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Koch Reigns Supreme in Wet, Shortened Round 4 At NOLA

Lites 1 podium finishers (from left): Matt McMurry, Kenton Koch, Austin Versteeg. [Photo Courtesy Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series]

Lites 1 podium finishers (from left): Matt McMurry, Kenton Koch, Austin Versteeg. [Photo Courtesy Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series]

AVONDALE, La. (April 12, 2015) – Kenton Koch completed a weekend sweep of Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2015 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series at NOLA Motorsports Park with a win Sunday.

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) officials ended the race, scheduled for 30 minutes, early due to unsuitable racing conditions created by heavy, persistent rain. The race was yellow-flagged after 13 minutes and red-flagged eight minutes later, with the checkered flag unfurled shortly thereafter.

Kenton Koch won both races this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park from the Cooper Tires pole.

Koch, 20, from Glendora, California, led from start to finish for the second straight race in the No. 60 JDC Motorsports entry. It was the third victory of the season for championship leader Koch.

“It was a benefit starting out front today,” Koch said. “I was able to just put down the laps. But the track was pretty treacherous. I did have a blast out there. JDC, Cooper Tires and everyone did a great job out there, especially Mazda Motorsports for giving me the opportunity.”

Koch’s JDC Motorsports teammate Matt McMurry finished second in the No. 20 entry, with Austin Versteeg finishing third in the No. 16 Performance Tech Motorsports Élan DP02 chassis powered by a Mazda engine on Cooper Tires.

The race already was shortened from a scheduled 45 minutes to 30 minutes due to schedule changes for the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana caused by rainy weather Saturday.

Heavy rain fell during the entire race Sunday, which fell under caution after four laps around the 13-turn, 2.75-mile circuit when Michal Chlumecky’s car went off course. Championship contender Clark Toppe also had an incident that left debris on the front straight as rain intensified.

Toppe’s accident and other weather-related incidents caused IMSA officials to throw the red flag. The race never resumed due to the rain and wet track conditions. All of the drivers involved in incidents were unhurt and cleared to drive.

Reigning Lites 1 Masters Champion John Falb, from Las Vegas, finished first in class and fifth overall in the No. 77 ONE Motorsports entry. Teammate Todd Slusher, from Las Vegas, completed a Lites 2 sweep of the weekend in the No. 62 ONE Motorsports entry, finishing eighth overall.

Masters

After starting sixth overall, Falb gained one position through the shortened race to earn his third victory of the season, extending his Lites Masters points lead.

“The rain kept coming down, and they couldn’t keep the track clear, and it was like a lake going down the back straight,” Falb said. “Unfortunately, these cars aren’t too good in the rivers, and it caused a lot of headache for people. But we ended up doing a couple of 360s, but other than that, we kept it clean enough and brought it home.”

Performance Tech Motorsports driver Joel Janco, from Key Largo, Florida, is 4-for-4 for podium finishes this season after placing second in his No. 25 Prototype Lites entry. Gerhard Watzinger, from Miami, placed third in the No. 32 ONE Motorsports entry for his second podium finish this season.

Lites 2

Slusher earned his third victory of the season and has finished on the podium in all four rounds this season, extending his championship lead. He was caught in an incident under caution late in the race that precipitated the red flag but preserved his victory because he led the last completed lap.

“With all the spray and all the puddles, it was hard to control the car,” Slusher said. “Probably the worst thing is not being able to see and having cars stop in front of you in the spray, and you can’t see them until you’re on them. I love driving the cars, I love the track, but this track in the rain is not one to play around with.”

Brian Alder, from Dublin, Ohio, found his way the podium for the first time this weekend with a second-place finish in his No. 22 BAR1 Motorsports entry. John Salmon, from Lynchburg, Virginia, rounded out the top three in the No. 46 ODU Engineering Race Team entry.

Up Next

Rounds 5 and 6 of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda will take place June 25-27 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, during the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

For more information on Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, visit www.imsa.com, follow the hashtags #CTPL and #MRT24 on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

ROUND 4 POST-RACE QUOTES

KENTON KOCH (No. 60 JDC Motorsports, winner): “It was a benefit starting out front today. I was able to just put down the laps. But the track was pretty treacherous. I did have a blast out there. JDC, Cooper Tires and everyone did a great job out there, especially Mazda Motorsports for giving me the opportunity.”

MATT McMURRY (No. 20 JDC Motorsports, second): (Are these the toughest conditions in which you’ve raced?): “This isn’t the toughest. There were two races that were tougher. Road Atlanta in Skippy (Skip Barber), where it was pouring harder than this, and then at Le Mans. The first stint I had out in the race, it started pouring and I was on slicks, so that was hard.” (About changing location of puddles on circuit): “There were huge puddles everywhere. You would just be going down the straightaway, and all of the sudden, ‘Whoa!’ there was big oversteer and hydroplaning over a puddle. I could probably count the number of times I’ve driven in the rain on my fingers, so I’m pretty happy with what I did. I stayed on the track.”

AUSTIN VERSTEEG (No. 16 Performance Tech Motorsports, third): “I feel really, really good about this finish. We had a little bit of luck in Race One, but I really feel good, development-wise, as far as driving and just getting comfortable in the car and with everything. I’m really excited to have got my first podium. Of course, now I want more, so I’ll be looking to improve at the next race at Watkins Glen.”

JOHN FALB (No. 77 ONE Motorsports, first Lites Masters): “It was frankly too wet. The rain kept coming down, and they couldn’t keep the track clear, and it was like a lake going down the back straight. Unfortunately, these cars aren’t too good in the rivers, and it caused a lot of headache for people. But we ended up doing a couple of 360s, but other than that, we kept it clean enough and brought it home.” (Toughest conditions you’ve raced in?): “Yeah, flat out.”

JOEL JANCO (No. 25 Performance Tech Motorsports, second Lites Masters): “We had a really good race today. We were driving our best race ever in the rain. We moved up to seventh place overall and second in Masters. We had a good shot at first in Masters, we thought, but I was hit from behind under caution. Fortunately, I wasn’t injured, but the car was. I still wound up on the podium. Thanks to Performance Tech for doing a great job and (driver coach) Jonatan Jorge.”

GERHARD WATZINGER (No. 32 ONE Motorsports, third Lites Masters): “That was pretty much the wettest and craziest race that I’ve ever done so far. It was standing water everywhere. Fortunately they called it off at the end.” (About the challenge): “The biggest challenge was because the conditions changed lap by lap. So you had a puddle on the left-hand side on one lap, and then on the next lap the puddle was gone, and you had a puddle on the right-hand side. It changed lap by lap.”

TODD SLUSHER (No. 62 ONE Motorsports, winner Lites 2): “With all the spray and all the puddles, it was hard to control the car. Probably the worst thing is not being able to see and having cars stop in front of you in the spray, and you can’t see them until you’re on them. That happened numerous times. Unfortunately at the end there, it got me. It’s kind of a disappointing day overall. I love driving the cars, I love the track, but this track in the rain is not one to play around with.”

BRIAN ALDER (No. 22 BAR1 Motorsports, second Lites 2): “From the drop of the green, it was just trying to keep it on the road. Worst conditions I’ve ever driven in. We were just trying to hold our position and do what we could to catch up. We were looking to have a good race. We’re just happy to get out of this one with no damage today. Take the points. I want to say a big thanks to Top 1 Oil for their continued support for this race, and we’re looking forward to coming back at Watkins Glen.”

JOHN SALMON (No. 46 ODU Engineering Race Team, third Lites 2): “I do a lot of swimming to train to drive these cars, and I think today that probably helped me out. I feel like I could have dove out of the car and swam around the track almost as fast. I couldn’t see much at all, and it was just a matter of keeping the car on pace and trying to keep my position. I got lucky and got to start in front of Max (DeAngelis) today, so I just basically watched my mirrors to make sure he wasn’t coming around and tried to stay clean.”

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