SONOMA, California (March 30, 2025) – The majority of key moments in history happen only once, and GMG Racing and its pair of new McLaren Artura Trophy teams made the most of a milestone motorsports opportunity Saturday at Sonoma Raceway with a double-pole and race-winning performance in the inaugural series race of the new SRO McLaren Trophy America championship.
John Capestro-Dubets and co-driver Andrew Chinnici, in his professional competition debut, drove the No. 4 GMG Racing McLaren Trophy Evo to a convincing overall and Pro-Am-class victory from the pole.
The winners were joined on the overall victory lane podium by GMG Racing driver and team founder and principal James Sofronas, who finished second in the Am division and fifth overall in the No. 14 GMG Racing McLaren Trophy Evo.
“Getting the first overall win was certainly special, because there’s only one opportunity to do that,” Sofronas said. “I’m incredibly proud of the team for their efforts and the long nights that definitely took place leading up to today. Despite zero testing on these cars after receiving them a week ago, the GMG boys – with a lot of support from McLaren Newport Beach – hustled hard to get them ready. I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that we would have strong cars.”
The pole-winning No. 4 took advantage of a fast and trouble-free run up front with both Chinnici and Capestro-Dubets at the wheel. In the team’s mandatory pit stop, “JCD” took the No. 4 over from Chinnici and charged back to the front with just under 10 minutes remaining to retake a lead he would hold until the checkered flag. The No. 4 crossed the finish line with a 2.498 seconds margin of victory.
It’s definitely feeling really good right now,” Capestro-Dubets said. “Andrew put me in a great spot to bring it home, so I’m just very thankful that it ended the way it did. He worked really hard to be here, I’ve worked really hard to be here, and we wouldn’t be here without our car owner Kevin King making all of this possible. This win is for him. I’m so grateful to be part of the debut victory and be a part of this brand new series. It’s just an incredible experience, and I can’t say thank you enough to the GMG Racing family.”
Chinnici has been impressive throughout what is incredibly his first major race weekend. Prior to Sonoma, he has only raced sporadically the last few years in SCCA and Skip Barber competition, but is well familiar with GMG as one of the team’s driver coaches at its headquarters operation at The Thermal Club.
“Andrew is one of our driver coaches and does a lot of work at the Porsche Experience Center, so his car control is incredibly impressive,” Sofronas said. “His teaching techniques work well with our clientele, many of whom are jumping into motorsports for the first time. We knew he would be up to this challenge.”
Coming home a winner in a debut weekend he was expecting to be a learning process amazed even Chinnici.
“It’s incredible,” Chinnici said. “It’s amazing. Leading up to the weekend, you hear stories from people saying ‘hey, don’t do that, it’s too short notice,’ but this has just been incredible. It’s blown my expectations out of the water and is super impressive by GMG Racing. I have not raced a lot. This is actually my first professional race. I’m a big fan, have done a lot of SIM racing, and I have some natural talent. Thankfully, I also have had a lot of really supportive mentors that have made me better and better.”
Chinnici prevailed in a hard-fought battle for the first-ever McLaren Trophy pole earlier on Saturday with a top time of 1:38.752 (86.929 mph) on his final flying lap of the session. He edged Sofronas by a scant 0.069 of a second for the all-GMG Racing front row.
Sofronas won the pole in the Am class, turning the second fastest overall time in qualifying, to join an impressive Chinnici for a GMG Racing front row lockout. The twin GMG McLarens led their respective classes in the race’s opening minutes before Sofronas dashed into the pits early to serve the required mandatory stop.
Unfortunately, Sofronas lost valuable time after a pit stop delay due to timing technical miscue. He returned to the race out of the Am lead and in sixth overall. Keeping the pressure on, Sofronas moved to second in Am and cracked the overall top-five before the checkered flag.
“It was a little unfortunate about my situation,” Sofronas said. “But for the most part, we had the pace but we had a technical error with our timer in the pits and we were in there way too long. You live and learn, and these things happen, but it won’t happen again today to end the first McLaren Trophy weekend on a high note. What I love about the McLaren Series is that the manufacturer is amazing. They put on a great event for all the drivers and guests last night, they do a great job with hospitality, they are very committed to motorsports, and the team and the managerial staff have been very supportive. We look forward to running these cars the rest of the season and building our program.”
The pair of McLarens at Sonoma are the first of five Arturas that GMG Racing takes delivery in the coming weeks. King, owner and the main “Am” driver of No. 4, missed the Sonoma opener to tend to a personal matter.
“Kevin now has the first-ever North American McLaren trophy-winning car,” Sofronas said. “We expect to see him for the next race at COTA, but this was nice for Andrew and JCD to deliver the win for Kevin. It always makes it a little more special when your car shows performance and takes the overall win. We’re looking forward to having Kevin back and developing these cars even more. I think we’ll get them even faster.”
Sunday’s second and final McLaren Trophy America 50-minute race of the Sonoma weekend is scheduled to start at 10:25 a.m. PDT.
All of the Sonoma weekend’s race can be viewed live on MAVTV and the GTWorld YouTube channel. at youtube.com/GTWorld.
About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001,GMGRacing 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 state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility relocated last year to The Thermal Club and a 28,000 sq. ft. trackside motorsports facility. 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 the company support its customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona, Montreal, COTA and The Thermal Club, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.
