Following a hard-fought, caution-filled event during Sunday’s ReplayXD Grand Prix at Long Beach, Global Motorsports Group’s (GMG) Brent Holden was able to turn a clean drive in to his first podium at the historic event. Not putting a scratch on his car despite multiple incidents around him, Holden would take third in the series’ GTA category.

“It’s great to be able to leave the weekend with a podium, this is something every driver aspires to at Long Beach,” stated Holden. “Any time you visit a street course, you know that patience is usually rewarded, and that was our strategy this weekend. I picked up a lot of tire buildup during the first yellow and the car was crazy loose for a while. Fortunately, the tires came back and I ran some laps close to my qualifying time. My focus was just on trying to keep it on the track and bring home my first ever Pirelli World Challenge podium. I send out my thanks to James, Nev, Ruben, Frank, Aki and the rest of my friends at GMG.”

Driving the No. 44 Audi R8 LMS ultra, this would serve as the seventh visit to Long Beach for Holden. A resident of Southern California himself, the race presented a rare opportunity to drive in front of several friends and guests on hand, with the scenic street-course providing an ideal venue for event hosting.

Starting from the 10th row, Brent took the green flag with a cautious approach, knowing the tricky confines of the course are notorious for creating incidents and caution flags, which would prove true after just three laps. Biding his time through the assorted cautions, the race would resume with Holden focused firmly on the field in front of him, slowly working his way up the grid as the race progressed. With a series of yellow flags continuing to bring the field together, the race’s attrition was high as usual, with the No. 44 avoiding incident and eventually finishing third.

Meanwhile, for James Sofronas in the team’s lone GT category entry, the No. 14 Mobil 1 / The Thermal Club / Spyder Porsche 911 GT3 R would fall victim to the circuit’s challenges, with early contact forcing the team to retire early. Starting from the ninth row, the Villa Park, California resident was off to a strong start, pushing hard to chase down the field in front of him during the opening laps. Unfortunately, during the third lap Sofronas would make a rare error, clipping the inside barrier as he turned in to the tricky Turn Eight, which in turn pushed the car straight and in to the No. 6 McLaren of Austin Cindric, forcing the Mclaren in to the wall and Sofronas with damage to his machine. James would pit for immediate repairs, and while the team would send the car back out once they felt it was safe to continue, Sofronas eventually elected to retire the car due to the extent of the damage.

“This was a tough one, but I have to accept full responsibility,” stated Sofronas. “I just got it wrong. We were all pushing hard, and when we came in Turn Eight I just barely clipped the corner; that was all it took. I immediately went over to apologize to everyone at K-Pax Racing as well as Austin, as he did nothing wrong. It’s a tough way to go out, especially being our home race, but these things happen and we’ll just get on with it. Thanks to all of the guys and everyone who work so hard to make this event what it is, we’ll get them next year.”

With another Long Beach Grand Prix in the history books, the team has little time to reflect as the series heads to its next event in less than one week, with the entire Pirelli World Challenge heading to Birmingham, Alabama, competing at the scenic Barber Motorsports Park. A full release, including team lineup, will come shortly.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kirk Keiser and Circle Porsche