Koch Clinches IMSA Lites

Kenton Koch Secures the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites crown with two races left to run; John Falb wins Lites 1 Masters.

Continuing his march up the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy ladder, Kenton Koch scored first- and third-place finishes at VIRginia International Raceway, more than enough to claim the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda championship with the Road Atlanta rounds left to run.

It's Koch's fourth championship in as many years, having won the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge, MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge and Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires. Koch, of Glendora, Calif., has won nine races out of 12 rounds so far.

In addition, John Falb captured the Lites 1 Masters championship for the second straight year.

Koch entered the weekend with a 54-point lead over JDC Motorsports teammate Clark Toppe. He needed to leave Virginia with a 40-point lead to claim the championship, and left ahead by 52.

That's thanks largely to winning the first race of the weekend, leading a JDC Motorsports podium sweep of Round 11. Toppe, from The Woodlands, Texas, cut short Koch's chance for a weekend sweep by taking the Round 12 victory.