GMG Racing Press ReleaseProfessional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European Automobiles in Southern California, is bringing 2 new cars to rounds 10 and 11 of the Pirelli World Challenge Series this coming weekend at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course.
Lead driver, team owner and president, James Sofronas, who is usually found behind the wheel of his familiar blue and white Porsche Cup car, will be debuting the world’s 2nd World Challenge AUDI R8 LMS, which is also the second from GMG Racing.
Sofronas will still carry the #14 that has been present for most of his career in World Challenge racing but this time on a car with the Audi Motorsport colors of red and silver, and with the sponsorship of Swisher Racing to promote their new line of E-swisher electronic cigarettes and cigars that offer an alternative to traditional smoking without sacrificing taste or enjoyment and are assembled, tested and filled in the USA.
"This is an exciting time for GMG as we develop our new relationship with Audi of America and Audi Sport Customer Racing," stated Sofronas. "With 2 GMG Racing clients purchasing the first 2 Audi R8 LMS GT3 specs in North America earlier this year, this was the next step in building the program with Audi and having GMG run a 3rd car under its team."
James further added, "Mid Ohio is the perfect place for us to debut the GMG R8 as the crowds are tremendous with ALMS and INDY Car racing, as well as with Pirelli World Challenge racing, not to mention the many loyal Audi fans in the area. GMG has a history in a Porsche at Mid Ohio. I’ve enjoyed a victory and a 2nd place finish here two years ago, so there are high hopes coming to this famous and technical course. With 55 cars starting the race, it will be a battle of managing traffic and keeping your nose clean during the 50 minute sprint race.”
Sofronas continued, “We want to build the Audi program within GMG and run it in conjunction with our Porsche program as we will continue our ongoing relationship. Porsche of course will continue to be a large part of the GMG Racing Program, not only in World Challenge, but in ALMS and Grand Am as we have multiple clients that race Porsches across those different series. Expect to see 2 Audis and 2 Porsches alongside Bill's Solstice at the 2012 World Challenge season finaly held at Infineon August 25th.”
“Audi, like Porsche Motorsports, has been great to work with as they focus on the R8 LMS program worldwide, we thought that Pirelli World Challenge would be the ideal place for the Audi to compete.” Asked about his optimism, Sofronas informs, “The R8 fits well within in the GT structure as it competes against the likes of Corvette, Porsche, Nissan GTR, Viper, Cadillac and Volvo. This series ideally suits the R8, as the race version runs so many street car parts including uprights, wheel bearings, control arms, and more thaqt are easily accessible and carry over from the street R8's that we prep back in the shop. Plus we run the same GMG WC spec R8 exhaust on the street car as we do on the race car, pleasing our R8 clients. Adding to the benefit of running an R8 LMS stateside is the fact that Audi Sport Customer Racing has a location in Indiana that can provide additional parts and support to help teams running the R8 here in the U.S., making it very easy to maintain the cars.”
The race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be broadcast by NBC Sports, Saturday, August 25th at 1:30-3PM eastern and will be streamed live online at
www.world-challengeTV.com.
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2006 saw the birth of a new era in sports car racing, the diesel era. The 2006 Sebring 12 Hours was the debut race for the Audi R10 TDI and the beginning of Audi’s diesel LMP1 race programs. Two Audi R10 TDI’s lined up on the grid and blitzed the field. The #2 Audi of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello stormed to the victory. The R10 became the second model from Audi race to win Sebring on its debut and the first ever Diesel victory in LMP1. 
