With a chronic back injury that has plagued him all season, Global Motorsports Group (GMG) principal James Sofronas has elected to sit out this weekend’s triple-header for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America at VIRginia International Raceway. Continuing the team’s commitment to top-level performance, New Zealand’s Matt Halliday will step in to replace James, co-driving with series’ newcomer Jeffrey Cheng.

“It’s disappointing for sure, but when I woke up this morning, I thought it was in the best interest of the team to sit this one out,” stated Sofronas. “With a guy like Matt Halliday around, it was clear we had someone who could step in and still deliver the level of performance and experience we promised to Jeffrey, so it just seemed like an obvious move. Matt is an excellent talent who has proven himself in multiple categories, our car is in great hands!”

Following yesterday’s round of practice, the fast corners and constant elevation changes proved a physical challenge for Sofronas, with the high g-loading of his No. 88 Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 aggravating a pre-existing injury. While the combination of Sofronas and Cheng proved formidable during the opening day’s practice, the availability of Halliday made for a seamless transition to today’s official practice sessions. Halliday, with experience ranging from Porsche GT3 competition, to Australian V8 Supercars, to even the former ChampCar Series, took part in the North American debut of the prodigious Huracán at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca just three months ago for another team. Setting some of the fastest times on the debut weekend, Halliday became an instant commodity, and proving a fantastic fit for GMG.

“Of course you hate to jump in under these circumstances, but James has been fantastic during this whole process,” stated Halliday. “It’s clear with GMG that their customers and their product are their priority, and James absolutely showed that today. It’s been great working with Jeffrey so far. For someone with limited experience, he’s acclimating incredibly well and I look forward to seeing how this all progresses.”

Getting up to speed quickly, the duo of Halliday and Cheng set the fourth fastest time in class during today’s practice, and with some new discoveries on their car headed in to tomorrow’s races.

Race One will take place at 11:20 AM ET tomorrow, with Race Two occurring just seven hours later at 6:40 PM. Race Three will take place on Sunday at 10:30 AM ET.