With the Pirelli World Challenge entering the final four weekends of the season, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) will head to this weekend’s 13th and 14th rounds at the famed Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with all attention turned to championship leader Alec Udell. Engaged in an incredibly tight two-way battle for the GT Cup category championship, Udell heads to the scenic Ohio circuit, a track he’s won at previously, with all focus on strengthening his point lead. The team’s usual No. 14 Porche 911 GT3 R driven by James Sofronas will unfortunately be absent due to a schedule conflict for the team owner.

“We want to make sure Alec has every resource available to him this weekend, and we’re providing just that,” stated GMG team owner James Sofronas. “It’s been an incredible championship fight for him up to this point, and we’re all in awe of his performance every weekend. With the points as close as they are, we all understand how critical it is that he have a perfect car, and in such we want to make sure all of our efforts are focused solely on him. Everyone on this team wants to see him succeed, and the guys have been working incredibly hard on making sure that happens. It’s a shame I personally have to miss the event, but we’ll be back stronger than ever during the final three rounds, and with some of the developments we’ve been working on they should be great weekends for us.”

Driving the No. 17 Euroworld Motorsports / Amsource Capital / Panther Pipeline Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the 20-year old heads in to this weekend’s rounds with a 38-point lead in the series championship, the largest gap achieved in 2016. While the Texas native has had a remarkable season that has meant seven wins, including the last three consecutively, title-rival Sloan Urry has also achieved four wins and podium finishes in every race so far this season. With both drivers literally standing on the podium in every race so far, the importance of perfect reliability and a steady drive is at a premium.

“Our approach has been working over the last few races, and we can’t deviate from that,” stated Udell. “We all understand how critical these next few races are, and at a place as tough as Mid-Ohio we’re not taking anything for granted. Obviously the best way to score points is to win, which we were able to do last year, and that’s what has worked for us so far, but we can’t afford to take any risks. Luckily I have an amazing group of guys in GMG and it’s reassuring to know we’ll have a well-prepared machine. It’s going to be a daunting weekend, but if we can have the same type of run we’ve had, it will bode very well for our final few weekends.”

Competing as another joint weekend with the Verizon IndyCar Series, the 13-turn, 2.26-mile road course promises to be one of the more exciting rounds on the calendar. With a series of rolling hills, elevation challenges, and limited passing opportunities, the mixed-class nature of the Pirelli World Challenge should prove exciting for both fans and competitors alike. Viewed as one of the classic circuits in North America, GMG has enjoyed multiple successes at the venue, including a victory by Udell in 2015.

Official practice begins tomorrow, July 29, with Race One taking place on Saturday at 4:35PM ET. Race Two will take place the following morning on Sunday, July 30, at 11:15AM. Live coverage can be found at www.world-challenge.com/streamvideo.