GMG Racing will field a Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship campaign this season with longtime team driver Kyle Washington set for his first full-season of sports car racing competition co-driving with up-and-coming talent Tom Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. The team will compete in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Pro-Am class in the 992-specification Porsche GT3 R Washington and GMG debuted last August in the GT World Challenge race weekend at Road America.
“The last time we did a full-championship run in Fanatec GT World Challenge America, we won a title,” said GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas who drove to the 2017 Fanatec GT World Challenge America Pro-Am Championship. “Over the past several years, Kyle has been dipping his toe in different series and developing his driving resume and this year we are excited to announce he is committed to a full SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge America championship effort with Tom Sargent in the Pro-Am class. All of us at GMG Racing are more than prepared with the proper infrastructure and support needed for an effort at this level to give Kyle and Tom a chance for as much success as possible. Kyle continues to improve every year, and when you add Tom into the mix, a young and talented up-and-coming star, we should be contending for podiums every race.”
Washington is coming off a successful 2023 season in which he ran a packed schedule of races in multiple sports car racing series that produced a run of more than a dozen podium appearances to end the year on a high note.
"This will be the first year that I have had the opportunity to run in a full season, in a chase for a championship, and will be my fourth season road racing and we’re going to give it 110% effort going for a championship in Fanatec GT World Challenge America,” Washington said. “I brought in Tom Sargent, who is lightning fast on track, who will be driving and coaching me for the year. We are stoked, let’s go!”
Racing throughout the off-season has kept both Washington and GMG Racing sharp and focused with several weekends spent in “Winter Series” competition at the Thermal Club in California where GMG will open its new headquarters facility this summer.
“The difference between this year and prior seasons is that Kyle is committed to a full championship,” Sofronas said. “Before he was working with his very busy business schedule, but with some schedule planning ahead of the season, Kyle is set for the full championship. He’s mentally more prepared than ever, and because we have been testing at the Thermal Club all winter I think physically he has never been better.”
Sargent, a 22-year-old native of Australia, made his North American debut in IMSA Carrera Cup competition in 2023 and scored his first victory in the opening race of the Rennsport Reunion 7 doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He scored 10 additional podium finishes and a pair of poles in the season to finish second in the overall Pro class championship standings. His 2024 campaign with Washington and GMG Racing is Sargent’s first full-season in GT3 competition.
“To say I am excited is probably a bit of an understatement,” Sargent said. “It’s a massive thing for me to be able to undertake this awesome challenge. I came over here last year, fresh to the U.S., even fresh to Carrera Cup racing. We had a really, really successful year, and what happened in 2023 and how it went has put us in a really good position to advance on some opportunities. I am super stoked. My whole life I have been really keen to drive GT3 cars. It’s been my dream, so to be able to campaign a full season in Fanatec GT World Challenge America is really exciting.”
Sargent has joined Washington and the GMG Racing team at Thermal for some recent testing in the team’s type 992 Porsche GT3 R.
“I have done a couple of days in the car already with the GMG Racing team, which was good to just give me something to try to think about,” Sargent said. “I had one previous GT3 experience last year in the Indianapolis 8 Hour, and it was good to get a tiny bit of GT3 experience under my belt. It’s not the biggest slap in the face but it's definitely a wake up call when you jump into those cars. They are so quick and the aerodynamics are just something are a really big step up from the Carrera Cup car. Ultimately it is a dream come true to drive the GT3 R.”
Sofronas is impressed by Sargent on and off the track.
“We have already tested with Tom a few times and he is so quick,” Sofronas said. “We compared all of his times to all of the other pros that have tested at Thermal. We met Tom last year during the Carrera Cup season and he ended up coaching Kyle on a few occasions. No question he has the talent on the track, but we loved his demeanor and maturity level for his young age and his ability to communicate properly. Kyle and all of us took a liking to him and it was a partnership that grew naturally and quickly. We hope to have a long-standing relationship with Tom and he will be coaching a lot of our clients this year at Thermal. Most importantly, he is focused on helping Kyle in Fanatec GT World Challenge America as well as some of the single-make Porsche series.”
The Fanatec GT World Challenge America news is just one of several announcements GMG Racing is scheduled to make in the next few weeks. The championship-winning team will once again campaign multiple programs across several North American sports car racing series in 2024.
“Thermal is the entry level race series in the GMG Racing driver development program,” Sofronas said. “Then you go to Porsche Sprint Challenge, then Porsche Carrera Cup and then top level competition in SRO and IMSA. It all starts at Thermal, all of our drivers are either members of Thermal or we have tested them at Thermal, and we look forward to even more driver and series announcements in the coming weeks.”
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.