- Kyle Washington, Tom Sargent and the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo Team Reclaimed the GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Pro-Am Driver and Team Championship Leads One Race Ago at Sebring with the Season's Second Win
- GMG Racing Successfully Defending Last Year's Inaugural McLaren Trophy America Team Championship Title Heading Into Road Atlanta
- First-Year GMG Racing Drivers Deniz Teoman and Randy Highland Bring McLaren Trophy America Papaya Cup Championship Leads to Road Atlanta for this Weekend's Mid-Season Races
GMG Racing rolls into Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this weekend leading five championships and in close contention in four other points battles across three different SRO America racing series as the 2026 racing calendar reaches the midpoint of the season at the iconic North Atlanta road course.
Leading the way is longtime team driver Kyle Washington and his third-year co-driver Tom Sargent who joined GMG Racing in reclaiming the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Pro-Am championship leads with their second win in the year's first three races last month at Sebring International Raceway. Combined with a victory in the season-opening round at Sonoma Raceway in March, and a fourth place finish in April at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo squad leads both the Pro-Am team and driver standings for the second time this season with 62 points, seven clear of the nearest challengers.
"This is a new era in GT World Challenge America with the three hour races and all of us at GMG Racing have been working on and within this new format since it was announced," said GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas. "We knew it would suit the championship experience of the GMG Racing team and would fit the driving styles of Kyle and Tom perfectly as well. The hard work you put into a racing program doesn't always equal success, but by just focusing on and maximizing everything within our control has paid off so far this season. We said going into Sebring, the third race of a season is when you typically take a look at the points. Heading into the mid-season race this weekend at Road Atlanta, the points picture is the best it has looked all year. The plan is to keep our heads down, our focus clear and keep doing what we have been doing one race at a time."
"The team is really coming together," Washington said. "This is basically our third year together and we're really gelling. Tom is doing an amazing job, management is doing great, and we have great new facilities at The Thermal Club, so we can work on the cars a lot more. You know, it's a lot of people that have to come together. You have to be a really good team and a little bit lucky to make it to the top spot. We have been lucky a couple times already this year, but the saying is you make your luck, so it could mean we might be well prepared and good too! I do feel a little more pressure because we do have a big team now, and we're all counting on being in podium positions, and not just there for the racing. So, I take it a little bit more seriously, and I think my skills, with Tom's coaching and really all the coaches I have had in the last five years, it all adds up to understanding the car more."
Sargent took over for the run to the finish at Sebring and once again set the fastest race lap as he dealt with his own contact incidents and an off-and-on excursion or two.
"Kyle took huge hits on the opening lap, which knocked him back, and then I finished it up with some pretty big hits as well," Sargent said. "Then I went flying through Turn 1 in the dirt, so to say it was not a clean run is a bit of an understatement! In my mind, it was just racing, there was nothing on anyone, and in the end we brought it home. The car is obviously so good, the GMG Racing team is doing great, and There's no denying that and we had the pace. The safety car in the last hour worked out too for us. The next race in Atlanta is the mid-season rounds, so it's good to be leading the championship again. Sebring and Sonoma have traditionally been our worst rounds of the year, but now we have won both of them, with some of our sweet tracks, like Road America and Barber, still to come. Road Atlanta is a bit of an unknown, but GMG Racing and Kyle have been there, we all had a good test recently, and I think we will be okay. It suits our style."
GMG Racing and its six drivers compete in four classes across three SRO championships - GT World Challenge America, GT America and McLaren Trophy America - this season. The reigning and inaugural McLaren Trophy America Team Champions, GMG Racing has moved off to a fast title defense, leading the 2026 team title battle again coming into Road Atlanta. The two-car GMG Racing McLaren Trophy America team is first in team title standings with 24 points, four clear of the nearest competitor.
First-year GMG Racing drivers Deniz Teoman and Randy Highland also lead their respective classes in the McLaren Trophy Papaya Cup Championships. Designed to recognize the on-track achievements of McLaren Trophy Pro-Am and Am drivers over a certain age or with limited race experience, Papaya Cup is named after the vibrant, bright and now legendary "Papaya Orange" colors schemes team founder Bruce McLaren chose for the first McLaren Formula 1 and Can-Am cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s. McLaren's current World Championship Formula 1 team brought the Papaya hue back to the world stage in 2018, appropriately 50 years after the eye-catching orange first appeared on an F1 McLaren in 1968.
Teoman and co-driver Jeff Cook delivered GMG its first win of the McLaren Trophy season one race ago last month in Miami in the No. 5 GMG Racing McLaren Artura Trophy. The Am-class winners, Teoman and Cook finished second outright after leading the first half of the race overall from the pole position. They were joined in victory lane by teammates Highland and debuting team driver Michael O'Brien, who finished third in Pro-Am in the No. 7 GMG Racing McLaren Artura Trophy. The race win and P3 showing added to GMG Racing's haul of four McLaren Trophy victory lane visits in March's season-opening race weekend at Sonoma Raceway to give the GMG Racing duo a six-for-six "podium perfect" run in the year's first three races.
"We are just as proud of our McLaren Trophy success this year as we are with our championship-leading GT World Challenge campaign," Sofronas said. "In some ways, it is even more gratifying as our McLaren entries are with completely new drivers to our team this year. The entire group, most recently with the addition of Michael O'Brien beginning at Miami, has gelled in a way that is reminiscent of the bond Kyle and Tom built over the last three years together. Plenty of racing ahead on all fronts this season, but we are encouraged by the immediate success all of our teams and drivers have demonstrated and incredibly proud of their early accomplishment."
Highland and British McLaren Racing Champion O'Brien both make their Road Atlanta debuts this weekend.
“This will be our first time for me and Michael racing at Road Atlanta," Highland said. "Testing there recently with our GMG Racing teammates in preparation for this week’s Trophy event was invaluable. It definitely paid dividends with getting familiar with the track layout and prepping the car setup, which is an area that the GMG engineering team excels in. First impression of the track and its setting was amazing, lots of elevation change, several high-speed corners, and it will certainly present different and exciting challenges from our last outing at Miami. Going into this week’s race, we’re optimistic about continuing to improve our results and ability to be in the Pro-Am podium mix throughout the weekend.”
Teoman, Cook and the No. 5 team are second in the overall McLaren Trophy Am championship standings with 28 points, just five behind the class leader and a full 12 ahead of the third place team and drivers. Highland, now with experienced Pro O'Brien racing with him for the remainder of the season, is fourth in the overall in the Pro-Am Championship with 21 points, three behind P3 and six points clear of P5.
"We’ve been working hard since Miami to keep improving our performance, and Randy’s ability to learn quickly means that we’re continuing on a positive trajectory rolling into Atlanta," O'Brien said. "I’ve been getting more comfortable with the team and the car set up, so I think I can take another step from Miami. I’m really looking forward to taking on one of America’s most iconic road courses with Randy and trying to continue his podium streak! We were fortunate enough to enjoy a successful test last week, with the GMG crew understanding the track's unique demands. First impressions of the track were great, and I’m loving the old school, bumpy feel that the track has to offer."
Washington is also in title contention for the second-straight year in the single-driver GT America powered by AWS sprint race championship that most recently ran a Saturday and Sunday doubleheader at Sebring. Washington secured his third runner-up finish of the six-race season to date in Sunday's final 40-minute GT America race from the pole after a P3 showing in the sister No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo on Saturday. Washington was the only multi-series GT driver competing in the SRO America weekend at Sebring to reach the podium in three different races.
Combined, GMG Racing and its teams and drivers compete in five different races for a total of six hours of on-track competition this weekend at Road Atlanta, including 50-minute McLaren Trophy and 40-minute GT America doubleheaders. The weekend's featured three-hour GT World Challenge America race closes out the weekend's schedule with a 2:30 p.m. EDT race start this Sunday, June 14.
The racing begins the afternoon of this Saturday, June 13, with the opening McLaren Trophy and GT America sprints running back-to-back at 2:25 and 3:30 p.m. EDT respectively. Sunday begins with the final 50-minute McLaren Trophy race at 9 a.m. with the final GT America 40-minute round going green at 12:15 p.m. EDT.
All races and qualifying sessions from the Road Atlanta weekend will be streamed live on the GTWorld YouTube channel, SRO Motorsports Twitch and SRO RaceControl powered by Vbrick.
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 state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility relocated last year to The Thermal Club and a 28,000 sq. ft. trackside motorsports facility. 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 the company support its customers to the highest level possible. We have since won several Championships, not only with Porsche, but with Audi, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and McLaren. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona, Spa, Montreal, COTA and The Thermal Club, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.