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James Sofronas (born September 9, 1968) is an American racing driver and the founder of Global Motorsports Group.
Motorsports career
Sofronas began his racing career in the early 1990s, purchasing a Nissan NX 2000 which was eligible for the SCCA SSB category. In order to make enough money to race it, Sofronas worked as a salesman at Pitney Bowes, using the street-legal car on sales calls despite the fact it had no air conditioning unit.[1] In 1994, he acquired an SCCA Pro Racing license and took part in the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge, driving an Oldsmobile Achieva in the Super Production class, which he rented from Chuck Hemingson for $1,800.[2] In his lone outing that season at Road America, Sofronas finished 9th in class.[3]
Sofronas began racing under the GMG Racing banner in the early 2000s; the team is used to advertise his auto tuning service he operates out of Southern California. He scored his first victory in the then-Speed World Challenge in 2008 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, en route to a fourth-placed finish in the championship. He would finish runner-up in the GT class the following season, scoring two wins and four podiums.[4] That same season, Sofronas began competing in the American Le Mans Series, beginning with a one-off appearance at Laguna Seca with co-driver Bret Curtis, where the duo finished fifth in class. Sofronas and GMG Racing would continue to run a partial schedule in the series until 2012.
In 2017, Sofronas claimed a pair of titles in the Pirelli World Challenge, claiming the overall GTA title and the SprintX GT Pro/Am title. Partnering with Porsche factory drivers Laurens Vanthoor and Mathieu Jaminet, Sofronas took the SprintX title by just 13 points over Jan Heylen and Michael Schein. He scored 11 class victories in 19 starts between the two championships that season.[5] He followed his championship haul in 2017 with two more in 2018, this time competing in GT4 machinery. Sofronas and co-driver Alex Welch claimed the SprintX GTS title, while Sofronas alone won the GTS class title overall.[6]
Sofronas and business partner Fabrice Kutyba founded Global Motorsports Group (GMG) in 2001, an aftermarket tuning service with a particular focus on European luxury marques.[3] The two opened a shop in 2006, before upgrading to a 16,000 square-foot facility two years later.[3] In August 2021, GMG opened temporary 8,000 square-foot shop at the Thermal Club, with plans to have a 23,000 square-foot facility completed at the site by summer 2023.[8]
The company services Porsche, Ferrari, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW models, among others.[3] Services include standard maintenance such as oil changes, as well as performance tuning.[1] The group also operates a customer racing program in the SRO America umbrella of series, including the GT America Series, GT4 America Series, and GT World Challenge America.[9] Their racing endeavors are closely intertwined with their tuning operations, with a series of World Challenge-based performance products being released in 2008.[3] The team has won a number of titles in the Pirelli World Challenge, including a 2017 GTSA class victory for George Kurtz accompanying Sofronas' titles.[4] In 2021, the team added a title in the inaugural season of the GT America Series with customer driver Jason Bell.[10]
The team also works closely with Audi Sport, debuting and competing with the marque's racing cars. In 2012, GMG Racing became the first American providers of the new Audi R8 LMS GT3.[11] In September 2019, Sofronas took part in the global debut of the Audi R8 LMS GT2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.[12] At the SRO GT Anniversary, Sofronas fielded an Audi R8 LMS ultra, one of just two in the field.[13] Ahead of the 2023 season, the team acquired an Audi R8 LMS Evo II, and were awaiting delivery of a Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 R.[14]
^ ab"Sofronas, weekend warrior". racer.com. November 10, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2021. We were second in '09, second in '13, so to win it here in the Pro-Am class was gratifying, because this year I did very little testing.
^"Road America Friday Notebook". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021. GMG Racing has opened up a temporary 8,000 square-foot shop at The Thermal Club ahead of plans for a dedicated 25,000 square-foot motorsports facility coming in summer 2023 according to team principal James Sofronas.
^"James Sofronas is driven to succeed on, off track". presstelegram.com. April 15, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2021. Besides Sofronas, GMG Racing services cars for three "arrive and drive" racers in the series, including William Ziegler, who finished eighth at Sebring, and Dino Crescentini, who was 17th.
^"Europhiles: A Tour Of GMG Racing". speedhunters.com. November 28, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2021. As mentioned earlier, GMG Racing was the first provider of the Audi Sport R8 LMS GT3.
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