gmgracing

GMG Driver Development Program Shines with POC at Laguna Seca

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SALINAS, Calif. (July 2, 2014)- While Global Motorsports Group (GMG) is primarily known for their current exploits in professional racing, taking part in such series as The Pirelli World Challenge and the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (formerly American LeMans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series), the team continues to show commitment to many grassroots forms of racing as evidenced this weekend during the Porsche Owner’s Club (POC) round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

“Club racing remains a big part of GMG’s day-to-day business,” stated team owner James Sofronas. “What we do in the Pirelli World Challenge and TUDOR Championship is the most high profile, but it’s built on our involvement in club racing and track days all around the country. Between our experienced group of technicians and engineers, our immense amount of data we can share, and of course an experienced roster of drivers, the tools we offer to our participants is unparalleled and I think our performance shows that.”

Taking place this past Saturday and Sunday, the POC’s most recent round in the beautiful hills of Monterey provided a significant number of highlights for GMG’s roster of drivers. With the event providing a meeting ground for a number of sportsman Porsche drivers with a variety of experiences, the event featured a full day of practice sessions, time attacks, and sprint races for a number of categories including the highly-touted Pirelli Cup.

Driving in the signature event, GMG brought three entries to the venue: team owner James Sofronas, the highly experienced Chip Romer, and relative newcomer Chris Thompson. After a series of tests and driver development sessions with GMG's local partners, The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, the trio came in to the race ready for action.

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Sofronas, despite his current status as one of the top drivers in the Pirelli World Challenge, is no stranger to club racing himself. Unlike many of his peers that he competes against on a professional stage, Sofronas’ driving career began much later in life utilizing the earnings from a career in medical sales to fund his driving habit. Starting as a club racer, any opportunity to return to grassroots racing is welcome for the Californian.

Beyond the satisfaction found in the camaraderie of racing in the POC, the Villa Park, California resident would actually be the star of the weekend, not only taking the overall victory, but utilizing his Pirelli rubber to set a series track record in qualifying of 1:26.3.

“I had so much fun racing out there,” stated Sofronas, driving the No. 1 The Thermal Club / Spyder Porsche 911 GT2 Cup 997. “The environment with the POC is such a relaxed, supportive environment and it’s a great change of pace from some of the other racing that we do. At the same time, there are some really, really talented guys and that’s what makes this racing so fun. You have quite a range of experience here, from guys who could compete with the pros, all the way to folks who are getting their first taste of wheel-to-wheel racing, and the Pirelli's are just awesome to race with! I also have to thank our partners at The Thermal club for getting our drivers ready, what a great facility to have at our doorstep. Thanks to them, we were able to not only test the cars but to also develop new drivers as both Chip and Chris were able to get ample seat time under our tutelage."

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Driving the No. 155 Porsche 911 GT3R 997, seasoned veteran Chip Romer would also have a banner day chasing Sofronas for much of the race en route to second.

“We had a great weekend,” stated Romer. “The guys at GMG do a great job of bringing a knowledgeable, experienced crew and it shows when we take to the track. At an event like this, you can have a range of different teams with different levels of experience and GMG brings a level of quality and service that is second to none. Thanks to everyone for such a great time, and I’m glad we were able to bring home some hardware.”

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Meanwhile, GMG driver Chris Thompson, competing in only his third POC event, drove a clean weekend en route to two different fourth-place finishes resulting in a sign-off on his competition license.

“I just wanted to have a clean, safe experience out there,” stated Thompson. “This was my first time at Laguna Seca and everyone on the team really helped walk me through the process and keep me calm. The access that the team gave me to driving information and data went a long way. For someone new like myself, I couldn’t ask for a better way to properly get introduced.”

While Sofronas and his crew are busy preparing for the second half of the Pirelli World Challenge season, the team remains committed to a number of upcoming local events for club racers and aspiring professionals alike. With a vertically integrated system that can take drivers from their first laps in a sportscar all the way to the top levels of motorsport, the team welcomes any and all inquiries on the next steps.

About GMG




Founded in 2001 by James Sofronas and Fabryce Kutyba, GMG has quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning and racing facility. What began as a small 1200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility located in (Orange County) Santa Ana, California. The staff's experience, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts world wide. Whether you want to maximize the performance of your street car, or race wheel-to-wheel on both amateur and professional racing series across North America, GMG’s reputation for service and quality is unmatched.

To learn more, please visit www.gmgracing.com.

For all inquiries about GMG's motorsports program, please email James@GMGRacing.com

gmgracing

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James-GMG

What a great weekend! Perfect weather, great schedule, lot's of competition, great friend/clients to race with...........and very low stress!

And unlike the PWC weekends, I had a chance to down a few of these....

mark kibort

any link to the results? Times??

zip465

Times & Results are under review, should be posted at https://porscheclubracing.org by next week.

Vonschmidt

Good going guys.

mark kibort

thanks!

jrgordonsenior

They're still up on Race-monitor. The Pirelli Cup hosted the event and they don't post to MyLaps unfortunately. BMW Club ran a group and they provided timing to Race Monitor. You'll find the POC race groups in there somewhere....

http://www.race-monitor.com/Results/Race/18279

James-GMG

Mark, where were you last weekend? You missed a great event!
POC has some really fast cars now, I know several of them dipped below the 1:30 mark.....

I finally finished my WC/Porsche Club racer and got a chance to stretch its legs out there......had a blast!