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GMG Complete Podium Sweep at Circuit of the Americas

Udell, GMG Complete Podium Sweep at Circuit of the Americas

Date March 8, 2016

Following Saturday’s strong victory to open his Pirelli World Challenge GT-Cup category campaign, Global Motorsports Group’s Alec Udell continued his momentum with a second-place finish during Sunday’s Round Two.

“After yesterday’s victory, it’s actually a little disappointing, but our season is off to a great start,” stated Udell, who grew up in nearby Woodlands, Texas. “We came in to the weekend with strong ambitions, and came away with solid points and a good sense of what we need to do next. Certainly we would have liked to repeat a win, but we just didn’t quite have what we needed. Ultimately we learned a lot and are in good shape for next weekend. Thanks to everyone at GMG for an excellent job, and of course Euroworld Motorsport, Panther Pipeline and Amsource Capital for making this all possible.”

Qualifying second for Sunday’s second round, the event was actually fairly quiet for Alec and the No. 17 Euroworld Motorsport / Panther Pipeline / Amsource Capital Porsche 911 GT GT3 Cup. After managing to get around race-leader Sloan Urry during Saturday’s Race One, the opportunity simply never presented itself to repeat the feat. Pushing hard to keep pace, Udell and Urry appeared similarly matched from lap-to-lap throughout the 50-minute event, with Alec eventually crossing the finish line four seconds behind the winner.

As a full-time engineering student at Clemson University, Alec will be undergoing a busy few days, with only three days back at school for mid-term exams before returning to the series’ third and fourth rounds at St. Petersburg.

GMG Complete Podium Sweep at Circuit of the Americas

Meanwhile, the team’s other GT-Cup competitor, Alex Welch, would also enjoy a quiet run in his No. 08 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Starting from the fourth position, Alex would enjoy an incident-free race, making no mistakes and simply managing his car throughout the event, ultimately finishing sixth in his debut weekend for the category.

“It’s good to finish clean, so I’m happy about that, but obviously would have liked to have finished higher,” stated Welch. “The GT-Cup category is really competitive, and it’s definitely a fun class to be a part of. There’s definitely a few things we need to work on to get some more speed, but we all know it’s there. I enjoyed the weekend and really appreciate the effort from all the guys at GMG.”

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Finally, James Sofronas would carry the team’s lone GT-category entry in the No. 14 Mobil 1 / The Thermal Club / Spyder Porsche 911 GT3 R. After suffering damage in an unavoidable incident during yesterday’s race, the primary focus was on simply making sure the car was as it should be, and the outcome did not disappointment. In addition to the incredible work of the crew to get the car completely back to normal for Sunday’s events, the team actually made a few performance tweaks as well, with Sofronas actually finding the car handling better than previous runs. Proving the strength of his car, James would go from a 14th place start to eventually breaking the top-10 over the course of the race, enjoying a few battles to ultimately take ninth. It would prove a testament to not only the team’s ability to repair a car that they’d barely taken possession of one week earlier, but make solid progress on the engineering and development of it.

GMG Complete Podium Sweep at Circuit of the Americas

“This weekend is a complete testament to the crew,” stated Sofronas. “The fact that they’d barely gotten their hands on the car and were able to turn it in to a top-10 machine is incredible. Obviously with our years of Porsche experience we were able to tap in to our database, and it definitely paid off. I’m happy with our progress and we have a lot to move forward with. It was great to see another for podium for Alec as well. He’s a competitive young man, so he’ll always want to win, but he drove a very mature race to make sure he finished. Alex Welch is still adjusting to the Cup category, but I think he should be happy with the results. It’s a tough class and he proved strong, and we know they’ll only get quicker.”

With only a few days between the end of the weekend’s festivities and the beginning of next weekend’s third and fourth rounds, all of the Pirelli World Challenge will embark on a whirlwind trip to St. Petersburg, Florida, to get the cars ready in just a matter of days. Practice begins on Friday, March 11, with a double-header series of races occurring over the weekend.

GMG to Bring Three Cars to Pirelli World Challenge Finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Date September 11, 2015

Less than two weeks after Alec Udell’s most recent podium sweep during the penultimate weekend at Sonoma Raceway, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) will head to this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge season finale with three cars in the series’ three premier categories. In addition to Alec Udell returning in the GT-Cup category, long-time team veteran Alex Welch will also return to the GTA ranks as well as team owner James Sofronas in the GT category.

“Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca feels very much like a home event for us,” stated James Sofronas. “With Monterey only being a few hours away, we always have several guests and friends on hand, and you couldn’t ask for a better venue than Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It should be a strong event for us. Alec has been enjoying a spectacular second half of the season and we really want to finish on a high note. Having Alex Welch back is always welcome, and after driving a variety of machinery this summer, it will be nice to get him back in his Audi. It’s been a mixed season for me this year, especially with some nagging injuries, but I really want to end the Pirelli World Challenge season on a high.”

Returning to the team’s GT-Cup category, Alec Udell and the No. 17 Panther Pipeline / Euroworld Motorsport Porsche 911 GT Cup has been on a strong run during the second half of the season. Most recently at Sonoma, consistent driving led to the 19-year-old’s third win in as many race weekends, adding to a 2015 season where he’s been on the podium in 12 of 13 races in which he competed.

Heading to the scenic 2.2-mile, 11-turn circuit, Alec is optimistic on the season finale.

“We definitely want to end the season strong,” stated Udell. “Everyone at GMG and I have really found our rhythm recently, and headed to Monterey I think we’re all looking to continue the same pace. I’m pretty optimistic that we should run well, and there’s no doubt that I think we all want to carry a lot of momentum into the off season.”

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Returning to the series’ GTA category, Colorado’s Alex Welch will return to the team in the No. 76 Torque Branding Audi R8 LMS ultra. It’s been a busy summer for the team veteran who has driven in a variety of machinery and categories including everything racing at the prestigious Le Mans circuit, to touring cars in Canada, to a number of additional events.

Looking to close out his season on a positive note, Alex is also excited about the opportunity to return to Monterey.

“It’s always great to return to everyone at GMG,” stated Welch. “James and crew always do an excellent job to make sure we’re taken care of and of course, the competition in the GTA category is always very tough. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a circuit like no other so we’re looking forward to pushing the Audi as hard as we can and see where we end up.”

Alex Welch Audi R8

Adorning Alex’s Audi will be Torque Branding, a specialty company providing powerful, forward-thinking, one-step-ahead branded items and programs for clients, employees, executives, and everyone in between. More information can be found at www.torquebranding.com.

“We are stoked to see the Torque Branding logo on the Audi R8 LMS ultra,” stated Mark Mullens, Principal of Torque Branding Ltd. “Partnering with Alex – a talented pro-am who shows a great deal of passion for his craft – is both an honor and a privilege as we work to turn our love for racing into a new line of Motorsports-inspired apparel set to debut in 2016. Our support of Alex and his career is an exciting new cog to add to the wheel of our ever-expanding work in the automotive branding and promotions industry.”

Finally, driving the No. 14 The Thermal Club / Mobil 1 / Spyder Audi R8 LMS ultra, James Sofronas will enter the event with an aim to show well for himself and Audi during the final event of the year. Sofronas, the first driver to win with the R8 in Pirelli World Challenge competition, has had a mixed season so far including a series of injuries forcing him to skip several rounds. Having sat out the most recent event in Sonoma as he looks after a recurring back injury, the Californian looks forward to getting back behind the wheel.

James Sofronas

Practice begins this today, September 11, with the event only taking on a single race this Sunday, September 13, at 1:30PM ET. Live coverage can be found at world-challengetv.com.

Udell, GMG Take Third Victory of Season in Sonoma

Date August 30, 2015

Continuing an impressive campaign that has seen him take victory during the last two weekends of the Pirelli World Challenge series, Global Motorsport Group’s (GMG) Alec Udell took an impressive third victory in the GT Cup class during today’s Race One of the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

“This was just an incredible day, I can’t thank everyone at GMG enough for it,” stated Udell. “We’ve been fast all weekend and knew we had a shot, and everything just seemed to go our way. My crew chief, Neville, was with me on the radio the whole race keeping me on top of what was happening and we were able to capitalize when the opportunity came to take victory. We can’t enjoy it for too long since we have a race tomorrow morning, but I’m certainly going to savor the day.”

Driving the No. 17 Panther Pipeline / Euroworld Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 991, confidence was high headed into today’s sprint race. After setting top times throughout practice, the 19-year-old would start second for today’s Race One, making immediate work of pole-sitter Colin Thompson during the start, jumping to the lead by time they approached the first turn.

Udell at Sonoma 2015

Engaged in a heated fight, Thompson would get back around, however would fail to run away from Alec who stayed engaged on Thompson throughout the entirety of the race. With the race managing to run without a single caution period, tire management became a key factor in the event with Udell once again doing a masterful job of driving tactically and managing his machine.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the race, Alec’s strategy of keeping pressure on the leader would prove fruitful, with Thompson sliding off while under heavy braking, and handing the lead to Udell for the closing laps.

Alec would never look back as he ran down the clock taking yet another victory in a breakthrough season. It would serve as his third victory in as many weekends and his 11th podium in 12 races.

Race Two will take place tomorrow at 10:55AM PT with live coverage available on world-challengetv.com.