Kenton Koch: Chasing Another Championship

Mazda SportsCar Academy driver Kenton Koch appears to be on his way to his third title in as many years, this time in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda.

Perhaps it was no surprise that Kenton Koch won the 2014 Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires. After all, he won the title the year prior in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge, which uses very similar cars. But the IMSA Prototype Lites car is a very different animal. While the idea of Koch winning a title in his rookie year in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda is hardly far-fetched, his utter dominance in pursuing that title, with eight wins out of 10 rounds run so far, has been a shock, even to himself.

"I didn't quite see the season going the way that it has in the beginning before I had even been in the car," says Koch. "First of all, because I had never driven the car before, and it's quite a big step. To say the least, I was surprised at my pace."

The IMSA Prototype Lites car is an Élan Motorsports Technologies sports racer chassis powered by a 2.0-liter Mazda MZR engine producing around 230hp. It's a light, carbon monocoque chassis with a big rear wing – a far cry from the Mazda MX-5.