Racing under mixed emotions, Global Motorsport Group (GMG) will head to this weekend’s Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, round of the Pirelli World Challenge with a combination of sadness and focus for the team’s respective GT and GT-Cup programs. With the recent passing of long-time technician Sergey Zherebnenko fresh on their minds, team owner and driver James Sofronas will race in his honor in the GT ranks, while GT Cup star Alec Udell will head to the weekend with a strong focus on increasing his current championship lead.

A long-time member of the GMG family and core staff member since 2011, Sergey was renowned for not only his depth of knowledge and skill with just about any machine that entered the team’s building, but also with a special passion for Porsches as well as an incredible ability to bond and forge relationships with nearly everyone he met along the way. At only 30 years old, this was especially evident in watching his progression as a new tech when he first joined the team, to becoming more and more involved on the racing side of the program as the years went on, becoming a staple of the team’s track day events due to his bond with many customers.

In tribute, the team will run a special sticker in his honor during this weekend’s rounds at the famed Connecticut circuit, honoring a crew member who had long admired the team’s involvement in motorsport.

“We will absolutely be racing in tribute to Sergey this weekend, he would have wanted it this way as he always the first to ask me how each race weekend played out during our Monday morning meetings,” stated GMG president James Sofronas. “We pride ourselves on the character of our staff and the strong relationships with our customers that come with it, and Sergey was undeniably part of that core. Over the years he’d become an integral part of our entire organization, and on both a professional and personal level it’s a true loss for everyone here. Sergey was a true character and an absolute joy to work with, and it is with this in mind that we race in his honor this weekend.”

Driving the No. 14 Mobil 1 / Spyder / The Thermal Club Porsche 911 GT3 R, Lime Rock is in many ways a homecoming for Sofronas, who was raised in New York approximately 1 hour south of Lime Rock, before moving to Southern California to pursue his motorsport dream. With the tight and twisty confines of the 1.5 mile course producing notoriously close racing and heavy attrition, the goal for Sofronas will largely play on exercising patience as he navigates the very closely contested field.

In the series’ GT Cup ranks, Alec Udell looks to continue his recent run of momentum in the No. 17 Euroworld Motorsports / Panther Pipeline / Amsource Capital Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Having scored a podium in every event this season, the Clemson University engineering student took a standout victory to kick off the most recent racing weekend in Canada, which allowed him to resume the lead in the categories’ championship standings.

Understanding the incredibly challenging racing that Lime Rock provides, the 20-year old knows that avoiding incident will be the paramount goal for the double-header event.

“Lime Rock produces some of the closest racing on the calendar,” stated the Texas native. “This race always leaves something to talk about, but of course all we want to be discussing is a good result, and that will start with a patient run. We’ve found a lot of speed over the last few races so we know we’re coming in well prepared, the key for us now is to simply stay focused and continue to keep our eye on the big picture.”

Official practice for the event began this morning, with Race One beginning momentarily at 4:55PM ET. Race Two will take place nearly 24 hours late on Saturday, May 28, at 4PM ET. Fans can watch live at world-challenge.com/streamvideo.