– Koreiba and French First HSR Prototype Challenge Repeat Race Winners with Overall and Pro-Am Victory in the 90-Minute Race in the No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320
– Third Different Am-Class Winner to Start the Season as Timothy Day and Wyatt Foster Charge to the Victory and an Overall Podium Finish in the No. 8 Pierce AutoSport Ligier JS P3
WATKINS GLEN, New York (June 14, 2024) – Winning teammates Alex Koreiba and James French drove the No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320 to their second Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA overall and Pro-Am race win in a row while a victorious Am-class co-driver stole the show last Saturday at Watkins Glen International.
Koreiba and French are the first repeat race winners in the inaugural season off HSR’s new series for LMP3 cars, but Saturday at The Glen they shared the victory lane spotlight with Am-class winners Timothy Day and Wyatt Foster in the No. 8 Pierce Autosport Ligier JS P3. Day and Foster are the third different Am-class winners of the season but the first to finish on the overall podium following Foster’s fast and furious late charge to the finish for the class victory and third place overall result.
Picking up where they left off in April with their first Prototype Challenge win at the HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Koreiba and French put in another controlled and fast-paced performance from the pole. The Wolf team was never seriously challenged for the race lead, losing it only momentarily when the field pitted for mandatory stops but cycling back to the front.
While Wolf’s victory was never closely threatened, the No. 25 team’s 28.232 second margin of victory in the 90-minute race was closer than it looked on track.
Competing for Upstate New York-based Hudson Historics, John Reisman and his professional coach and co-driver Eric Curran finished on the lead lap and kept the pressure on in second place, ready to pounce if the No. 25 faltered. The Pro-Am duo of Reisman and Curran co-drove the No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P320.
Third in Pro-Am went to the sister No. 47 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P320 of Bob Neapole and Guy Cosmo, which also finished the race on the lead lap. The No. 47 finished fourth overall, however as Day and Foster each set personal best laps to seal the Am victory and secure a spot in the overall podium in the No. 8 Ligier.
The third-place showing was the first time an Am car appeared in an overall Prototype Challenge podium, and Foster’s run of fastest race laps made it clear it was not a fluke. While the winning Wolf team was in “cruise and collect” mode in the race’s late stages, and the No. 74 Hudson entry seemed to settle into its second-place pace, Foster was absolutely flying on track.
Foster repeatedly set fastest race laps and clocked in with the race’s official top lap of 1:41.451 (120.649 mph) on Lap 41.
While Wolf extended its Pro-Am points lead with its second straight win after a second-place showing in the series debut race at Sebring in March, the Am-class may provide the championship drama this year. The No. 8 Pierce entry was the third different Prototype Challenge Am winner in as many races this season.
Jordan Menzin won the Am race in his prototype competition debut in the No. 18 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320 at Road Atlanta. An uncontested Am-class victory in the Sebring opener went to Tobias Lutke and Travis Hill in the No. 22 TWOth Autosport Ligier JS P3, who also finished second in Am at The Glen on Saturday.
With the first half of the inaugural HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA now in the books, next up for the series is a two-hour feature race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, September 19 – 22, during the HSR Fall Historics.
James French, Driver – No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320: “Alexander did an amazing job. Put it on pole, gave me a very comfortable lead and a nice gap to manage. He was very easy on the tires for me, so we carried the same set throughout the race. It made the out-lap a bit easier, not having to manage the cold tires. The team did a great job with the set-up. We were definitely struggling a bit on Thursday with the rear of the car, it was very loose and nervous. So we made all changes in one direction to help the oversteering, and by the race it was perfect. This win gives us a little bit of breathing room in the championship.”
Eric Curran, Driver – No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P320: “I’m co-driving with my good buddy John Reisman through all of these races, and we’re having a great time. Johnny did a great job, it took him a little bit to get up to speed, but he really got going fast, but by the time he really got going the leader had stretched out a bit of a lead. You know we had a green race, no caution laps, so the field didn’t group up and I jumped in after 45 minutes. I pushed hard but we were just too far back. We closed that gap a little bit on the leaders but just not enough. But you know, super fun. These LMP3 cars are a blast, and HSR is doing a great job.”
Wyatt Foster, Driver – No. 8 Pierce AutoSport Ligier JS P3: “We did a lot of upgrades on our car from Road Atlanta, so it was nice to finally implement them. Having the car much more dialed in was a big help for this race for us in terms of just speed compared to the rest of the group. I have been training with Tim, getting him up to speed in the car because he’s new to this platform too and he is doing a great job. It’s a lot heavier with a lot more power, so he’s getting used to that. Now that we’ve got the suspension redone, we’re making little tweaks and changes to try to make it drive a little bit better for us too. It’s already much better, we’re all happy with it, and hopefully at the next race we’ll come out and get a little bit faster.”
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.
