GMG Racing reclaimed the GT World Challenge (GTWC) America Pro-Am championship lead with a hard-fought third-place class finish at Barber Motorsports Park.
Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent arrived at the penultimate round three points behind Wright Motorsports’ Dave Musial Jr. and Ryan Yardley after losing the championship lead for the first time this season at Road America. However, the No. 32 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo pairing responded at Barber and produced a nine-point swing in the standings.
Consequently, GMG Racing will carry a six-point advantage into the double-points Indianapolis 8 Hour, where the 2026 Pro-Am championship will reach its conclusion.
GMG Racing overcomes extensive preparations before Barber
GMG Racing faced a significant challenge before the No. 32 Porsche even reached Barber Motorsports Park. The team had endured an early accident at Road America, which ended Washington and Sargent’s race and allowed Wright Motorsports to move ahead in the championship.
In the weeks that followed, the crew completed a chassis tub replacement and flew another Porsche from France as it prepared to return to competition. The team then assembled and prepared the car before the Barber weekend.
However, its workload continued after arriving in Alabama. GMG Racing also completed an unexpected engine and gearbox replacement early in the weekend. Despite the extensive work, Washington and Sargent immediately demonstrated the Porsche’s pace, with the pair topping all three Practice sessions at Barber.
GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas praised the team’s efforts after another difficult weekend ultimately ended with a podium.
“There are a lot of mixed emotions,” said GMG Racing Founder and Principal James Sofronas. “We definitely had the car to win this weekend, but in racing, it’s not all about speed. You have to put everything together. But no doubt, the team worked above and beyond to not only prepare a new car from Europe and then have to replace an engine and a gearbox. With the commitment from Kyle to see this through and the commitment from the team to get everything done, third-place here is almost like a win after all of the adversity we faced and the contact we had today.”
Opening incident leaves GMG Racing fighting back
The challenges continued once Sunday’s three-hour race began. A Pro-Am competitor made contact with Washington during the opening minutes and spun the No. 32 Porsche. Officials subsequently penalised the other driver for the incident.
The contact dropped Washington a lap behind the leaders and left GMG Racing with another recovery to manage. Nevertheless, Washington maintained his pace while the team used its pit strategy to bring the Porsche back into lead-lap contention.
The recovery carried additional significance after the disappointment at Road America. Washington and Sargent had led the Pro-Am championship throughout the opening four rounds before their retirement in Wisconsin allowed Musial Jr. and Yardley to move three points ahead.
Washington therefore left Barber encouraged by both the team’s work and its return to the top of the championship.
“We flew in a new car, re-tubbed one of the original cars, then had to replace the engine and gearbox as there was collateral damage from the incident at Road America,” Washington said. “So, to get a podium out of that is pretty incredible. The crew was unbelievable. I was really depressed after the Road America incident, and now I’m pumped again. Indy is a double-points race, which you have to take into consideration. It means everything. We are going to stay focused, work out for the next 10 days, study Indy and go get it done.”
Sargent completes recovery to Pro-Am podium
Sargent took over the Porsche for the closing portion of the race and continued the team’s recovery. He passed several competitors as GMG Racing worked back towards the front of the Pro-Am order.
The closing stages brought another battle for the final podium position. Sargent eventually moved ahead to secure third in class, completing a substantial recovery after the early contact.
Washington and Sargent therefore finished behind Pro-Am winners Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz of Archangel Motorsports and RS1’s Danny Dyszelski and Jan Heylen. The official GTWC America race report confirmed GMG Racing’s third-place result as the team regained the championship lead by six points.
Sargent highlighted the scale of the recovery after an eventful three hours.
“We were all over the place the whole race, with Kyle getting turned around at the start and going a lap down, so to come back to a podium is huge,” Sargent said. “The car took a lot of hits back there, but it held together in the end. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to drive, but we pulled it together and the car did an amazing job. We did what we came here to achieve. We put the championship back where we deserved it to be, and we have a small buffer going into Indy.”
Washington and Sargent carry six-point lead to Indianapolis
The Barber result marked Washington and Sargent’s fourth Pro-Am podium of the season. Their campaign includes victories at Sonoma Raceway and Sebring International Raceway during the first season of GTWC America’s new three-hour race format.
More importantly, their latest podium transformed a three-point deficit into a six-point advantage ahead of the final round. GMG Racing therefore heads to Indianapolis back in control of the championship, although the double-points format leaves the title battle open.
The recovery also represented an immediate response to Road America, where the early retirement ended the team’s long spell atop the standings. GMG Racing had entered Barber determined to regain the Pro-Am championship lead, and the team achieved that objective despite the difficulties it faced before and during the race.
Sofronas now wants the team to regroup before its final championship challenge.
“Taking the points lead to Indy helps,” Sofronas said. “We are back on the right track, but now we’ve got to regroup, clean these cars up, make sure they are as fast as they were here and look forward to hopefully winning Kyle’s first championship.”
GMG Racing will conclude its GTWC America campaign at the Indianapolis 8 Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 8–11 October. With double points available and only six points separating GMG Racing from its nearest championship rival, the Pro-Am title will remain undecided until the season’s final race.
