- Kyle Washington P2 Overall in Race 1 and Secures a Pair of Porsche Sprint Challenge 992 Masters-Class Podium Results in the No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
- Debuting Porsche Sprint Challenge Driver Patrick Mulcahy Top-Five Overall and Fourth in Pro-Am in Race 2 in Professional Competition Debut in the No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
- Jay Barron in the Pro-Am No. 223 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and Masters Class Competitor Glenn Kirkpatrick in the No. 252 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Improve Throughout Season-Opening Weekend at Spring Mountain
PAHRUMP, Nevada (April 3, 2024) – GMG Racing moved its 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West presented by Yokohama campaign off to a strong start this past weekend at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch where full-season team drivers Kyle Washington and Patrick Mulcahy combined for a top-two overall race result, a pair of podium finishes and a series-debut overall top-five showing in the weekend’s twin 35-minute races.
Longtime GMG Racing driver Washington drove his No. 232 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to a second-place overall and runner-up Masters class finish in the first of Sunday’s doubleheader sprints. Washington later closed out the weekend with a third-place Masters Class finish in Sunday’s final race early that afternoon to leave Spring Mountain with a good haul of points to start his full-season Masters championship bid.
While Washington was GMG Racing’s top performer in Sunday’s opener, debuting driver Mulcahy was the highest finisher in Sunday’s finale. Shaking off a challenging first race, Mulcahy improved three class positions to finish fourth in the Pro-Am class and in the top-five overall in his No. 254 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the weekend’s closing race.
Washington and Mulcahy were joined at Spring Mountain by Jay Barron in the No. 223 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Pro-Am and Masters Class competitor Glenn Kirkpatrick in the No. 252 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Both Barron and Kirkpatrick were running in their first event of a select schedule of races this year and each improved throughout the weekend while gaining a solid amount of racing knowledge and understanding of the Type 992 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup platform.
“It was a challenging but ultimately productive weekend for GMG Racing and our four car and driver entry for the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West season opener,” said GMG Racing President and Founder James Sofronas. “Kyle made his intentions clear that he will be fighting for the Masters Class title all season with a pair of podiums, a second overall and an insane qualifying run to third place overall in a rain-drenched session Saturday morning. Patrick proved he has what it takes to compete in the Sprint Challenge Pro-Am championship with a fourth-place run Sunday afternoon in his first major race in a 992-spec Porsche. Jay and Glenn also learned a ton about their 992 cars in a variety of conditions and improved steadily throughout the weekend. It was a big jump for Glenn for sure who had never raced anywhere but at The Thermal Club until this weekend. All in all, some positives across the board and something to build on in the remainder of the season.”
All-day rain Saturday forced race officials to move that afternoon’s scheduled opening sprint race to early Sunday morning, creating an unplanned same-day doubleheader with only a few hours between races. While the Saturday race was scrubbed, that morning’s qualifying session ran as scheduled in the rain, and Washington shined. Calling on his off-road racing experience competing in mixed conditions, Washington qualified an impressive third overall in the Porsche Sprint Challenge field.
Even better, Washington was moved up to the outside front row starting position when the competitor that had posted the provisional pole winning time was sent to the rear of the field due to a penalty. That put Washington in the rare territory of starting on row one in what proved to be an important learning experience.
“It’s great to get off to a good start,” Washington said. “I wish we could have put it in P1, but with two races in one day like this with no real break in between, it was good to get some points on the board out of the box. I’m looking forward to watching a replay of the first race to see where I could have improved a little. We just got such a poor start and that’s just my lack of knowledge and experience being up there. I have rarely started up front, and I was looking at the acceleration cones and the polesitter next to me. I think I lost three or four spots right there, and I will never make that acceleration zone mistake again. There’s no question that cost us the race.”
Despite the early setback, Washington regrouped and worked his way back to the front to challenge eventual race winner and former Sprint West 991 Champion Laura Ely to the finish.
“I was looking for anything to get by Laura,” Washington said. “The most interesting part was the last lap coming out of Turn 5, which is a real heavy brake zone and a 90-degree right turn. We were in traffic, she didn’t get a good exit, but I got a pretty good exit. So, I got up alongside her left side and we raced up the hill, but she was far enough in front of me that she closed the door at Turn 6. It was the right thing to do for her and give her credit. She made no errors, and I followed her for a long time. That’s hard to do. I have had some amazing battles with Laura in the past.”
Mulcahy in turn rebounded from an early spin in unfamiliar conditions in Sunday’s first race to charge to the top five overall and fourth in Pro-Am in that afternoon’s final round.
“The race one start went well but then we had a full course yellow that stacked the field back up,” Mulcahy said. “After the restart, my game was off a little bit, maybe something to do with my first official race weekend, and I had some difficulty getting back in the groove. I wasn’t really familiar with the damp track conditions either because of my lack of experience driving in the wet. That was in my head a little bit too.”
Not happy with the eighth-place Pro-Am result in the opener, Mulcahy went into the second race determined to improve.
“Race two was definitely a time for redemption,” Mulcahy said. “I was very upset knowing I should have done better in race one, and I went into the final with as stronger game plan. I knew I had to do a lot of work to close the deal, but I went out there and executed a clean race.”
Barron and Kirkpatrick each honed their racecraft all weekend, ripping off laps despite the rain and some eye-opening encounters in both races. Barron finished sixth in Pro-Am in both rounds while Kirkpatrick hit the board eighth in Masters in the weekend’s doubleheader.
Next up for GMG Racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West is Rounds 3 and 4 of the series at the Utah Motorsports Campus, May 10 – 12.
The more immediate on-track business for GMG Racing, however, is this weekend’s season-opening SRO Motorsports America where GMG Racing fields entries in Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS and GT America powered by AWS series races at Sonoma Raceway, April 5 – 7.
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.
