- Koreiba and French Take Overall and Pro-Am Victory in Two-Hour Race After a Competitive and Controlled Drive in the No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320
- Jordan Menzin Solo Drives to Am-Class Victory in Prototype Racing Debut in the No. 18 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320
BRASELTON, Georgia (April 28, 2024) – Shaking off the lingering memory of a narrow loss in the season-opening race last month at Sebring International Raceway, Alex Koreiba and James French broke through for a convincing HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA victory in the No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Saturday at the 46th Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The Wolf team and drivers arrived at Michelin Raceway determined to take the victory after being just edged for the win in the inaugural series race in March at Sebring. French was passed for the lead as the field came down for the white flag at Sebring and crossed the finish line in second just 1.682 seconds out of first place.
Saturday night at The HSR Mitty, the No. 25 team controlled the race from the start as Koreiba built a comfortable lead from the pole. Although the winners fell out of the lead as team’s made their mandatory three pit stops, the No. 25 always cycled back to the front and were never challenged on track for the top position.
Wolf’s biggest threat for the win looked like it was going to be Sebring winners Jon Field and Kenton Koch in the No. 37 One Motorsports Ligier JS P3. The No. 37 team’s only laps of the weekend were in Saturday’s race as Field and Koch spent the previous days victoriously competing with the One Motorsports team in Radical Cup competition at nearby Barber Motorsports Park.
Despite the lack of track time, Field steadily worked up through the order after starting last. He charged to the top five just 20 minutes into the race and was in second place at the race’s 45 minute mark. A rematch of Sebring’s fight to the finish appeared to be on, but just minutes later the No. 37 slowed on course unexpectedly when the car ran out of fuel before the team had planned to pit.
The team lost several laps after being towed to the pits and restarting, and after a mid-race stint by Koch, Field and One Motorsports made the decision to retire the No. 37 with no realistic chance of moving up any positions, let alone taking the win.
Second overall and in Pro-Am went to John Reisman who unexpectedly drove solo in the No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P320 after his professional teammate and driver coach Eric Curran fell ill earlier in the weekend.
Third in Pro-Am and overall went to the family team of brothers Nigel Saurino and Josh Saurino in the No. 57 Ligier JS P3. Both Reisman and the Saurinos battled in the top three for the majority of the race but neither could ever get close enough to challenge the Wolf team for the lead and Pro-Am class win.
The overall and Pro-Am top three was followed to the finish line by Am-class winner Jordan Menzin in his prototype competition debut in the No. 18 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320. Menzin crossed the finish line a solid fourth-place overall and was joined in the race’s top five by second-place Am-class finishers Timothy Day and Wyatt Foster in the No. 8 Ligier JS P3.
Third-place Am-class honors went to Tobias Lutke and Travis Hill in the No. 22 TWOth Autosport Ligier JS P3. After an uncontested Am-class win in the Sebring opener, TWOth and its drivers welcomed the competition at Road Atlanta where they left with the Am-class championship points lead.
Next up on the HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA schedule is a 90-minute race part of HSR’s Classic 6 Hour at Watkins Glen International race weekend, June 6 – 9.
James French, Driver – No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320: “It was a fantastic rebound after Sebring. It was a very stressful last 10 laps at Sebring and this couldn’t have been more different. Alex did a fantastic first stint and we timed a yellow right, so we got a nice cushion there. It gave me a huge lead and the car was just an absolute joy to drive. It was just a matter of bringing it home in one piece and enjoying the ride. We are very happy to see the series growing, absolutely, there is a huge demand for a series like this. They are fantastic cars, super reliable, fast and great to learn in, so it is great to see it grow. We are hoping for even more competition and more teams joining in.”
Kenton Koch, Driver – No. 37 One Motorsports Ligier JS P3: “Jon was doing great. Jon does very well getting through a pack quickly and getting used to a car quickly, and the fact he was able to march his way through the field was pretty awesome. The car was prepped well and pretty quick, but unfortunately, we had the little issue in the beginning when the car ran out of fuel well before we were expecting it to. We also had some communication issues on the radio side, and Jon accidentally went one lap longer than he needed to and we weren’t able to make it back to pit lane. We barely missed it, almost made it back. It hurts, we tried to do our best and get to the end of it but we were too many laps down to really have it make a difference. It was great to see more cars here for this event and hopefully we will see even more cars in the future.”
Jordan Menzin, Driver – No. 18 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320: “It was just an awesome experience. The whole thing was just a high-speed blur. I really enjoyed every aspect of it and worked pretty hard in testing and a couple of races in WRL last year. I am just really happy to now be driving this LMP3 car and working with a great team with Performance Tech Motorsports, and I am looking forward to more. I honestly can’t thank everyone on the team enough. They are really amazing to work with, a family run team, and they really care about my development as a driver as a number one priority. The pit stops were great, really smooth and we just made sure to be a little cautious coming down this big hill into pit lane.”
Chris Ward, HSR President: “The Mitty marked another significant growth step in just the second race of the HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA, and we have to thank, as we did after the inaugural race at Sebring International Raceway, the competitors who have joined in and believe in this championship. We had double the cars this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta than we did for the Sebring opener, and take some pride in the fact that Saturday’s 10 race starters matched the field competing in the IMSA VP Challenge event at Daytona in January. Of course, we will continue to work tirelessly in bringing additional top teams and drivers to the championship, but we leave Atlanta pleased with the additional progress and look forward to even more. We are already looking forward to the next round at Watkins Glen International in early June.”
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 @HSR_race. A dedicated website for the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA is available at www.Classic24hour.com.
