Koch Leads From Start To Finish At Sebring For First Victory

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2015) – Kenton Koch moved one step closer to a perfect debut weekend in his Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda career, as he led from start to finish to capture Round 1 of the season Thursday at Sebring International Raceway.

Koch, 20, from Glendora, California, started from pole and won under a caution period triggered by separate incidents on the same lap with about eight minutes remaining in the 30-minute race. Round 1 of the 2015 season took place under sunny skies and air temperatures in the mid-80s.

“I feel pretty good,” Koch said. “It was definitely hot out there, and the track was pretty slick. The Cooper Tires did an awesome job of holding up; JDC did an epic job giving me a great car. I just went out there and conserved my tires a little bit. I had some fun out there, and it turned out pretty good.”

Two other young series rookies joined Koch on the Lites 1 podium in their series debuts. Clark Toppe, 17, from The Woodlands, Texas, finished second to give JDC Motorsports a 1-2 result to open the defense of its Team Championship. Nico Jamin, 19, a Frenchman who resides in Coconut Creek, Florida, placed third for ANSA Motorsports.

2014 Lites 1 Masters champion John Falb won that class at Sebring in the No. 77 ONE Motorsports entry, finishing sixth overall. His teammate, Todd Slusher, won the Lites 2 class in the No. 62 ONE Motorsports entry.

Koch had built a lead of 6.274 seconds in the No. 60 JDC Motorsports entry when Ludovico Manfredi and Christian Potolicchio crashed in Turn 17 in separate incidents with about eight minutes remaining. The debris field was too large to clean before time expired in the 30-minute race. Manfredi and Potolicchio were unhurt and cleared to drive in Race 2 Friday.

While Koch cruised to victory, a fierce battle for the final two podium spots unfolded on the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit.

Potolicchio, Toppe and Robert Alon dueled for second and third in between caution periods, with Potolicchio and Toppe making contact on the front straightaway. Potolicchio and another car made contact with about 12 minutes remaining, giving Toppe second.

Jamin climbed from fifth to third over the closing laps.

Masters

Sebring was a bogey track for Falb during his debut season in Cooper Tires Prototype Lites in 2014, as he finished 10th and 21st in his first two races in the series. But he rebounded to win the Masters championship and erased one of the few blots in his ledger from 2014 with a strong drive to victory today at Sebring.

Falb started ninth and climbed to sixth in a steady, composed drive.

“It was a great way to start the season. I just couldn’t be happier with how the car was performing. We just got out there, kept our head down and pushed hard and had a clean race. I’m really happy. I just tried to keep her clean and not repeat last year, and that worked out all right for us. I’ve been all the way across the country trying to figure this place out, and it seems to have come together at the right time. But boy, what a beast of a track.”

Joel Janco, from Key Largo, Florida, finished second in the No. 25 Performance Tech Motorsports entry. Gerry Kraut, from St. Paul, Minnesota, placed third in the No. 55 JDC Motorsports entry.

Lites 2

Slusher continued his strong form from the second half of the 2014 season by opening 2015 with a victory. He took first when leader and two-time defending Lites 2 series champion and pole sitter Brian Alder of BAR1 Motorsports encountered problems during the race.

“It was a difficult race out there,” Slusher said. “Brian (Alder) and I were battling pretty hard. It was just a great race. We had a little trouble, we had a couple bumps out there, but overall I’m just super-happy to finish and be able to start the race tomorrow. It just doesn’t get much better than starting your season with a win. Hopefully we can keep that up this season, but it’s racing and one just never knows.”

John Salmon, from Lynchburg, Virginia, opened his first full season in Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda with a second-place finish in the No. 46 ODU Engineering Race Team car. Salmon raced a limited schedule last season.

Manfredi, from Key Biscayne, Florida, was credited with third in Lites 2 despite his late incident in the No. 30 ANSA Motorsports entry.

Up Next

Round 2, a 45-minute race, is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. (ET) Friday. For live updates on all the action, follow @IMSALive on Twitter. For live timing, visit scoring.imsa.com.

For more information about Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, visit www.imsa.com, follow hashtag #CTPL @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

ROUND 1 POST-RACE QUOTES:

KENTON KOCH (No. 60 JDC Motorsports, winner): “I feel pretty good. It was definitely hot out there, and the track was pretty slick. The Cooper Tires did an awesome job of holding up; JDC did an epic job giving me a great car. I just went out there and conserved my tires a little bit. I had some fun out there, and it turned out pretty good. As soon as I saw the final yellow, and I was like, ‘Well, crap,’ but I definitely didn’t want a restart. I saw the wreck. I think it was Christian (Potolicchio) and the other ANSA car. I hope they’re OK. It looked like the cars were pretty torn up, so I knew it was going to finish under yellow. Not what you want, but it’s OK.”

CLARK TOPPE (No. 10 JDC Motorsports, second): “It was pretty tough. I did go off in Turn 13 once and had to recuperate and catch back up to (Robert) Alon and (Christian) Potolicchio. Just moved my way up to the front. But it was definitely a hard-fought battle for a podium finish for JDC. It’s a great feeling, getting a podium. It’s so difficult and getting a podium here is awesome. It’s really awesome.”

NICO JAMIN (No. 4 ANSA Motorsports, third): “It feels very good for me and for the team to open the season on podium. It is a small team, and I gave them their first L1 podium. It was a pretty crazy race, two full yellows, It was all about changes. I stayed on track, I had the correct pace, but they (Kenton Koch and Clark Toppe) were faster than me. I knew I had to be smart and keep the car on track. I guess I did a good job. I finished third; it’s pretty good. I’m just ready for the race tomorrow.”

JOHN FALB (No. 77 ONE Motorsports, first Lites Masters): “It was a great way to start the season. I just couldn’t be happier with how the car was performing. We just got out there, kept our head down and pushed hard and had a clean race. I’m really happy. I just tried to keep her clean and not repeat last year, and that worked out all right for us. I’ve been all the way across the country trying to figure this place out, and it seems to have come together at the right time. But boy, what a beast of a track.”

JOEL JANCO (No. 25 Performance Tech Motorsports, second Lites Masters): “We thought we had a good chance to at least podium if not win. We tried our best; we were smart about it. This is my best finish ever in IMSA Lites. I’m very happy about that.”

GERRY KRAUT (No. 55 JDC Motorsports, third Lites Masters): “Joel Janco and I were having a pretty good race. We came together in (Turn) 1, touched, but we didn’t lose it. Then (Jon) Brownson spun in front of me, and I had to back off to avoid hitting him. Otherwise, I would have had Janco in my sights, I think. Great day, great weather, great series.”

TODD SLUSHER (No. 62 ONE Motorsports, winner Lites 2): “It was a difficult race out there. Brian (Alder) and I were battling pretty hard. It was just a great race. We had a little trouble, we had a couple bumps out there, but overall I’m just super-happy to finish and be able to start the race tomorrow. It just doesn’t get much better than starting your season with a win. Hopefully we can keep that up this season, but it’s racing and one just never knows.”

JOHN SALMON (No. 46 ODU Engineering Race Team, second Lites 2): “It went really well for me. Attrition is sometimes my friend, and it was for me today. It was hot and fast and bumpy – just such a great track. What a great time. I should have some good video. I had a lot of action in front of me that I was able to avoid, which can be a crapshoot but worked out well for me.” (About starting full season with podium): “It’s just the most amazing thing ever. I never thought I would be able to drive a race car and come to a place like this and a race like this. It’s just a complete bucket list item.”

LUDOVICO MANFREDI (No. 30 ANSA Motorsports, third Lites 2): “My brake pedal went soft in Turn 17. It had been starting to get soft a lap or two before, but that time it went all the way to the bottom. So I hit the outside of 17. Now we’re hoping the car is fixable for tomorrow.”