Sofronas Embarking on 350th World Challenge/SRO Event

James Sofronas says racing ‘pushes him in all areas of life’ as the GMG Racing team owner/driver embarks on his milestone 350th event in World Challenge/SRO America competition this weekend.

Sofronas is set to take part in the pair of GT America powered by AWS races at the wheel of his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II at Circuit of The Americas, nearly 30 years after first taking to the wheel in his first World Challenge race.

“It was 1994, and I was a complete rookie showing up at Road America for my first World Challenge race,” he recalled.

“I rented an Oldsmobile Achieva from my friend Chuck Hemingson and had the time of my life. He was a factory driver, and I was renting his backup car for $1,800 dollars.

“That was basically all the savings I had at the time, but I didn’t care. I wanted to go and give it a shot! I finished ninth out of 25 touring cars; I was hooked.”

For the 54-year-old Californian, his journey has been highlighted by numerous wins and championships under the World Challenge/SRO America umbrella, especially between 2017-18, where he won the 2017 GTA championship, the 2017 GT Pro-Am championship, the 2018 GT4 Sprint championship, the 2018 GT4 SprintX championship and the 2018 GT4 team championship.

“I’m a very competitive guy and always want to compete against the best, which is why I jumped into the WC Pro Series my first year of wheel-to-wheel racing,” Sofronas said.

“I wanted and still do, push myself to the limit. I do this in business, life and on a personal level, as I always want to see what I am capable of doing.

“Racing is about pushing yourself to your limits, getting everything out of yourself, and living on the edge. It’s the only way to go through life.”

Sofronas has built a successful tuning and motorsports business, GMG Racing, along the way.

What began as a 1200 square-foot 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, Calif.

“Racing is what drives me to push in all areas of my life,” Sofronas said. “It helps me stay in shape, it keeps me sharp and on the business side, it helps to validate everything we do at GMG.

“There is no question that our racing experience on track helps us develop better products for GMG’s street tuning and performance side.”

The organization is in the final stages of building a brand-new shop in Thermal, Calif., to further service its fleet of customers.

“This year, we are extremely busy with our customer racing program,” Sofronas explained. “That is priority number one here at GMG.

“We provide an incredible experience for our clients both on and off the track, as well as what we are providing at The Thermal Club which will be even better once our 28K square ft. shop is completed end of 2023.

“So, my goals are to see my clients succeed and when I personally get to race, it’s to showcase our amazing crew and experience that we provide each weekend we are at the track.

“Nothing makes me happier than to see my clients succeed and having multiple championships over the years with our customers is one of GMG’s greatest accomplishments.

“It’s one thing for me to have success, but it’s way more rewarding to see my clients, who have become my good friends, succeed in pursuing their dreams of racing on a competitive level with podiums and championships.”