GMG Racing is focused exclusively on double Porsche power in SRO America competition this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park where the race-winning team campaigns two GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R entries in a pair of Fanatec GT World Challenge races and two GT America sprints on Saturday and Sunday.
Longtime GMG Racing driver Kyle Washington competes in all four races, driving solo in the single-driver GT America races and sharing the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with Tom Sargent in the weekend's featured 90-minute GT World Challenge America races. After scoring their first GT World Challenge win together two races ago at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), and a second-place finish in the most recent event last month at Road America, Washington, Sargent and the No. 32 team have moved into the top-five in the World Challenge Pro-Am point standings.
Even better, the No. 32 team and drivers are just 18 points out third place in the championship with only this weekend's series-standard 90-minute races and the season-ending Indianapolis 8 Hour remaining on the 2024 schedule.
“With Kyle gaining experience every race and getting faster, and all of us being aware of Tom's talent and capabilities, we knew it wasn't going to be long before they won in GT World Challenge,” said GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas. “Up to the VIR win, it had been since 2020 when Jeroen Bleekemolen and I won the last GT World Challenge Pro-Am race for GMG, but this is also our first full season in World Challenge in a few years. Everyone has stepped up and is running at a higher level, and I think that commitment spans across all of the series that we enter. We can expect that same unwavering execution and performance this weekend."
The GT World Challenge victory at VIR was followed by a GT America win by Sofronas at Road America on the track where he began his professional driving career 30 years ago. In Sunday's final race, Sofronas drove his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2 to an emotional flag-to-flag win from the pole. The victory was the final step of a successful comeback after Sofronas was sidelined for several months after a testing incident in the Audi at the SRO Road America event in 2023.
"It was a challenging year after the accident and missing so much time at the wheel but getting the win at Road America completed the comeback and I really wasn't going to be denied," Sofronas said. "We also won two weeks before that in Carrera Cup competition at Road America, and both wins were the perfect way to know I am back with the same level of competitive performance I had before and to take a moment and reflect on how far we have come with GMG Racing the last 30 years.
"Now, it's time to help Kyle and Tom finish the season on a high note. With my comeback at Road America complete, I am not going to race the Audi this weekend but instead be at the track with both No. 32 teams and drivers solely in a team owner and coach role for the first time this year. I have yet to have the chance to do that but now is the time with just this weekend and Indy left on the schedule. We want to close out the year with some solid results and know we can."
The GT America championship will come down to a battle between the current top three in points, but Washington has a realistic chance to step up and grab fourth place in the final standings with some good results to end the year. It starts at a Barber Motorsports Park track he has yet to race on, but he is looking forward to his racing debut and some of the local cuisine for which Alabama is well known.
"It's always exciting to go to a new track that you haven't driven before, especially one as legendary and reputable as Barber Motorsports Park," Washington said. "At the same time I am just as excited to try the famous fried green tomatoes!"
A three day event weekend, the Barber scheduled begins Friday with a pair of practice sessions for both Fanatec GT World Challenge America and GT America. Qualifying for GT America at 8:05 a.m. CDT and GT World Challenge at 9:05 a.m. CDT sets the stage Saturday for the first of the weekend's two races in both series. The first 40-minute GT America race starts at 1 p.m. CDT with the opening 90-minute GT World Challenge race set for a 3:10 p.m. CDT green flag.
Sunday's final day of competition begins with the second GT America sprint at 8:40 a.m. CDT with the final GT World Challenge race bringing the curtain down on the weekend at 2:15 p.m. CDT.
All of the races and some additional on-track sessions from the Barber weekend can be viewed live on the GT World YouTube Channel.
NOTEWORTHY - On the Move:
- In between its non-stop racing schedule, the countdown is on for GMG Racing's move to its new 28,000 square-foot race shop at The Thermal Club in October. The shop is almost complete and is just seconds away from the entrance to pit lane at the most incredible country club motorsports facility in the U.S. if not the world. A recent sale began the liquidation process of GMG Racing's longtime headquarters in Santa Ana - look for additional sales in the coming weeks - and the new Thermal Club facility will soon be open for service, performance upgrades and motorsports arrive-and-drive programs and track support. The Thermal shop will also continue to offer the same street performance product support and maintenance services as the Santa Ana shop, which is also open for both street and track support over the next few weeks before the permanent move to Thermal.