By Johan Laubscher
The finale of the Pirelli World Challenge is taking place on the
streets of Houston this weekend. It is a title showdown between James Sofronas
in his GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS and Johnny O'Connell in his factory Cadillac
CTS-V.R.
James Sofronas arrives in Houston as the current points leader, with a mere 21 point lead over O'Connell. Three Audis have been entered this weekend: two Audi R8 LMS cars from GMG Racing in the GT class and one Audi TT RS car from Istook Motorsports in the GTS class.
The second GMG R8 LMS is being piloted by Rene Rast, the factory Audi
Sport customer racing driver, who has been added to the squad to support Sofronas’
bid for the title. Rast immediately showed his pace by placing second in the first
practice session and first in the second session. Sofronas was sixth in both of the practice sessions.
Qualifying was cancelled due to track altercations in the long break
between practice sessions one and two, thus the grid will be determined by
championship points. This results in James Sofronas gaining the crucial pole
position and Rene Rast starting sixth, last in the GT class, as he has no points
on the table.
The race is scheduled for 10:45 am local time on Sunday. We wish the
best of luck to both Audi teams.
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