Headed into this weekends Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, James Sofronas and the entire Global Motorsports Group (GMG) knew that the double-header event would play a critical role in Sofronas pursuit of his first-ever Pirelli World Challenge Series GT championship. Luckily for the team, repeat podium finishes accomplished just that.Were not walking away with the point lead, but we made big gains this weekend, stated Sofronas. I hate seeing Johnnys misfortune work to our benefit, but this championship is about getting everything we can out of every event, and this weekend was a big swing for us.Starting from the second row during Saturdays round, the GMG team owner and driver took to the race with the knowledge that championship points were crucial for his No. 14 Mobil 1/Childrens Tumor Foundation Audi R8 LMS. Running in a very competitive lead pack, the highlight for the Villa Park, California resident came on an opportune pass over Randy Pobsts No. 6 Volvo to seal third position. Not only did the pass bring Sofronas back to the podium for the first time in three races, but it also earned him the Cadillac Move of the Race award. Unfortunately, the very Cadillac he was chasing in the championship, Johnny OConnells No. 03, was one position ahead in second.Heading into Sundays race, the 12th round in the championship, Sofronas knew that finishing ahead of OConnell would be the only way to turn his championship position. Flying up to second during the races standing start, an early pass by Randy Pobst would put Sofronas back into third position, fighting hard with OConnell to defend his podium spot. As the two began to duel, the No. 14 began to settle into a rhythm, building a slight gap before fate intervened. Just past the halfway point, OConnells No. 3 Cadillac pulled into the pits with apparent damage to the front end of his car, forcing the championship leader to retire. It would put James at ease for the rest of his race, finishing comfortably in third and now sitting just 13 points behind OConnell.We really needed this for the championship, continued Sofronas. Theres only two races left, and every point counts. Its going to be a straight fight between Johnny and I at Sonoma and Houston. All we can do is keep our heads down and stay focused.Aiming for his first podium finish in Pirelli World Challenge competition was Duncan Ende, who once again had unfortunate luck during this weekends events. Qualifying his No. 24 STANDD / Merchant Services, Ltd. Audi R8 LMS in seventh for Saturdays race, Ende was well on his way to a possible top-five finish, but a flat tire would send the Los Angeles native to the pits just past the halfway point. Although Duncan was able to return to racing one lap down, there simply wasnt enough time to gain on lost ground, eventually finishing 12th.For Sundays round, a sixth-place qualifying effort would net Duncan a sixth-place finish. While it may sound like a quiet event from the results, Endes race was anything but quiet. Running a one-off event for Cadillac, the highly touted Jordan Taylor would race closely with Ende for much of the race, with the two making light contact throughout the event. Ende would also incur damage after a tag from behind by Andy Pilgrim's Cadillac, causing his car to emit smoke as a result of his tire rubbing against bodywork. However, despite the damage and a nagging vibration, the No. 24 would take sixth place.It wasnt quite the weekend we wanted, but it was a fun race today, stated Ende. There was definitely a bit of argy-bargy out there, but it was good racing and well just set our sights on Sonoma. It will be nice to race in California again, hopefully that will be where we finally get the results we want.Driving the No. 08 Spyder / Lasso Audi R8 LMS, Alex Welch would have a relatively quiet weekend as well. During Saturdays event, the Colorado native would translate his eleventh-place start into an eighth-place finish. Today, Alex would have a similar run, taking his ninth-place start into a seventh-place result. Welch has also elevated himself to ninth in the championship standings.Im very happy to take two top-10s on the weekend, stated Welch. The guys did a great job getting the car ready, and overall Im satisfied to have clean runs that brought back-to-back podiums.Finally, Bill Zieglers No. 95 Swisher Racing Audi R8 LMS would also run a fairly quiet and trouble-free event. On Saturday, the Floridian would take his twelfth-place start to an eleventh-place finish, and would one-up his results today with an eleventh-place start and tenth-place finish.It was a quiet weekend for us, but I enjoyed it, stated Ziegler. There werent any major dramas with the car, which is a testament to the team, and we did our best to get into the top ten. Im happy weve been able to get top tens during each weekend weve raced this car, and Sonoma should be even better for us.Taking a two-week break, the entire GMG organization will head to Sonoma, California for the Cadillac Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, August 25. With everything on the line for the Pirelli World Challenge GT championship, the event will once again serve as a pivotal weekend for GMG.Highlights of this weekends action will be broadcast on Sunday, August 18th at 2PM ET on NBC Sports.