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.