George Staikos

George Staikos is a Canadian racing driver hailing from Toronto, Ontario. Born on July 12, 1978, Staikos embarked on his racing journey later in life, making his debut at the age of 40 after several years of track days with the AMG Driving Academy. Before entering the world of professional racing, Staikos worked as a software developer and owns GRS Autosport. His passion for racing ignited after connecting with the AMG GTR, which propelled him from being one of the slowest to the fastest in his driving academy group.

Staikos's racing career includes participation in various series, including the IMSA Prototype Challenge (LMP3), IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, and the WERC endurance series. He has driven both Norma LMP3 cars and Mercedes-AMG GT4 cars. Notably, he secured a Bronze Cup victory in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at his home track, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in 2023 driving an Ave Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Tony Ave. In his first year of racing, he achieved six podium finishes, including two overall wins, competing in NASA, CTCC, and CASC races. Danny Kok, who also heads up the AMG Driving Academy Canada, has coached him.

Staikos's journey into professional racing has seen him behind the wheel of various machines, including an Adess LMP3 car and his own Norma M30 in the NASA WERC endurance series. In 2021, he secured a second-place finish in every race of the IMSA season, ultimately winning the season championship in the Norma. More recently, he has been competing in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge in a Ligier JS P320. Racing Sports Cars indicates that between 2019 and 2024, he participated in 17 events with 14 finishes and that he achieved a best result of 7th on three occasions.