Following a difficult weekend that saw the team off the podium for the second time all season, Global Motorsports Groups (GMG) James Sofronas and Duncan Ende ended yesterdays Honda Indy Toronto in fourth and sixth, respectively. As the 10th round of the Pirelli World Challenge Championship, it was a major blow to the teams title hopes, with Sofronas falling to second in the championship for the first time in eight rounds.
Im just really gutted right now, stated a disappointed Sofronas. The car really started to come into its own during the second half of the race, but we had a wheel sensor fail and that caused my tires to lock up. The rest was history.
Starting the race from third, the No. 14 Mobil 1 / Childrens Tumor Foundation Audi R8 LMS of James Sofronas was originally poised for a strong race. Running his trademark steady first half of the race before mounting a charge, the Villa Park, California resident found himself up to second by the races halfway point. As the championship point leader, Sofronas main rival, Johnny OConnell in the Cadillac CTS-V.R, was right ahead, and the Audi driver knew that he had to pass OConnell in order to maintain his title defense.
With the race heating up in the later stages, Sofronas inexplicably spun headed into the treacherous turn three, losing ground and several spots before getting the car turned around. As it turned out, a wheel sensor on the rear of the No. 14 machine had failed, causing the systems ABS system to stop operation without James having any warning.
Though he would recover with minimal damage, a late-race charge would only manage fourth. As only the fourth time in ten races that he would fail to make the podium, the slip in championship hopes is easily the most devastating part of the equation.
We spent the first half of the season looking really, really good in the championship, stated Sofronas. All of a sudden, two bad weekends and were in second. The Cadillac is really strong at the moment and I dont see how were going to be able to keep pace with the current Balance of Performance. We were in the championship lead because of our consistency and Cadillac's unreliability, and now were in a hard spot to catch up. Its crazy to me that our worst finish was sixth, once, and every other race has been in the top four including three wins, and were not leading this thing.
Having a similarly disappointing, but quiet race was Los Angeles native Duncan Ende. Struggling with handling and with little time on a track he hadn't driven in over six year, the No. 24 STANDD / Merchant Services, Ltd. Audi R8 LMS would both qualify and finish in sixth.
Losing one place at the start, Endes familiarity with the tricky Toronto street course began to increase as the race wore on, eventually taking a spot back during the second half of the event. Running an otherwise quiet race, Ende would take solace in gaining one place in the championship, currently sitting seventh.
It's been a while since I've driven here, and with such little seat time it was definitely interesting to come up to speed, stated Ende. Admittedly I was hoping for more this weekend, weve had some good runs recently, but at least we gained in points. The guys did what they could to give me a good car, well just go from here.
With a small break between Toronto and next round at Mid-Ohio, GMG will regroup with an emphasis on getting their cars back to the front and taking over the championship lead. The 11th and 12th rounds of the championship will take place on Saturday and Sunday, August 3 and 4, with live coverage on www.world-challengetv.com.
