GMG Closes Home Race with Three Top-10 Finishes

GMG Closes Home Race with Three Top-10 Finishes
Taking part in their annual home race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Global Motorsports Group (GMG Racing) would once again enjoy a strong showing with a trio of top-10 finishes during Sunday’s round of the GT4 America category. Returning to the category for the first time since winning the championship in 2018, team owner James Sofronas would lead the charge with a sixth-overall, followed by Jason Bell with a seventh in category, and CJ Moses in eighth.

“We can be pretty satisfied with the weekend,” stated Sofronas. “The GT4 category continues to get more competitive every weekend, and while we would have hoped for a stronger run, we can’t be too disappointed given the quality of the field. It was tough to chase everyone down in front of me and be at a clear deficit with the current balance of performance, but it’s always a moving target. Jason did a great job getting up to speed with his new Porsche, and CJ was stronger with every session and impressed all of us. Overall everyone should be happy, and we came away with a clean race at a track notorious for damage.”

Showing strong in practice, including closing out Friday in first, James Sofronas would engage in a multitude of battles throughout Sunday’s race on the notorious street circuit. At a deficit on overall power due to series performance balancing, the No. 14 Mobil 1 / CrowdStrike / AWS / The Thermal Club / 5.11 Tactical Audi R8 LMS GT4 often showed pace over the competitors in front of him, however the necessary top-end speed to complete a pass was near impossible. On several occasions James had no choice but to make some daring late moves in his efforts to gain ground, ultimately exercising restraint to avoid incident. Sixth would prove the best he could ask for, and taking top honors for Audi.



In the series’ Am category, Jason Bell would show strong with seventh. Driving his No. 2 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR for the first time in race conditions, Bell would prove steady over the course of the weekend, including doing a remarkable job of avoiding the typical race-opening chaos. Recognizing the importance of patience for his first race with his new machine, a top-10 at one of the most demanding circuits was satisfactory.

“We’re always aiming for higher finishes, but it was a good debut for the Porsche,” stated Bell. “Long Beach is notorious carnage, so being able to avoid that with where we were on the grid was a great boost, and sets us on a good course to continue with the rest of the season. I appreciate the effort everyone put in with the new car, we’re looking forward to the future.”



Finally, taking a remarkable top-10 in only his third race of the year, CJ Moses and his No. 04 CrowdStrike Audi R8 LMS GT4 would take a strong eighth. Taking to the Long Beach streets for the first time, Moses continued his steep learning curve to bring down his lap times throughout the weekend, ultimately using patience to his advantage by taking a clean finish and continually moving up the field.

“Long Beach is a great event to be a part of,” stated Bell. “It’s so easy to make a mistake here, and the consequences are so high, that I’m extremely happy to walk away with a clean race like we did, and the results speak for themselves. The guys at GMG did a great job getting me prepared, and that played a huge part in our weekend.”

With a full season of racing ahead, the team will now focus on their next event in just over one weeks’ time, competing at VIRginia International Raceway from April 26-28.

_____

About The Thermal Club
Established in 2012, The Thermal Club is a private motorsports country club surrounding one of the longest and most distinct racing circuits in North America. Located near Palm Springs CA, the exclusive club offers members access to three racetracks, kart track, autocross, skid pad, tuning shop, garage, detail shop, clubhouse restaurant and spa. One of the defining attributes of The Thermal Club are the luxury villa-homes that are built next to the track and overlook the facility. For more information visit www.TheThermalClub.com.

Learn more at www.thethermalclub.com

About Mobil 1
Conventional oil is simply refined crude oil. Mobil 1 synthetic oil, however, is not only refined, but it is also distilled, purified, and broken down into its basic molecules. It is then rebuilt and added to, so that it can better protect against wear, high heat, cold weather and sludge buildup. Ultimately, this process helps your car’s engine run better for longer. You can explore more about these benefits below.

Learn more at www.mobiloil.com.

About CrowdStrike
With an extensive client base of leading global brands, CrowdStrike will be utilizing the Pirelli World Challenge as a hub for experiential entertainment, B2B networking, and as a forum for meeting with a litany of customers, prospects and partners.  Race weekends will include executive-level security industry roundtables, combined with VIP access to the most compelling aspects of each racing venue. With a premium on forging and solidifying relationships, the utilization of both the series and GMG offers a great opportunity for the company to extend their platform.

You can learn more about CrowdStrike’s involvement in motorsports at crowdstrikeracing.com. 

About 5.11 Tactical
5.11 Tactical. 5.11 Tactical is an Irvine, California-based brand of clothing consisting of uniforms and tactical equipment for military, law enforcement and public safety personnel. The company also operates a chain of retail stores, with 13 locations as of January 2017.

Learn more at www.511tactical.com.

About Spyder
Spyder was founded by avid skier and outdoor athlete David Jacobs. He rose to world-class rankings as a competitive skier, and stayed connected to the sport he loves by coaching, designing related products, and building one of the most powerful brands in the industry. His dedication to the sport of skiing and the Spyder brand is as inspiring as it is intriguing. Spyder's growth exploded over the turn of the century, and the company is now the largest ski-specialty brand in the world. David has recently discovered the adrenaline rush in racing classic Formula One cars, finding success - not surprisingly - in this new pastime. For a man who's thrived on sports, technology, and professional advancement, the world is sure to see David go a few more times around the track.

Learn more at www.spyder.com

About AWS
In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) began offering IT infrastructure services to businesses in the form of web services -- now commonly known as cloud computing. One of the key benefits of cloud computing is the opportunity to replace up-front capital infrastructure expenses with low variable costs that scale with your business. With the Cloud, businesses no longer need to plan for and procure servers and other IT infrastructure weeks or months in advance. Instead, they can instantly spin up hundreds or thousands of servers in minutes and deliver results faster.

Today, Amazon Web Services provides a highly reliable, scalable, low-cost infrastructure platform in the cloud that powers hundreds of thousands of businesses in 190 countries around the world.

Learn more at https://aws.amazon.com/