT2.

“It’s always special racing at Long Beach as it is a home race for us,” Sofronas said. “Our shop is 30 minutes away, and we always bring in a lot of fans, clients and family, so it will be great to have myself, Brent, Kyle and CJ all there. It is the ideal showcase of our team and what we do in front of a loyal, local customer base. We just always enjoy that event, and being able to sleep in my own bed is awesome too!”

GMG Racing secured three podium finishes, two fastest race laps, a pair of pole positions and several in-race performance awards in the season-opening SRO America event weekend at Sonoma Raceway April 6 – 7. Improving on the solid Sonoma haul is the attainable goal at Long Beach where Washington, Holden and Sofronas have a mass of experience on the 1.968-mile street circuit and Moses is more than ready to make his debut.

Washington debuted at Long Beach in 2021 for his first of two races co-driving a Porsche with Sofronas in IMSA GTD competition. Last year Washington ran in the ultra-competitive IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup doubleheader.

“We have a lot of laps at Long Beach,” said Washington, who pilots the only Porsche 911 GT3 car in GT America this weekend. “Last year in Carrera Cup and some IMSA GTD before that. I really like that course, it feels like another track that suits me, and I have big expectations. It’s going to be a great weekend!”

Sofronas, a four-time SRO America champion, has three career race wins in GT competition at Long Beach with overall victories in 2009 and 2013 and a class win in 2017 while recording a top-10 overall finish.

Most of the early races for Sofronas at Long Beach were running with or alongside returning team driver Holden, who is back with GMG Racing this year after several seasons earlier this decade in Ferrari Challenge competition. Holden wasted no time getting up to speed at Sonoma where he finished second and turned the fastest GT2 race lap Saturday to earn the pole for Sunday’s race, in which he finished third.

Holden secured his first career podium in SRO America competition with a third-place showing with GMG in a GTA sprint in his seventh appearance at Long Beach in 2016. After his solid return to SRO America with GMG two weeks ago at Sonoma, this weekend marks his first start at Long Beach in this decade. Holden now lives in Park City, Utah, but he is a Southern California native who resided in Newport Beach that last time he raced at Long Beach.

“I’m definitely looking forward to Long Beach,” Holden said. “It’s been a few years since I have raced there but I have some good experience and I don’t believe the track has changed much. Sonoma was my first race with James and GMG Racing in a few years, and we had fun and learned a lot. I reached the podium at Long Beach in the past in an Audi and now we are looking forward to bringing the Mercedes-AMG GT2 there and seeing what we can do.”

Moses missed the Sonoma opener but closed his 2023 season on a high note with a pair of podium showings in the season-ending doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last October. A third place GT2 showing in the first race at Indy improved to a second-place finish in the final race of the year on Sunday.

“It will be a fun, friendly rivalry to have two GT2 teammates,” Sofronas said. “I know CJ is anxious for some good competition. I’m happy that he and Brent and can battle between the Audi and the Mercedes-AMG. It should be a good fight. Brent has more experience at Long Beach and been on the podium there, but I know CJ is looking forward to turning some laps on the streets as well. The AWS contingent will be there, so CJ will be busy entertaining partners and clients and friends too in addition to getting it done on the track.”

After practice and qualifying on Friday, the Long Beach weekend’s twin 40-minute races are scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. PDT on Saturday and 4:20 p.m. PDT on Sunday for what will be the final race of the 49th Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend. Both races and Friday’s qualifying session can be viewed live on SRO’s official YouTube channel GT World at https://www.youtube.com/@GTWorld.

GMG Racing hauled in three podium finishes, two fastest race laps, a pair of pole positions and several in-race performance awards in a challenging but competitive season-opening SRO America event weekend at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday and Sunday. The team’s multi-tiered 2024 SRO America racing program began the season with four GMG Racing entries in three classes across the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and the GT America powered by AWS series that each featured Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders on the 2.52-mile “Wine Country” road course.

“Overall, considering the issues all in the paddock had to overcome with the track maintenance and repairs, everyone at GMG Racing performed at a successful level,” GMG Racing Founder, Principal and Team Driver James Sofronas said. “The entire event came to a standstill for more than two days after the new pavement on the track started to come up on Wednesday, but SRO kept the paddock together while Sonoma Raceway worked hard to repair and repave more than half of the track. The fact that we even raced at all, and without any additional issues Saturday and Sunday, was incredible, and huge thanks to SRO and Sonoma Raceway.”

The Sonoma opener was the debut of the full-season Fanatec GT World Challenge championship campaign by longtime GMG team driver Kyle Washington and co-driver Tom Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. Washington and Sargent shook off some mechanical gremlins and in-race issues in Saturday’s opening round to run on a competitive pace with the other contenders and score a seventh-place Pro-Am finish in Sunday’s final 90-minute race.

“It’s obviously a tough track but I got a lot faster over the brief time we had here,” Washington said. “Working with Tom in one of our first races driving together is great. He’s teaching me a lot, which will help throughout the season and hopefully get me smarter and faster.”

Washington turned his fastest laps of the weekend in the second half of the Sunday finale after an equally strong race-opening stint by Sargent.

“I’ve never been to Sonoma, never driven this car in a race, so there were obviously a lot of firsts for me, but I’m super stoked for Kyle,” Sargent said. “It was a big step forward for him. This Porsche GT3 R is a very tricky car, so for him to learn and see the laps he turned out in the second race is great. Kyle really, really brought it home for the team, and I’m pretty pumped about how I drove too. For an opening weekend with limited track time and so many ‘firsts,’ we have to leave happy and stoked for the rest of the season.”

Sofronas kept a focused eye on the No. 32 GT World Challenge entry in addition to competing alongside Washington in the weekend’s twin 40-minute GT America races.

“To see Kyle become more competitive and race harder and faster in each race over the weekend was impressive,” Sofronas said. “After a challenging start in Saturday’s GT World Challenge race, Kyle ran similar lap times to the other drivers on Sunday. World Challenge is Kyle’s major full-season campaign this year and we left Sonoma with our Porsche in one piece, learned a ton and gathered quite a bit of data. It all combines for a solid foundation we can build on heading into the balance of the season.”

In the single-driver GT America races, Washington drove his Type 991.2 No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R while Sofronas returned to his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 for the first time since an accident in the car last August at Road America. The best GT America results for both Washington and Sofronas in GT America came in Sunday’s finale despite a crushing last-lap hit that knocked Washington off of what would have been a double podium showing for both GMG drivers.

“The accident on the last lap in Sunday’s GT America race was disappointing,” Washington said. “The guy I was racing with just missed his brake zone in the Turn 9 Bus Stop and T-boned me pretty hard. He just made a mistake.”

While Sofronas recovered from his own competitor contact issues earlier in the race to finish second, the last lap bump-and-run dropped Washington to fourth instead of having the chance to join his close friend and team owner in the top three with a third-place showing.

Sofronas started Sunday’s race from the pole after securing the top starting spot and earning the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award for setting the top lap time in Saturday’s opening race. His race-opening lead was short lived, however, as Sofronas was hit on the opening lap.

“I am happy with the ultimate result and with all of the hard work the guys put in on all of our cars all week,” said Sofronas, who captured another CrowdStrike Fastest Lap award Sunday in his charge back to the front. “I was turning laps in my car less than eight months after the crash last year at Road America, so I was really just getting up to speed. It came back quickly, but the aggressive racing in both GT America rounds caught us out and definitely cost us a victory on Sunday. It was frustrating. We started on the pole and knew we had a car to run up front, but to get hit on the first lap was really aggravating. I had to fight my way back, but knowing we had a car to win and not being able to show it made it one of the most frustrating races in my long career. Big disappointment, but that’s racing, and I’m proud of the guys and the potential for what the car brings us for the rest of the year.”

The GT America races also saw a successful return to GMG Racing by longtime team driver Brent Holden. After making his last start with GMG co-driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R with Sofronas in GT World Challenge at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in 2019, Holden is back and competing in the emerging GT2 category at the wheel of the new No. 44 GMG Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2.

Garnering GT America results on the weekend similar to Sofronas, Holden finished second in the GT2 class on Saturday and earned the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award in the race to secure the pole position for Sunday’s final round, in which he finished third.

“Brent had some great results in his GT America debut and it was cool earning a pair of poles for the Sunday race with him when we both turned the fastest race laps in our classes on Saturday,” Sofronas said. “He is clearly showing good pace as the GT2 class evolves. For a brand-new car, I was happy to see him show the high-performance capabilities.”

Holden was delighted to be back on track with GMG Racing.

“It was a fun weekend,” Holden said. “It was fun to be back with GMG Racing, and James Sofronas is the person who taught me how to drive. He was my coach back in 2006 and 2007 and probably through 2012. I used to buy tickets to go watch him race. It was great to make my first GT America start with the Mercedes-AMG GT2. Just being part of the entire GT World Challenge SRO weekend was great, and I’m definitely looking forward to Long Beach.”

The 49th Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 19 – 21, is next up for GMG Racing that fields another four-car entry for a Saturday and Sunday GT America doubleheader on the legendary street course just South of Los Angeles.

Washington, Holden and Sofronas will compete in the same cars they drove in the Sonoma GT America opener and will be joined at Long Beach by familiar team driver CJ Moses in the No. 58 GMG Racing/CrowdStrike/AWS Audi R8 LMS GT2