long beach grand prix Archives

GMG Celebrates Top Three at Long Beach Home Race

Author	GMG Racing
Images	GMG Racing
Date	April 17, 2018

Returning to their home track, located just a few miles north of their Santa Ana-based headquarters, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) would enjoy a solid three-day festival, entertaining a number of guests and clients as the organization demonstrated their ability to not only perform on track, but also with off-track hospitality and street performance as well. Returning for the annual Grand Prix of Long Beach, GMG and their two-car program of drivers George Kurtz and Alec Udell would show well, with Kurtz finishing the race third in class, and Udell qualifying on the second row.

“Long Beach is always one of our favorite venues, and we’re happy we could show our core capabilities to so many guests and fans,” stated GMG team owner James Sofronas. “With so little practice time, everyone showed remarkably. George had never been here prior, so to not put a foot wrong all weekend is a testament to his ability to drive clean. Alec was really fast, and we were happy to be the top Porsche qualifier against some really talented drivers and teams, and with a little different fortune it might have been a podium day for him. Overall the guys did a great job getting everything together, and I’m really proud of how smooth the operation went.”

Driving the No. 04 CrowdStrike Audi R8 LMS GT4, George Kurtz arrived on the scenic, 1.9-mile street circuit having never driven prior. With several guests on hand, the pressure was on to deliver a strong performance, and with unforgiving walls on all sides, the course offered no opportunity for a mistake. Driving with the maturity that earned him a series championship last year, a patient weekend would pay dividends, with not a single scratch put on his Audi all weekend, including avoiding chaos throughout Sunday’s race to take third in class.

“Racing at Long Beach was a bucket list item that I’ve now checked off my list!” stated Kurtz. “GMG did a great job preparing the Audi for me, so I had a fun, clean race and am really looking forward to our next one at Virginia International Raceway. On behalf of CrowdStrike and our guests, I’d like to thank to our Long Beach sponsors LaSalle Solutions, AWS and Ceramic Pro for being a big part of this spectacular PWC event.”

Driving the No. 41 LOCI / HKG Porsche 911 GT3 R, Alec Udell would arrive in the premier GT3 category with high hopes to deliver in front of his new sponsor in attendance. Performing strong throughout the weekend, the promise of Alec and his GMG machine showed in qualifying, when he would take fourth, but most notably top Porsche to start the race. Out-qualifying Porsche factory drivers and the series point-leader, Sunday’s race offered a lot promise for a podium performance, however all hope were dashed when lapping traffic during the first half of the race. While lapping slower-category GT4 traffic, contact would result in a penalty issued to the Clemson University Engineering student, forcing a stop-and-hold penalty for Alec and effectively eliminating any shot at a podium.

“I did two-thirds of my job in the race at Long Beach,” stated Udell. “The GMG team gave me a good car in the Loci Porsche and I was quick in it, but didn’t keep it completely out of trouble. I am obviously disappointed for the team, for Loci and for myself but I also want to apologize to Mike [Sullivan]. That was my fault and I am thankful that he is OK. Now we look forward and get ready for VIR. We have the speed with the Loci number 41 and I will do my whole job there.”

With two weeks to go until the next round of Pirelli World Challenge competition at the scenic VIRginia International Raceway, GMG will return with another multi-car campaign. Official practice will begin on Friday, April 27, with a double-header of racing on Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29.

GMG Ready for Home Race at Long Beach

Author	GMG Racing
Images	GMG Racing
Date	April 12, 2018

Returning to their home race just minutes from their Santa Ana-based shop, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) will arrive with two cars in search of further victories at the famed Grand Prix of Long Beach. Taking place on the 1.97-mile circuit, configured entirely out of city streets, Sunday’s Pirelli World Challenge race presents an opportunity for the team to add a third victory to their tally at the event. With Alec Udell joining in the premier GT3 class, and George Kurtz following in the GT4-based GTSA category, enthusiasm is high.

“We always look forward to returning to Long Beach,” stated GMG team owner James Sofronas. “This is the crown jewel event of the Pirelli World Challenge, and one where we have always shown well at. As our home race, we always have a large number of guests in attendance, and we’re always happy to showcase what we’re all about not only on the track, but also on the street and through our client experiences. We have to two great entries in Alec Udell and George Kurtz, and we have strong ambitions for both. Alec will be a strong contender as he always is, and thanks to everyone at LOCI this is a great opportunity for Alec to perform well. LOCI is making a big event out of the weekend, and we look forward to showing them what our team is all about. In GTSA, George is staged for a great weekend ahead, I’m sure he’ll love this track. Similar to LOCI, everyone at CrowdStrike will be in attendance to root for him, and we look forward to delivering another hard fought weekend.”

Driving the No. 41 LOCI / HKG Porsche 911 GT3 R, Alec Udell will take to the streets in the top-tier GT3 category, looking to conquer unfinished business after a challenging event last year. Returning to 2018 competition during the most recent event at Circuit of the Americas, Alec will arrive at Long Beach fully prepared to take his best result of the year. In the 2017 race, early contact would malign his efforts for a top result, something he hopes to move beyond this year. With unforgiving walls on all sides of the track, the Clemson University Engineering Student knows this is a race he’ll need to be cautious, but also quick.

“I’m a big fan of street courses and Long Beach is one of North America’s most famous events, so I am excited to be back at the Long Beach Grand Prix,” stated Udell. “I’m looking for a strong run in our Loci Porsche this weekend. We had good pace at COTA and I feel like we will be able to continue that momentum into this weekend.”

Driving the No. 04 CrowdStrike Audi R8 LMS GT4 in the GTSA category, George Kurtz will enter his very first Grand Prix of Long Beach with strong ambitions to show well in front of a large number of guests. With CrowdStrike also taking advantage of the unique venue and setting that Long Beach offers, the 2017 GTSA champion hopes to repeat his previous year’s success with a strong showing in Southern California.

“To be both participating in the PWC invitational and hosting corporate events at a home track for CrowdStrike is an opportunity we really couldn’t miss,” said Kurtz. “The Long Beach race location is very convenient to our Irvine office, and to many of our Southern California guests and board members. This will be a fun weekend for both business and racing for all of us.”

In addition to campaigning two cars, GMG will once again be on exhibit throughout the weekend in the famed Lifestyle Expo, an exhibit hall in the center of the track showcasing a number of vendors and lifestyle displays. GMG will not only have their team and racing cars on showcase, but also several project cars of assorted clients, as well as a demonstration of their numerous performance enhancement technologies.

Running as a joint event with the Verizon IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, as well as Stadium Super Trucks, practice begins this Friday, April 13, with Sunday’s race taking place at 10AM. Live, streaming coverage will be available via world-challenge.com/streamvideo.

Holden, GMG Take Podium at Long Beach

Date	April 19, 2016

Following a hard-fought, caution-filled event during Sunday’s ReplayXD Grand Prix at Long Beach, Global Motorsports Group’s (GMG) Brent Holden was able to turn a clean drive in to his first podium at the historic event. Not putting a scratch on his car despite multiple incidents around him, Holden would take third in the series’ GTA category.

“It’s great to be able to leave the weekend with a podium, this is something every driver aspires to at Long Beach,” stated Holden. “Any time you visit a street course, you know that patience is usually rewarded, and that was our strategy this weekend. I picked up a lot of tire buildup during the first yellow and the car was crazy loose for a while. Fortunately, the tires came back and I ran some laps close to my qualifying time. My focus was just on trying to keep it on the track and bring home my first ever Pirelli World Challenge podium. I send out my thanks to James, Nev, Ruben, Frank, Aki and the rest of my friends at GMG.”

Driving the No. 44 Audi R8 LMS ultra, this would serve as the seventh visit to Long Beach for Holden. A resident of Southern California himself, the race presented a rare opportunity to drive in front of several friends and guests on hand, with the scenic street-course providing an ideal venue for event hosting.

Starting from the 10th row, Brent took the green flag with a cautious approach, knowing the tricky confines of the course are notorious for creating incidents and caution flags, which would prove true after just three laps. Biding his time through the assorted cautions, the race would resume with Holden focused firmly on the field in front of him, slowly working his way up the grid as the race progressed. With a series of yellow flags continuing to bring the field together, the race’s attrition was high as usual, with the No. 44 avoiding incident and eventually finishing third.

Meanwhile, for James Sofronas in the team’s lone GT category entry, the No. 14 Mobil 1 / The Thermal Club / Spyder Porsche 911 GT3 R would fall victim to the circuit’s challenges, with early contact forcing the team to retire early. Starting from the ninth row, the Villa Park, California resident was off to a strong start, pushing hard to chase down the field in front of him during the opening laps. Unfortunately, during the third lap Sofronas would make a rare error, clipping the inside barrier as he turned in to the tricky Turn Eight, which in turn pushed the car straight and in to the No. 6 McLaren of Austin Cindric, forcing the Mclaren in to the wall and Sofronas with damage to his machine. James would pit for immediate repairs, and while the team would send the car back out once they felt it was safe to continue, Sofronas eventually elected to retire the car due to the extent of the damage.

“This was a tough one, but I have to accept full responsibility,” stated Sofronas. “I just got it wrong. We were all pushing hard, and when we came in Turn Eight I just barely clipped the corner; that was all it took. I immediately went over to apologize to everyone at K-Pax Racing as well as Austin, as he did nothing wrong. It’s a tough way to go out, especially being our home race, but these things happen and we’ll just get on with it. Thanks to all of the guys and everyone who work so hard to make this event what it is, we’ll get them next year.”

With another Long Beach Grand Prix in the history books, the team has little time to reflect as the series heads to its next event in less than one week, with the entire Pirelli World Challenge heading to Birmingham, Alabama, competing at the scenic Barber Motorsports Park. A full release, including team lineup, will come shortly.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kirk Keiser and Circle Porsche

Sofronas Gains 14 Positions En Route to Season-Best Finish at Long Beach

Date	April 21, 2015

Despite an incident packed event that only saw a limited number of laps under green flag conditions, James Sofronas and the entire Global Motorsports Group (GMG) organization took a season-best finish of seventh during yesterday’s 41st Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Gaining fourteen positions in only a handful of laps, not only was it Sofronas’ best finish of the year, but he would also receive the VP Racing Fuels “Hard Charger” award for passing more cars than anyone else. Adding to the success of the weekend, both David Welch and Brent Holden would also enjoy strong showings, with all three cars seeing the checkered flag and incurring virtually no damage.

“It was a chaotic race for sure, and one that we all hate to see for the fans,” stated Sofronas. “Despite all the yellows, however, all three of our cars came through it cleanly, and that is exactly what we need headed to Barber this weekend. The guys made a setup call for the race that was absolutely the right move, it was a good feeling to be able to make so many passes. We had a strong car and this provides excellent momentum as we head to one of our best tracks. It was also great to see David and Brent survive through all the carnage. They drove with incredible patience and that’s how we’re able to load three cars on our trailer in race-ready form. It’s very unfortunate just how many teams have extensive damage to repair before this coming event and in that sense we’re very fortunate.”

Following a disappointing qualifying effort that left the No. 14 Spyder / The Thermal Club / Mobil 1 Audi R8 LMS ultra mired in the 11th row, the team knew than an emphasis on passing would be key for their Sunday chances. Getting a great jump during Sunday’s standing start, the Villa Park, California resident was up several positions when the first of several caution flags flew before he’d even made Turn One. Pulling another great move during the race’s second restart, the No. 14 machine would find itself within sight of the top-10 before the race’s midway point, having only run three laps of green. With incident after incident continuing to slow the race, James knew that maximizing his restarts would be critical with the recurring theme of caution periods, and he did so brilliantly, eventually moving to seventh and never looking back as the race came to an end.

After a three-year absence from Pirelli World Challenge competition, David Welch in the No. 21 numerix Audi R8 LMS ultra would also enjoy a banner event, gaining sixteen spots en route to a 5th place finish in the GTA category. Welch, who last took to the series in Detroit 2012, drove a tactical event, knowing full well the potential for incidents. Finding himself in the chaotic middle of the pack, David kept remarkably patient, utilizing the restarts to full advantage and gaining with every green flag lap.

“I’m really happy we were able to keep the car clean,” stated Welch. “I couldn’t believe how long we were under yellow and with all the chaos around it just seemed to be endless. Knowing how this was going, I put a premium on just running clean, and it worked out exactly as I’d hoped. A fifth place finish is not a bad way to mark my return, and I look forward to my next race.”

Finally, also enjoying a top-10 in the GTA category would be local driver Brent Holden. Driving the No. 44 machine, Brent also took advantage of the attrition to gain ten spots on the day, ultimately finishing 10th. In addition, Holden also set some of the best lap times he’s ever run at the circuit, a testament to the team’s recent practice runs performed at The Thermal Club, near Palm Springs, as well as extensive data analysis.

“You hate to see this kind of race for the fans, but I’m happy that our car had a minimal amount of damage,” stated Holden. “It seemed like every time we went green there was another incident right around me and I’m thankful we were able to get through all of it. Everyone at GMG did their usual superb job of running through the data and getting me up to speed and all-in-all I was very happy with how we performed.”

In addition to the on-track action, GMG once again enjoyed their place front and center in the Long Beach Convention Center, with several cars and accessories on display. With the event welcoming tens of thousands of race fans, the Santa Ana-based team was happy to host local fans and enthusiasts, introducing the team’s many partners and tuning products to the public.

With no time to reflect, GMG and the rest of the Pirelli World Challenge is already en route to their next event, taking place at the scenic Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, where they will take to the track on Thursday. Race One will take place on Saturday, April 25, followed by a second round on Sunday, April 26. The team will provide updates and coverage throughout the weekend.

James Sofronas, David Welch, Brent Holden Highlight Three-Car Home Race for GMG at Long Beach

Date	April 16, 2015

As the flagship event of the Pirelli World Challenge, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) will head to this weekend’s 41st Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a mission to show well in front of their home crowd.

“Returning to Long Beach is always a great opportunity to showcase our team and product in front of a loyal, local customer base,” stated James Sofronas, team owner and driver of the No. 14 Spyder / The Thermal Club / Mobil 1 Audi R8 LMS ultra. “As our home race, we’ve always been fortunate enough to enjoy success here, not only by winning first with Porsche and then with Audi, but with a fantastic opportunity in the Long Beach Convention Center to promote our partners as well as our wide range of street tuning products.”

Located just 30 minutes north of the team’s Santa Ana headquarters, the historic 1.96-mile circuit, made up entirely of street roads in Long Beach’s noted Pike area, is heralded as one of the flagship events of North American road racing. Sharing the weekend with the Verizon IndyCar Series, the event is one of the most heavily attended on the calendar, and with a heritage unlike any other.

A two-time winner of the event, first in 2009 with Porsche followed by 2013 with Audi, Sofronas will once again take to the streets in pursuit of podium honors. Following a fairly quiet opening to his season, the Villa Park, California resident has shown outstanding consistency throughout 2015. Most recently, Sofronas took his best finish of the year during last month’s fourth round in St. Petersburg, narrowly missing out on a top-five finish. With all but two of the GT category’s cars fitting the very popular European GT3 specifications, the series has recently undergone a significant increase in car count and popularity.

“It is incredibly competitive to say the least,” continued Sofronas. “It’s a testament to some of the great decisions that Scott Bove and everyone at the series has made, but it’s definitely making our job harder! With so many great cars, great teams and world-class drivers, this series is at another level… a podium with this field would be a great accomplishment!”

Returning after a three-year absence from the Pirelli World Challenge ranks, David Welch will return to the team in the second of three Audis. Driving the No. 21 Numerix Audi R8 LMS ultra, Welch will head to Long Beach with years of experience behind him, driving a number of vehicles including Porsche, Ferrari, and most recently in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series.

“It’s great to be back with GMG, and what better place than Long Beach,” stated Welch. “I’ve always had a good experience with the team, and I’m extremely excited to get back behind the wheel. I can’t believe the last time I drove in the Pirelli World Challenge was 2012, and the series has changed significantly since then. The new GTA category is proving very competitive, I look forward to seeing how we can mix in.”

Finally, long-time veteran Brent Holden will also return in the No. 44 Audi. Competing in his sixth event, the Southern California resident will continue his long relationship with GMG, for which he has benefitted greatly from the team’s coaching, data, and engineering. Competing in the GTA category, Brent’s marked improvement in laptimes during last year’s race should foreshadow a strong 2015 event.

“It’s always great to come back to Long Beach,” stated Holden. “We were able to run very competitively with the Audi last year, and with a year’s worth of experience now, we should be really strong. James and everyone at GMG have done a great job providing me all of the tools I need, including a great test at The Thermal Club most recently, so we’re coming in with a lot of confidence.”

Practice for the event begins this Friday, April 17, with Sundays’ race starting at 4:30PM PT. Live coverage can be found at world-challengetv.com. Additionally, for those visiting the event, GMG will be prominently displayed in the event’s convention center, where we will be showcasing several of our vehicles and street tuning kits, as well as displays for many of our partners.

long beach grand prix

GMG Celebrates Top Three at Long Beach Home Race

GMG Ready for Home Race at Long Beach

Holden, GMG Take Podium at Long Beach

Sofronas Gains 14 Positions En Route to Season-Best Finish at Long Beach

James Sofronas, David Welch, Brent Holden Highlight Three-Car Home Race for GMG at Long Beach

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