Inaugural HSR Prototype Challenge

Kenton Koch pulled off the winning pass on the penultimate lap of the inaugural HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA two-hour race, and went on to win in the One Motorsports Ligier JS P3 with co-driver Jon Field.   In what was an all-Ligier JS P3 podium, the pair took a narrow 1.682 second margin of victory over James French, who co-drove with Alex Koreiba in the Wolf Motorsports car, while John Reisman and Eric Curran, driving for Hudson Historics, finished third.

The debut race of the new HSR and IMSA series for 20 year-old LMP3 machines went into dusk on 10 March, and was competitive from the drop of the flag.  After starting-driver Field impressed by leading every lap of his race-opening stint, Koch took over for the final 75 minutes.  The fine 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 get two of them done in near succession on laps 20 and 22.   The back-to-back stops dropped them down to 30 seconds behind leader French, but the Wolf team’s third and final stop put its car back on track just in front of a fast-closing Koch.

Setting the fastest lap of the race, Koch steadily charged ahead throughout his stint, setting the stage for a nose-to-tail finale.  A slight wobble by French was all it took for Koch to make the winning move, minutes from the chequer.

While Field and Koch drove in the Pro/Am class, Tobias Lutke and Travis Hill were the first Am/Am team home, also in a Ligier.