GMG Racing Achieves P2, Dual Podiums, and Top-Five in Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West Opener at Spring Mountain

GMG Racing moved its 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West presented by Yokohama campaign off to a strong start this past weekend at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch where full-season team drivers Kyle Washington and Patrick Mulcahy combined for a top-two overall race result, a pair of podium finishes and a series-debut overall top-five showing in the weekend’s twin 35-minute races.

Longtime GMG Racing driver Washington drove his No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to a second-place overall and runner-up Masters class finish in the first of Sunday’s doubleheader sprints. Washington later closed out the weekend with a third-place Masters Class finish in Sunday’s final race early that afternoon to leave Spring Mountain with a good haul of points to start his full-season Masters championship bid.

While Washington was GMG Racing’s top performer in Sunday’s opener, debuting driver Mulcahy was the highest finisher in Sunday’s finale. Shaking off a challenging first race, Mulcahy improved three class positions to finish fourth in the Pro-Am class and in the top-five overall in his No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the weekend’s closing race.

Washington and Mulcahy were joined at Spring Mountain by Jay Barron in the No. 223 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Pro-Am and Masters Class competitor Glenn Kirkpatrick in the No. 252 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Both Barron and Kirkpatrick were running in their first event of a select schedule of races this year and each improved throughout the weekend while gaining a solid amount of racing knowledge and understanding of the Type 992 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup platform.

“It was a challenging but ultimately productive weekend for GMG Racing and our four car and driver entry for the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West season opener,” said GMG Racing President and Founder James Sofronas. “Kyle made his intentions clear that he will be fighting for the Masters Class title all season with a pair of podiums, a second overall and an insane qualifying run to third place overall in a rain-drenched session Saturday morning. Patrick proved he has what it takes to compete in the Sprint Challenge Pro-Am championship with a fourth-place run Sunday afternoon in his first major race in a 992-spec Porsche. Jay and Glenn also learned a ton about their 992 cars in a variety of conditions and improved steadily throughout the weekend. It was a big jump for Glenn for sure who had never raced anywhere but at The Thermal Club until this weekend. All in all, some positives across the board and something to build on in the remainder of the season.”

All-day rain Saturday forced race officials to move that afternoon’s scheduled opening sprint race to early Sunday morning, creating an unplanned same-day doubleheader with only a few hours between races. While the Saturday race was scrubbed, that morning’s qualifying session ran as scheduled in the rain, and Washington shined. Calling on his off-road racing experience competing in mixed conditions, Washington qualified an impressive third overall in the Porsche Sprint Challenge field.

Even better, Washington was moved up to the outside front row starting position when the competitor that had posted the provisional pole winning time was sent to the rear of the field due to a penalty. That put Washington in the rare territory of starting on row one in what proved to be an important learning experience.

“It’s great to get off to a good start,” Washington said. “I wish we could have put it in P1, but with two races in one day like this with no real break in between, it was good to get some points on the board out of the box. I’m looking forward to watching a replay of the first race to see where I could have improved a little. We just got such a poor start and that’s just my lack of knowledge and experience being up there. I have rarely started up front, and I was looking at the acceleration cones and the polesitter next to me. I think I lost three or four spots right there, and I will never make that acceleration zone mistake again. There’s no question that cost us the race.”

Despite the early setback, Washington regrouped and worked his way back to the front to challenge eventual race winner and former Sprint West 991 Champion Laura Ely to the finish.

“I was looking for anything to get by Laura,” Washington said. “The most interesting part was the last lap coming out of Turn 5, which is a real heavy brake zone and a 90-degree right turn. We were in traffic, she didn’t get a good exit, but I got a pretty good exit. So, I got up alongside her left side and we raced up the hill, but she was far enough in front of me that she closed the door at Turn 6. It was the right thing to do for her and give her credit. She made no errors, and I followed her for a long time. That’s hard to do. I have had some amazing battles with Laura in the past.”

Mulcahy in turn rebounded from an early spin in unfamiliar conditions in Sunday’s first race to charge to the top five overall and fourth in Pro-Am in that afternoon’s final round.

“The race one start went well but then we had a full course yellow that stacked the field back up,” Mulcahy said. “After the restart, my game was off a little bit, maybe something to do with my first official race weekend, and I had some difficulty getting back in the groove. I wasn’t really familiar with the damp track conditions either because of my lack of experience driving in the wet. That was in my head a little bit too.”

Not happy with the eighth-place Pro-Am result in the opener, Mulcahy went into the second race determined to improve.

“Race two was definitely a time for redemption,” Mulcahy said. “I was very upset knowing I should have done better in race one, and I went into the final with as stronger game plan. I knew I had to do a lot of work to close the deal, but I went out there and executed a clean race.”

Barron and Kirkpatrick each honed their racecraft all weekend, ripping off laps despite the rain and some eye-opening encounters in both races. Barron finished sixth in Pro-Am in both rounds while Kirkpatrick hit the board eighth in Masters in the weekend’s doubleheader.

Next up for GMG Racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West is Rounds 3 and 4 of the series at the Utah Motorsports Campus, May 10 – 12.

The more immediate on-track business for GMG Racing, however, is this weekend’s season-opening SRO Motorsports America where GMG Racing fields entries in Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS and GT America powered by AWS series races at Sonoma Raceway, April 5 – 7.

GMG Racing Launches Dual 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West Championship Campaigns this Weekend at Spring Mountain

Another major part of GMG Racing’s vast 2024 professional sports car racing program goes green this weekend at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch where a four-strong entry of GMG Racing Type 992 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup teams and drivers compete in the season-opening Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama doubleheader on the Nevada circuit’s 2.76-mile layout.

The all-992 Spring Mountain GMG Racing entry is anchored by full-season competitors Kyle Washington in the No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Masters class and Pro-Am competitor Patrick Mulcahy in the No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Washington and Mulcahy will be joined at Spring Mountain by Jay Barron in the No. 223 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Pro-Am and Masters Class competitor Glenn Kirkpatrick in the No. 252 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“It’s going to be an exciting year in Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West,” said GMG Racing President and Founder James Sofronas. “We have two full-season efforts with Kyle Washington and Patrick Mulcahy that debut this weekend at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. Then we will have two additional drivers joining us for partial seasons, also starting at Spring Mountain, with Jay Barron and Glenn Kirkpatrick. Later in the year we will have Mark Crigler and potentially one more driver with us at select events. I plan to join the guys at select events this year in a mentoring role while sharing the track and coaching some of the clients as we plan to run the endurance events.”

Experienced and well familiar with running multiple cars and drivers, Sofronas anticipates some Sprint Challenge West events with up to half-a-dozen Porsches under the GMG Racing tent.

“So, we are looking at possibly five or six cars at some races, and maybe even more,” Sofronas said. “No question the focus will be on winning championships with both Kyle and Patrick in their respective classes, but overall, our program is about driver development.”

While this weekend’s Spring Mountain event opens the Porsche Sprint Challenge West season, Washington, Sofronas and the entire GMG Racing team really had no off season. All were in action throughout the winter in races and driver development test days at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs. Sofronas and GMG are completing a new headquarters operation at Thermal that opens this summer.

“Just like all of our programs, our Porsche Sprint Challenge drivers are products of our driver development ladder system at the Thermal Club,” Sofronas said. “Every single client racing with us is either a member of Thermal or has tested with us at Thermal, and the improvements are showing.”

Washington runs multiple Masters-class campaigns this year in Porsche Sprint Challenge West and IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America. He moved the latter series off to a strong start two weeks ago at Sebring where he finished third in the second race of the season-opening Carrera Cup doubleheader in his career debut on the notoriously tough 3.74-mile Sebring International Raceway airport road course.

Washington also doubles up on season championship campaigns for the first time this season. In addition to contesting Sprint Challenge West 992 Masters, he will co-drive with up-and-coming talent Tom Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R this year in Fanatec GT World Challenge America in the Pro-Am class. The GT World Challenge America season begins next weekend at Sonoma Raceway in California.

After two days of testing and official practice Thursday and Friday, this weekend’s Saturday and Sunday doubleheader schedule of 35-minute races begins with a 25-minute Porsche Sprint Challenge qualifying session for both rounds Saturday at 10 a.m. PDT.

The weekend’s first race is scheduled to start Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. PDT with the second and final 35-minute sprint going green this Easter Sunday at 12:45 p.m. PDT. Sunday’s schedule also includes a 20-minute warm-up at 9:30 a.m. PDT.

Kyle Washington Caps A Winning Weekend

In his career debut at Sebring International Raceway, Kyle Washington capped a race-winning and podium week for GMG Racing with a third-place IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup Masters Class finish Friday in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Building on a top-five result in his first ever race on the legendary 3.74-mile airport road course in Thursday’s opening sprint of the Carrera Cup doubleheader, Washington ran with the leaders from the drop of the green flag in a competitive but hard-fought finale last Friday.

“It was a great start for the season,” Washington said. “I did put it off a couple of times into the dirt tonight but somehow kept it straight. GMG Racing is amazing, we’re working with a lot of the same guys we have been, and we keep refining. I like Sebring, I even like the bumps and feel ready to come back.”

Washington’s podium success followed a Pro-Am class race win by GMG Racing President and Founder and longtime team driver James Sofronas in Thursday’s opening 40-minute race at Sebring. The victory was a third-straight Carrera Cup triumph after Sofronas swept the Pro-Am class in his career Carrera Cup debut in the 2023 season-ending doubleheader at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

Sofronas was well positioned, starting third on the grid, to build the win streak to four victories in Friday’s finale but was knocked from contention after getting caught up in an opening lap contact incident. He rebounded in the damaged No. 14 to a commendable eighth place Pro-Am finish.

“I’m a little disappointed in my race, but as soon as I heard Kyle was on the podium my mood completely changed,” Sofronas said. “I ran straight down to the podium to congratulate him. I’m just super excited about his result. For someone who has never been to Sebring, never even tested here, I’m am very proud. We came in here trying to maximize his seat time and prepare for the Sebring SRO GT World Challenge race, so for him to come out of here with a third against some really tough competition in Masters is something to be proud of. He’s putting in the extra work and working with Tom Sargent, who he will co-drive with in World Challenge. It’s all paying off. As a team owner and his teammate, I’m mega proud.”

Sofronas had a great start in Friday’s race only to have a competitor on cold tires spin right in front of him just seconds after the green flag flew.

“I checked up and then got walloped in the rear and that sent me off the track,” Sofronas said. “I pretty much went to the back, but the toe was knocked out and then I just survived to the finish.”

Washington has been competing regularly in a variety of single-make Porsche and GT racing series for the last four years, but he also enjoys desert off-road racing. Earlier this month he participated in several events that were part of the famous Mint 400, a dirt extravaganza run in the foothills just outside of Las Vegas known as “The Great American Off-Road Race.”

“Maybe it was the training at the Mint, and all of the Vegas stuff in the dirt that helped, but I actually liked the bumpy Sebring surface,” Washington said. “I felt right at home out there, and I also have a new coach with Tom Sargent. He was one of the fastest guys last year, he’s going to be a great addition and will be with me all year.”

Washington started Friday’s final race eighth on the Masters grid and 36th overall. He improved five class positions and even put several Pro-Am cars in his mirrors as he charged to the class podium result and 25th overall at the checkered flag.

Next up for GMG Racing in IMSA Carrera Cup is another doubleheader weekend at the Grand Prix of Miami Formula 1 race, May 3 – 5, at the Miami International Autodrome. Sofronas and Washington will be joined Carrera Cup debuting driver Ofir Levy for a three-car GMG Racing entry.

James Sofronas Secures Third Straight IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Victory in Season-Opening Race at Sebring

James Sofronas made a triumphant return to Sebring International Raceway while his close friend and GMG Racing teammate Kyle Washington made a grand career debut on the legendary 3.74-mile airport circuit in Thursday’s season-opening IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America race.

Picking up where he left off after a sweep of 2023’s year-end Carrera Cup doubleheader at Circuit of The Americas, Sofronas secured his third-straight Pro-Am class victory in his No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in his first race at Sebring in six years.

Washington has been competing regularly in a variety of single-make Porsche and GT racing series for the last four years but remarkably had never made a race start at Sebring until today. He steadily improved in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup throughout the fast 40-minute race to charge from ninth at the start to a top-five Masters Class finish.

Sofronas took the green flag from third on the grid but immediately challenged the two competitors in front. He raced side-by-side for a time on the opening lap with the Pro-Am class polesitter and prevailed to take the lead by the end of lap one.

Sofronas ultimately led all 17 race laps run but had to overcome a restart and pressure from second place finisher Marco Cirone throughout the race. He crossed the finish line a scant 0.179 of a second ahead of Cirone.

“We missed the testing here the last week or two, so I had to play catch-up,” Sofronas said. “I was behind the eight ball most of the week, and then in qualifying I just got a solid lap in and then just used a lot of my experience. There may have been some faster guys but I think a lot of my decisions were right on. Marco and I had a battle to the end and that was a lot of fun. He raced me clean, I’ve watched him race before, and it was great to battle with a strong competitor.”

Washington’s race was spent fighting among the Pro-Am back markers and in the thick of the Masters Class field while also having to learn Sebring’s notoriously tricky and bumpy circuit.

“I’m just happy this new car doesn’t have one scratch on it,” Washington said. “When you look at the carnage of what happened in front of me, how there’s no scratches on that new car is unbelievable. I went off twice just to save my car, and you can point fingers, but if you’re out of the race, that doesn’t matter. So, sometimes you have to take one for the team. There’s some aggressive corners here if people want it to be, but I have a new car that I didn’t want to scratch in the first race of the year.”

Not one to hang back, Washington takes Sebring’s “Respect the Bumps” tagline even further. He is more like “Love the Bumps.”

“I actually like the bumps, being a desert rat and loving off road stuff,” Washington said. “The bumps probably favor me. The high speed, no horizon turns are challenging for me but I think we’re getting better at them. There’s a lot of timing corners here. Turn 1, there’s really no markers for turn in, and when you add other people next to you it’s a real butt pucker. We’ve got another kick at the can tomorrow.”

A West Coast team in operation year round, GMG did indeed skip the pre-season Carrera Cup test earlier this month at Sebring, but Sofronas, Washington and the entire team really had no off season. All were in action throughout the winter in races and test days at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs. Sofronas and GMG are completing a new headquarters operation there that will have a grand opening this summer.

“I did yet another race at Thermal a couple of weeks ago for some fine tuning and it is such a great place for us to practice and really get some off season testing in,” Sofronas said. “It helps that we’re building a shop there and I’m there all the time, so I may as well get some seat time. It helped me prepare for today’s race that was different from the COTA races. We had so many yellows at COTA, but this race was one caution and then we settled in. I was playing it conservative, not making any mistakes, easy in and fast out as I coach my clients.”

Washington is one of GMG’s top driver clients and Sofronas was proud of his Sebring debut.

“Kyle’s been great, he finished top five,” Sofronas said. “I threw down an EBOOST before the race and it gave me all the energy I needed. Coming out on top was very rewarding, so we’ll celebrate and do it again tomorrow.”

Sofronas has been racing in partnership with Mobil 1 for 30 years and was proud to get the leading brand – which is the longtime sponsor of this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – to Victory Lane on the company’s 50th Anniversary. The winning No. 14 GMG Porsche features a special Mobil 1 Golden Anniversary livery.

“Even before GMG was founded, I was honored to have the incredible support from Mobil 1 for several decades,” Sofronas said. “The opportunity to work with them here at a race where several of us are running special gold liveries and logos to celebrate the milestone anniversary is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. We look forward to continuing with them for many years to come and can’t thank Mobil 1 enough for the ongoing partnership.”

Friday’s final 40-minute Carrera Cup race of the Sebring opener is a sprint into the night that starts at 7:15 p.m. and ends at 7:55 p.m. EDT.

GMG Racing Announces 2024 IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America Program

GMG Racing announced today a three-car, multi-class entry in the 2024 IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship. Longtime team driver Kyle Washington, debuting Carrera Cup driver Ofir Levy and GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas will all compete in Carrera Cup in 2024. Washington and Sofronas are set to bring GMG Racing back to Sebring International Raceway next month for the season-opening Carrera Cup doubleheader for the team’s first race on the legendary airport road course since 2022.

“The Carrera Cup season starts off with three big events in a row at Sebring and then in support of the Formula 1 races at Miami and Montreal,” Sofronas said. “Kyle Washington and I will start our campaign at the Sebring opener and we are looking forward to it. Kyle is now eligible in the new Masters class while, despite being 55 years old, I am competing in the Pro-Am division. It’s been six years since I last drove at Sebring but we will all get up to speed quickly.”

Washington returns to Carrera Cup in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup while Sofronas is back in his No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Both drivers enjoyed Carrera Cup success last year, with Washington delivering GMG’s first major podium finish of the season with a third place showing in the opening sprint at the Miami Formula 1 race, and Sofronas sweeping the Pro-Am class victories in his series debut at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) Formula 1 race.

“I’m totally stoked to be able to race some of the Porsche Carrera cup venues this year in completely sold-out fields,” Washington said. “Only Carrera Cup can put on the big shows at the F1 race weekends or other blockbuster events like last year’s Rennsport Reunion. I firmly believe that there is no higher-end spec racing than Carrera Cup. Being a Canadian citizen, I’m really looking forward to the Montreal F1 race. Those French-Canadian people are wild and some of the world’s best race fans! If you’ve never been, make sure you hit that one.”

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

“I’m really excited to be racing in Carrera Cup with GMG Racing,” Levy said. “These are bucket-list events alongside Formula 1 this season. I’ve known James and the GMG team for a while and have watched their program grow at The Thermal Club. It’s my first Porsche race car, we’ve already begun testing and I can’t wait to get out there!”

Levy makes his Carrera Cup debut at the Miami F1 race this May.

“Ofir Levy, who is a Thermal member, a friend of ours and a current client, just bought a Carrera Cup car and is going to do three or four races,” Sofronas said. “Kyle and I will get things started at Sebring and Ofir will then join us at Miami. He has shown great progress in a large amount of laps and races in ‘Winter Series’ competition at Thermal and both he and GMG Racing are ready to help him take another step up our racing ladder.”

Sofronas realizes the additional importance of competing in Carrera Cup North America for both his drivers and GMG Racing as a leader in the Porsche street performance tuning industry.

“Carrera Cup is important for GMG because it is the highest level of Porsche single-make series in North America,” Sofronas said. “In our street car performance tuning business we really like to take advantage of the data transfer and gain some knowledge on that chassis as it parlays into the 992 GT3 and RS Porsches we offer. Our Carrera Cup racing is key to the chassis development and tuning for the street car. We are putting race slicks on the street cars, adjusting the suspension and using all of the knowledge from Carrera Cup racing to apply to that. That is a direct carryover that is a big advantage for our customer base.”

As a driver, Sofronas made his mark in Carrera Cup last year in what was remarkably his series debut at the COTA F1 race. Adding to the achievement was the fact that Sofronas pulled off the Pro-Am clean sweep in his first major race weekend since recovering from a back injury sustained last summer in a race testing incident. He improved several positions in both COTA races, climbing from fourth on the starting grid on Saturday and second on Sunday for the pair of victories.

“For me personally, and as the owner of GMG, it was very rewarding and emotional to finish the year like we did at COTA, and our goal is nothing short of continuing that level of competition right out of the box at Sebring,” Sofronas said. “The last time I raced at Sebring was in a four-hour endurance race with Jason Bell and Andy Lally in 2018 and we finished second in an Audi R8 GT4. Kyle closed last year’s Carrera Cup season strong at COTA in a stacked field with a pair of top-five finishes and I think the ‘respect the bumps’ nature of Sebring will suit his driving style. He is looking forward to turning his first laps at Sebring, he has never been there before, and that is kind of why he is going.”

The season-opening Carrera Cup North America doubleheader takes place at Sebring March 13 – 15. Round one takes place at 4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 14 while the second and final 40-minute race takes place Friday, March 15 at 7:15 p.m. EST.

Full-Season Fanatec GT World Challenge America Championship Campaign with Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R

GMG Racing will field a Fanatec GT World Challenge America championship campaign this season with longtime team driver Kyle Washington set for his first full-season of sports car racing competition co-driving with up-and-coming talent Tom Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. The team will compete in the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am class in the 992-specification Porsche GT3 R Washington and GMG debuted last August in the GT World Challenge race weekend at Road America.
“The last time we did a full-championship run in GT World Challenge, we won a title,” said GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas who drove to the 2017 GT World Challenge Pro-Am Championship. “Over the past several years, Kyle has been dipping his toe in different series and developing his driving resume and this year we are excited to announce he is committed to a full SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge championship effort with Tom Sargent in the Pro-Am class. All of us at GMG Racing are more than prepared with the proper infrastructure and support needed for an effort at this level to give Kyle and Tom a chance for as much success as possible. Kyle continues to improve every year, and when you add Tom into the mix, a young and talented up-and-coming star, we should be contending for podiums every race.”
Washington is coming off a successful 2023 season in which he ran a packed schedule of races in multiple sports car racing series that produced a run of more than a dozen podium appearances to end the year on a high note.

This will be the first year that I have had the opportunity to run in a full season, in a chase for a championship, and will be my fourth season road racing and we’re going to give it 110% effort going for a championship in GT World Challenge America,” Washington said. “I brought in Tom Sargent, who is lightning fast on track, who will be driving and coaching me for the year. We are stoked, let’s go!”

Racing throughout the off-season has kept both Washington and GMG Racing sharp and focused with several weekends spent in “Winter Series” competition at the Thermal Club in California where GMG will open its new headquarters facility this summer.

“The difference between this year and prior seasons is that Kyle is committed to a full championship,” Sofronas said. “Before he was working with his very busy business schedule, but with some schedule planning ahead of the season, Kyle is set for the full championship. He’s mentally more prepared than ever, and because we have been testing at the Thermal Club all winter I think physically he has never been better.”

Sargent, a 22-year-old native of Australia, made his North American debut in IMSA Carrera Cup competition in 2023 and scored his first victory in the opening race of the Rennsport Reunion 7 doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He scored 10 additional podium finishes and a pair of poles in the season to finish second in the overall Pro class championship standings. His 2024 campaign with Washington and GMG Racing is Sargent’s first full-season in GT3 competition.

“To say I am excited is probably a bit of an understatement,” Sargent said. “It’s a massive thing for me to be able to undertake this awesome challenge. I came over here last year, fresh to the U.S., even fresh to Carrera Cup racing. We had a really, really successful year, and what happened in 2023 and how it went has put us in a really good position to advance on some opportunities. I am super stoked. My whole life I have been really keen to drive GT3 cars. It’s been my dream, so to be able to campaign a full season in GT World Challenge America is really exciting.”

Sargent has joined Washington and the GMG Racing team at Thermal for some recent testing in the team’s type 992 Porsche GT3 R.
“I have done a couple of days in the car already with the GMG Racing team, which was good to just give me something to try to think about,” Sargent said. “I had one previous GT3 experience last year in the Indianapolis 8 Hour, and it was good to get a tiny bit of GT3 experience under my belt. It’s not the biggest slap in the face but its definitely a wake up call when you jump into those cars. They are so quick and the aerodynamics are just something are a really big step up from the Carrera Cup car. Ultimately it is a dream come true to drive the GT3 R.”

Sofronas is impressed by Sargent on and off the track.
“We have already tested with Tom a few times and he is so quick,” Sofronas said. “We compared all of his times to all of the other pros that have tested at Thermal. We met Tom last year during the Carrera Cup season and he ended up coaching Kyle on a few occasions. No question he has the talent on the track, but we loved his demeanor and maturity level for his young age and his ability to communicate properly. Kyle and all of us took a liking to him and it was a partnership that grew naturally and quickly. We hope to have a long-standing relationship with Tom and he will be coaching a lot of our clients this year at Thermal. Most importantly, he is focused on helping Kyle in World Challenge as well as some of the single-make Porsche series.”

The GT World Challenge America news is just one of several announcements GMG Racing is scheduled to make in the next few weeks. The championship-winning team will once again campaign multiple programs across several North American sports car racing series in 2024.

“Thermal is the entry level race series in the GMG Racing driver development program,” Sofronas said. “Then you go to Porsche Sprint Challenge, then Porsche Carrera Cup and then top level competition in SRO and IMSA. It all starts at Thermal, all of our drivers are either members of Thermal or we have tested them at Thermal, and we look forward to even more driver and series announcements in the coming weeks.”

About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001, GMG Racing quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning facility. What began as a small 1,200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility located in Santa Ana, California in Orange County and with a trackside motorsports facility at 28,000 sq. ft. currently being built at The Thermal Club. The staff, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts worldwide. GMG, in its early years, was located directly across the street from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA). This close proximity allowed GMG to build a strong relationship with the legendary racing brand which has helped us support our customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona and Spa, GMG can take you as far as you want to go.