With only two races remaining and an ultra-tight battle for the Pirelli World Challenge GT championship at stake, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) is proud to announce a new partnership with The Thermal Club, a brand new, private motorsport facility located near Palm Springs, California.

“It’s great to have The Thermal Club with us,” stated GMG’s James Sofronas. “The facility has really taken shape in the last few months, and they have a fantastic development plan for the future. We’ve done a lot of our development work there with several of GMG’s racing programs, and we feel like we’ve found a real home. Their attention to maintaining a first-class experience both on and off the track is second to none.”

Located in Thermal, California, just minutes from the resort town of Palm Springs, The Thermal Club is a developing, premier destination for the Southern California auto enthusiast. Featuring three different private circuit configurations, trackside villas, a motorsport village with a state-of-the-art clubhouse, tuning shop, a fuel island, as well as member storage garages, The Thermal Club will bring the country club lifestyle to Southern California’s diverse car culture.

Working with GMG to develop a number of initiatives, The Thermal Club looks forward to a strong working relationship with Southern California’s premier motorsport organization.

“We’re really looking forward to our relationship with GMG and the Pirelli World Challenge,” stated Tony Renaud with The Thermal Club. “James and his crew have visited our site several times, and they share our attention to quality personnel and treating their clients as privileged guests. Racing in Sonoma, and in the prestigious World Challenge paddock, should be a great opportunity for all of us. We’re looking forward to the remaining races as James fights for the championship.”

With this weekend’s event in Sonoma, all is on the line for Sofronas in the No. 14 The Thermal Club / Mobil 1 Audi R8 LMS. Engrossed in a tight championship fight with Johnny O’Connell’s No. 3 Cadillac CTS-V.R,  Sofronas has a clear mission of leading the No. 3 in the final two rounds.

“This has been such a collective effort of everyone on the team, we’re really focused on making it happen,” stated Sofronas. “We’ve had great support from Audi to get to this point, and Sonoma is going to be critical for all of us. The guys have been doing a great job getting everything ready, now we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Also returning will be Duncan Ende in the No. 24 STANDD / Merchant Services, Ltd. Audi R8 LMS. Ende, who has shown tremendous pace all year, is still on a mission for his first series podium.

“If we can avoid the bad luck, we’ll have a good weekend,” stated Ende. “This whole season has been plagued with punctured tires and mechanical gremlins, hopefully we can get past that and push on for a podium this weekend.”

Finally, Bill Ziegler will compete in his third event with the No. 95 Swisher Racing Audi R8 LMS. Ziegler, who scored his best result of the season most recently in Mid-Ohio, is looking forward to Sonoma.

“Hopefully we can continue our progression,” stated Ziegler. “The team has done a great job of developing the program, and the car has been getting more comfortable every time I get in it. GMG has put together a great program, and we’re all hoping James can take the championship back.”

Practice for this weekend’s event has already begun, with the race on Sunday, August 25. Live coverage can be found on world-challengetv.com, and GMG will post continual updates throughout the weekend.