– Veteran Prototype Driver Field and Current Top Talent Koch Both Lead in Two Hour Race for Scant 1.682 Seconds Margin of Victory in Pro-Am in the No. 37 One Motorsports Ligier
– Tobias Lutke and Travis Hill Secure Am-Class Win in No. 22 TWOth Autosport Ligier
SEBRING, Florida (March 10, 2024) – Kenton Koch pulled off the winning pass heading into the white flag lap and went on to take a narrow 1.682 seconds margin of victory over James French to win Saturday’s inaugural HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA two-hour race in the No. 37 One Motorsports Ligier JS P3 with co-driver Jon Field. French, who co-drove with Alex Koreiba, secured runner-up honors in the No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P3 while John Reisman and Eric Curran finished third in the No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P3.
The debut race of the new HSR and IMSA series for LMP3 machines was a competitive and at times thrilling race from the drop of the green flag. After starting driver Field impressed by leading every lap of his race-opening stint, Koch took over the One Motorsports No. 37 for the final 75 minutes.
The top on-track driving by both the veteran Field and contemporary sports car racing front runner Koch was backed up by great race and pit strategy by One Motorsports. With teams required to make three pit stops during the race, One made the call to check two of them off in near succession on laps 20 and 22.
The back-to-back visits to the pits dropped the No. 37 up to 30 seconds behind leader French, but the Wolf team’s third and final stop put the No. 25 back on track just in front of a fast-closing Koch.
Setting the fastest lap of the race of 1:59.014 on lap 36, Koch steadily charged to the front throughout his stint, setting the stage for a nose-to-tail battle with French when pit stops for both competitors were completed with less than 15 minutes to go.
Koch made the winning pass on the penultimate lap when a slight bobble by French going into Turn 15 opened the door to the lead. French in turn kept the pressure on Koch as they took the white flag moments later but never got close enough to attempt retaking the lead in the closing minutes.
Reisman and two-time IMSA WeatherTech Prototype champion Curran, who made a return to racing after a multi-year hiatus, stayed in touch with the leaders throughout the race and joined the top-two finishers as the only three competitors to complete 52 laps in the race’s two hours.
Prototype Challenge Am-class honors went to Tobias Lutke and Travis Hill in the No. 22 TWOth Autosport Ligier JS P3. The win came in just Lutke’s second and biggest race to date after previously competing in the TWOth P3 last November in the HSR Daytona Historics at Daytona International Speedway.
Next up for the IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA is a another two-hour feature race at the 46th HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, April 26 – 28.
Noteworthy:
– While French came up just short in his battle for the Prototype Challenge win, he did score a victory in the first hour of Saturday’s race in another thriller. The LMP3 Prototype Challenge main event shared the track with HSR Group 6 competitors that ran their own race in the first 60 minutes of the overall two-hour event. French pulled double duty, also driving the 2010 No. 7 Panoz DP02 with Ralph La Macchia in the Group 6 contest. As the starter waved both the green flag for the LMP3 race and the checkered for the Group 6 teams one hour in, French pulled off a winning pass in the final turn of the race for the victory.
– Veteran prototype driver Field earned the unique honor of now having led the opening laps of an inaugural series race twice in his long and accomplished career, although both feats are nearly 25 years apart. In the inaugural Grand American Road Racing Association (Grand-Am) race at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2000, Field took the green flag in fourth place at the race start but passed several top competitors – such as James Weaver and Ralf Kelleners – to lead the first laps in Grand-Am racing history. Not surprisingly, the Ford-Lola B98/10 Field drove in that race carried his same and trademark No. 37 that is also on Saturday night’s winning LMP3.
Jon Field, Driver – No. 37 One Motorsports Ligier JS P3: “These are just really good prototype cars, and just watching Kenton and James French at the end there was phenomenal for me, even as a spectator at that point. I really was happy with my drive at the beginning of the race. I was able to keep them behind me, and it was just great. It was fun. I have been running Radicals, but I am happy to be back in bigger Prototypes.”
Kenton Koch, Driver – No. 37 One Motorsports Ligier JS P3: “It’s a good concept. We have all of these P3 cars lying around, and we should be doing something with them. So why not bring them here and race against some good guys. There’s a lot of good guys out here right now. Being able to have the chance to work with and co-drive with Jon Field is a real honor. He has such a history. It was a good battle we had going with James. He got off the corners really good. We were better in the second half of the straightaway, and he was better in the first half. The only way I was able to get by him was to get into his mirrors a little bit. He made a couple of little mistakes, which gave me some clean air on the front of the nose of the car. Then I could get the exit I needed because in these ‘areo’ cars if you get close to someone you can’t get an exit. I got him off the apex one time and that was all I needed to get by him for the lead down into Turn 15.”
James French, Driver – No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P3: “It was an inaugural event, and you never know exactly what to expect, but for me it’s just a real privilege to be able to race with these guys. I have been working with the Wolf guys for a couple of years as a driver coach, a friend and just hanging out. My co-driver Alex and I have been friends for a while, and we have been doing lots of sim-racing together. To actually have the chance to put everything together and have a good series like this to showcase these P3s and how reliable, quick and fun they are to drive is a great experience. It was a great event. I have been racing with Kenton for a long time. It’s awesome to have a good battle with him. We always have good battles. He pushes me hard, and I like to think I push him hard. Great to see him out there, we tried to put on a show for everybody and keep it competitive. We came up just a bit short, but we will try again next time.”
John Reisman, Driver – No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P3: “I think it is a great concept for all of the LMP3 cars, a great series and it is always so much fun racing with HSR. It’s great they are now with IMSA, and we are looking forward to the series growing. It was my first race in a P3, it’s different, but I have a really good coach in Eric to help me through it.”
Eric Curran, Driver – No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P3: “This is a lot fun. It is great to be back at Sebring. It’s been, I think, five years since I was here and the last time, we won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the Whelen car. It’s so cool to be back here. I kind of stepped away from racing for a couple of years, but my good friend John was like ‘hey, let’s get one of these LMP3 cars and go do some IMSA HSR racing.’ It’s so much fun, we have become great friends, and he does an unbelievable job behind the wheel for not being a pro. It’s great stuff. Hudson Historics and all of those guys on the team just do a phenomenal job. It’s fun to be here at Sebring, fun to finish on the podium, but we want to move up a couple steps in the next few races. We will be here all season and we are looking forward to it.”
Tobias Lutke, Driver – No. 22 TWOth Autosport Ligier JS P3: “Prototype racing is the best, this track is so amazing, and we would like to share the fun. We want more competitors out here, and it is just great, great racing, especially on a nice evening in Florida. That’s never a bad idea! I drove at the beginning and raced into the sunset. Turn 7 was directly into the sun, which was an entirely new experience, but that’s OK. This is a lot of car! These things are just really good fun.”
Chris Ward, HSR President: “We couldn’t be happier with the highly competitive inaugural HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA race Saturday night at Sebring International Raceway with a two-hour event nothing short of entertaining throughout and an absolute thriller at the end. We can’t thank One Motorsports, Wolf Motorsports, Hudson Historics and TWOth Autosport for their early commitment to our newest series and for collectively setting a competitive cornerstone on which this championship will be built. Their performance Saturday night is a clear endorsement that Prototype Challenge will only grow, and we have already heard from numerous additional competitors, both at Sebring and away from the track, who look forward to joining the action. On to The Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and the work to bolster the series with even more cars and competitors starts now.”
About HSR: An International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) property, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/ and on Twitter and Instagram at @HSRrace. A dedicated website for the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA is available at www.Classic24hour.com.
