- Kyle Washington Looks for More Masters Class Carrera Cup Podiums in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
- Ofir Levy Ready to Build On Competitive Miami Debut in Montreal in the No. 3 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Pro-Am
- James Sofronas Seeks a Return to Carrera Cup Pro-Am Victory Lane in the No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada (May 5, 2024) – GMG Racing brings a season-high three entries to this weekend’s IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America doubleheader as one of the main support events for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Notre Dame Island in the heart of Montreal. Saturday’s opening 40-minute race is scheduled to start at 5:55 p.m. EDT with Sunday’s final sprint set to go green at 9:40 a.m. EDT.
Canadian native Kyle Washington competes in the Carrera Cup Masters Class in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. He is joined by his Pro-Am division teammates Ofir Levy in the No. 3 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and GMG Racing Driver, Founder and Team Principal James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
“Montreal is going to be an unbelievable event,” Sofronas said. “The city is spectacular, the track is phenomenal and you can’t do better than running alongside Formula 1. I know Kyle will have some home-country fans, business associates and clients there. Now, with Ofir joining the team, it will be the first time the three of us are driving together. Kyle came close to joining me and Ofir at last month’s Carrera Cup races at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami, but he was a reluctant late scratch and focused that weekend on GT World Challenge in Sebring when we couldn’t make both races work after a late schedule change. Ofir had a great Carrera Cup series debut in Miami and will improve even more in Montreal, and I am just looking to get on the podium in Canada after a victory to open the year in March at Sebring. I am looking forward to an amazing race and an even more amazing experience.”
In his most recent Carrera Cup race, Washington secured a third-place Masters Class finish in the second and final sprint of the series opening weekend in March at Sebring. He is set for his third and fourth series races of the year in Montreal as a proud participant in the first IMSA Carrera Cup events run in his home country of Canada.
“Missing Miami was tough but being able to race at home in Canada a month later is definitely a plus,” Washington said. “I have been a spectator in Montreal many times. So to say I’m excited to race here for the first time is an understatement! Plus, Montreal is just such a wild town on the Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 weekend.”
Washington competes in GMG Racing Porsches in several series and brings some recent podium momentum from those championships to Montreal as well. In his most recent races last month, Washington scored a season-best GT America powered by AWS runner-up finish at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) one week after his first race win of the year with a Masters Class Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West triumph at Utah Motorsports Campus.
Washington also experienced the thrill of hitting the podium on an F1 weekend when he scored a third-place class finish in a 2023 Carrera Cup race at Miami.
This year’s Miami Grand Prix Carrera Cup highlight for GMG was debuting driver Levy’s solid seventh-place Pro-Am finish in Sunday’s final sprint that set the stage for that day’s Formula 1 race. In his first career Carrera Cup race weekend, Levy finished both hard-fought sprints on the temporary and tight Miami circuit, avoiding the contact incidents and poor decisions that sidelined numerous competitors both days. Even with some battle scars of his own on his Porsche, Levy pressed on in the Sunday Miami race’s limited green flag runs to set some of his fastest laps of the weekend. The seventh-place result came not only in Levy’s Carrera Cup debut but also in his first race with GMG Racing.
“Montreal is a tight track, so Miami was good training for that, but rain looks like it is going to be a factor,” Levy said. “Still, it is a new track for me and most drivers, so we will all be learning regardless in the dry or wet. My goal is to keep the car in one piece and have some fun.”
Sofronas is GMG’s only driver who raced in both of the year’s opening weekends at Sebring and Miami. His highlight of the young season was a class victory in the very first race of the year at Sebring. Picking up where he left off after a sweep of 2023’s year-end Carrera Cup doubleheader at Circuit of The Americas, Sofronas secured his third-straight Pro-Am class victory in his No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in his first start at Sebring in six years.
Like Washington and Levy, Sofronas makes his first career race starts in Montreal this weekend. He does have a flash of experience driving on the track in the wet, however, and that could prove useful with double-digit percentage chances of rain predicted for the Montreal area all weekend.
“I have a career total of two laps on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve,” Sofronas said. “I was coaching our good friend and teammate Brent Holden in Ferrari Challenge well over 10 years ago. On my out-lap, it started to drizzle and then the skies opened up and they red flagged the session. We were all on slicks and everybody had to slowly tiptoe in. Some cars crashed doing just 20 mph, but I managed to bring it in. I have basically a lap and a half at 20 mph in torrential rain, and it was all I could do to save the car from going off. The track was just flooded! So, I really have no experience on the track other than survival, and that was a good 12 years ago.”
Following morning and afternoon practice sessions on Friday, qualifying takes place Saturday morning to set the field for that afternoon’s first race at 5:55 p.m. EDT. Sunday’s final round closes out the Carrera Cup Montreal weekend at 9:40 a.m. EDT.
Both Montreal weekend Carrera Cup races can be viewed at IMSA.TV and PorscheCarreraCup.us and on NBC’s Peaco*ck streaming app before archiving on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.
About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001, GMG Racing quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning facility. What began as a small 1,200 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 Santa Ana, California in Orange County and with a trackside motorsports facility at 28,000 sq. ft. currently being built at The Thermal Club. The staff, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts worldwide. GMG, in its early years, was located directly across the street from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA). This close proximity allowed GMG to build a strong relationship with the legendary racing brand which has helped us support our customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona and Spa, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.
