Saturday, October 5, 2013

Pirelli World Challenge: Crucial pole position for GMG Racing in Houston


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. 


Photo credit: