Cheng, GMG Close Season with Top-Three in Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America Standings

Following a mixed event during the season-ending round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America at Sebring International Raceway, driver Jeffrey Cheng would cap a successful debut season with an overall of third in the season-ending rankings.

“I’m really proud of what Jeffrey and the whole team accomplished in such a short amount of time,” stated GMG team owner and co-driver James Sofronas. “These cars are very fast, but the platform of the series is very inviting to someone like Jeffrey who’s never raced at this level. We came in as prepared as we could, and Jeffrey drove incredibly patient to hold his own during both races, and his place in the championship standings is proof of that. Rob also did a great job during his run, and showed great pace as always. We would have loved to take a run at the World Final race, unfortunately it just wasn’t conducive to our schedule.”

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Entering the week with three podiums to his credit, Jeffrey immediately took to the tricky confines of Sebring International Raceway in his No. 88 Lamborghini Newport Beach / Vorsteiner Huracán LP 620-2. Having never raced at this level prior to his debut at Virginia International Raceway in August, both driver and team knew that a cautious approach would prove the intelligent choice, and the Newport Beach, California native did his job perfectly.

During Thursday’s Race One, Cheng would hold his own without putting a scratch on the car, handing the car over to co-driver and coach James Sofronas who would move the car back up through the field into fourth. During Friday’s Race Two, Cheng would once again show remarkable improvement setting some of his fastest laps of the week, handing the car back over to Sofronas who would make instant work of the field in front of him. Moving from ninth to sixth overall, the Villa Park resident showed strong pace, however a minor series of setbacks would force Sofronas to back off, eventually being classified in fourth by time the checkered flag fell.

The series of finishes would prove strong enough to elevate Cheng to third in the Pro-Am category series standings, a remarkable feat considering he missed the first round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

“I really enjoyed it out here, Sebring is such an amazing venue,” stated Cheng. “The team did a great job getting me prepared, and the opportunity to race on such a historic facility with such an amazing car was a tremendous opportunity. I can’t thank James and everyone at the team enough for getting me here, it’s a great series and fantastic for a guy like me.”

Driving the team’s No. 32 entry, Rob Phillips would unfortunately have a challenging weekend. After setting some incredibly quick times in practice and qualifying, the Californian would suffer an incident in Race One that would end his week prematurely.

“It’s disappointing for sure, but that’s how this sport can work,” stated Phillips. “We definitely had the pace to be competitive, but sometimes these things happen and luckily the car held up pretty well. Thanks to James and everyone on the team for doing a great job.”

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Unfortunately, a series of travel conflicts kept the team from participating in the World Finals, however, the team can go into the off-season knowing the strengths to enhance for 2016.

With the 2015 racing season officially behind, the team will now focus on a number of programs for 2016, including efforts to continue in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America as well as an expanded program in the Pirelli World Challenge.

(all photos courtesy of Jamey Price)

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