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09-28-2015, 06:31 PM #1
GMG Driver Development Program Continues With Lamborghini Super Trofeo in Austin
"Following the most recent double-header week of competition for Global Motorsports Group (GMG) and the entire Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America, GMG drivers Jeffrey Cheng and Rob Phillips showed tremendous improvement throughout last week’s festivities at the famed Circuit of the Americas in Austin.“Overall I’m pretty happy with the incredible effort of everyone on the team,” stated GMG team owner James Sofronas. “The week went went pretty flawless for all of us. Jeffrey was tremendous, especially for being new to this level of competition. CotA is a really tough track, super fast and super technical, but he worked his way up to speed with a tremendous amount of patience and maturity. Rob had never been in one of these machines before this race, and to get in and go as quick as he did is a great testament to both Rob and the team. All of our guys have had a busy few weeks jumping back and forth between programs, so to keep the motivation as high as they have is a great testament to their commitment.”
Driving the No. 88 Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2, drivers Jeffrey Cheng and James Sofronas took to the week after an amazing debut event in which Cheng scored triple podiums at VIRginia International Raceway. Headed to Circuit of the Americas, however, Cheng knew that the challenges of the Formula One-spec circuit would create a unique challenge for the rookie. Having never driven at the venue before, the Newport Beach resident showed great patience in getting up to speed, improving over five seconds from his first session to his last. During Thursday’s Race One, the duo of Cheng and Sofronas would take sixth in the Pro-Am category, followed by seventh in Race Two. Between Race One and Race Two alone, the No. 88 car would show an improvement of two seconds, and fourth fastest in class. Equally noteworthy, Cheng made zero major mistakes on the weekend, bringing the car back without a scratch and setting the team up well for the next round at Road Atlanta.
“After the weekend at VIR, we knew this would be more of a challenge,” stated Cheng. “Circuit of the Americas is definitely a challenging course, and my expectations were a lot more modest headed in to the weekend. I’m of course disappointed that we didn’t quite have the same results as our last race, but we expected that and overall I’m happy with the progress we showed. Everyone at GMG did a great job preparing the car, and we can walk away with a certain sense of satisfaction. I’m really looking forward to Road Atlanta and seeing what we can do.”
In the No. 32 Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2, Rob Phillips would also show well during his maiden run in the series. A veteran of other sportscar series, the driver had never taken to Lamborghini competition before, also showing tremendous improvement over the week’s action. Competing in the AM category, Phillips would set the second fastest lap during Thursday’s Race One en route to a fourth place finish, however contact would force him to retire early from Friday’s Race Two.
“COTA was an excellent opportunity to get some initial seat time in the car and explore the competition,” stated Phillips. “The car is simply a blast to drive! I was very impressed with the quality and professionalism of the series, and am really excited to progress further with the team next week at Road Atlanta.”
With less than two weeks until the next round at Road Atlanta, the crew at GMG is already hard at work preparing their vehicle for the next series of races. Race One will take place next Thursday, October 1 at 2:15 PM ET, with Race Two taking place on October 2 at 5:25 PM ET.
(all photos courtesy of Jamey Price)"
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