Kenton Lee Koch
(born July 5, 1994) is an American racing driver who competes in the
GT4 America Series
The GT4 America Series is a sports car racing series based in the United States. In 2019, the series was relaunched with the explicit GT4 title, following the alignment in 2017 of the Pirelli World Challenge series "GTS" class with SRO GT4, and t ...
,
Michelin Pilot Challenge
The Michelin Pilot Challenge is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. Originating from the Canadian Motorola Cup, the series was taken over by Grand-Am in 2001 to become the Grand-Am Cu ...
, and
IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Career
Early career
Koch's interest in
motorsport
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
began at an incredibly young age, through avenues such as
karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
and watching his father compete in
off-road racing competitions on the weekends.
At age six, Koch attended the
LA Auto Show with his father, where he was introduced to karting.
Although he was too young to compete at the time, once Koch turned eight, his parents presented him with his own kart.
Skip Barber and Mazda MX-5 Cup
Koch's transition into cars began in 2010. He himself stated that karting wasn't initially a career path, but after a strong performance in a
Skip Barber
John "Skip" Barber III (born November 16, 1936) is an American retired racecar driver who is most famous for previously owning and founding the Skip Barber Racing Schools.
Driving career
Barber started racing in 1958 while studying at Harvard ...
-promoted karting shootout, Koch earned a half-scholarship to compete in the Skip Barber Western Regional Series.
During the opening weekend of the season at
Laguna Seca, Koch claimed two podiums and a race victory, leaving the event joint-top of the points standings alongside Thomas McGregor. However, Koch wouldn't compete beyond the first weekend. In 2011, Koch graduated to the Skip Barber Summer Series, where he would claim three podiums and one race win through 12 races, taking seventh in the championship.
2012 saw Koch transition into
sports car racing, taking part in the Skip Barber-sanctioned
Skip Barber Mazdaspeed Challenge, which ran as a support series to the overall
SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup. He had a strong rookie season, claiming 17 victories through 20 races and taking a podium in every race.
Owing to his championship success and subsequent funding, Koch advanced to the Pro Challenge for 2013 – the top class of the Skip Barber Mazda series.
It was another successful season, where Koch claimed nine victories through 11 races, setting five track records and claiming his second consecutive championship.
His championship title came with a $75,000 scholarship, as well as acceptance into the
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
Sports Car Racing Academy. Koch also took on a coaching role at Skip Barber Racing School's
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
facility.
For 2014, Koch utilized his scholarship to compete in the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup. He joined Alara Racing, who had claimed the most recent series title with driver
Christian Szymczak
Christian Szymczak (born March 4, 1974) is an American racecar driver who competed in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2001 and 2002, finishing 11th and 8th in points in his two years, respectively.
In 2013 Christian won the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy ...
. Koch once again enjoyed a strong season, winning six of the first eight races, including a weekend sweep at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...
, culminating in a championship title at year's end – his third in three years. At the conclusion of the season, Koch traveled to
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
to take part in the
Team USA Scholarship shootout. At the conclusion of the season, Koch traveled to Mexico to take part in the
FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy
The FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy is a programme founded by the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety and Sustainability to develop young driver talent worldwide.
In its first year (2011) the Institute selected 12 drivers to take pa ...
.
Prototype racing (2015–2017)
Following his MX-5 Cup championship in 2014, Koch graduated to the next level of the Mazda pyramid for 2015, taking part in the
Mazda Prototype Lites
IMSA Prototype Challenge (formerly IMSA Prototype Lites) is a racing series featuring two classes of single-seat prototype cars racing simultaneously. The series is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). Most races are ...
championship thanks to a Mazda-provided scholarship. In his first season of prototype racing, Koch once enjoyed a successful season, winning the opening race at
Sebring and sweeping the weekend at
Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
en route to 11 race victories and a season championship. Koch's victory tally tied
Tristan Nunez's single-season Prototype Lites wins record. At the conclusion of the season, Koch set his eyes on a drive in the
IMSA SportsCar Championship for 2016, owing to his $100,000 prize package for winning the 2015 championship.
Koch began the 2017 season with a part-time IMSA drive, competing in the Prototype Challenge class with
JDC-Miller MotorSports, his IMSA Prototype Lites employer. JDC had already confirmed
Mikhail Goikhberg
Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg (born 24 November 1986), is a Russian-born Canadian race car driver who is best known for competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Early career
Goikhberg's first foray into driving happened in 2003 at the Russia ...
and
Stephen Simpson
Stephen Simpson (born 8 January 1984) is a South African-American professional racing driver currently competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and previously in the A1 Grand Prix, Champ Car Atlantic Championship and the Indy Pr ...
as their full-time drivers for the season, restricting Koch to an Endurance Cup-only role for 2016.
His first race of the season, the
2016 24 Hours of Daytona
The 2016 24 Hours of Daytona (formally the 54th Rolex 24 at Daytona) was an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned 24-hour automobile endurance race for Prototype and Grand Touring sports cars held at the Daytona Internatio ...
, saw the entry claim the PC class victory.
Koch himself rebounded from an earlier incident to bring the car home in the final stint. Following the race, Koch claimed that he'd "never driven so slow in
islife" during that final stint, as he aimed to maintain the multiple-lap gap the entry had to the second PC class car.
After returning to the team for a fourth-place finish at the
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...
, Koch was left without a seat for the immediate future. For the final two Endurance Cup events of the season, Koch joined fellow Prototype Challenge competitors Performance Tech Motorsports, joining full-time drivers James French and
Kyle Marcelli. After a runner-up finish at
Watkins Glen, Koch entered the final round of the season at
Road Atlanta in contention for the Endurance Cup title in the PC class.
However, despite a second place finish in the season finale, Koch finished runner-up in the championship.
For 2017, Koch returned to the newly-christened
IMSA Prototype Challenge
IMSA Prototype Challenge (formerly IMSA Prototype Lites) is a racing series featuring two classes of single-seat prototype cars racing simultaneously. The series is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). Most races are ...
as his principal drive for the season. From 11 races, Koch claimed ten podiums and seven race victories, including his first race of the season at
Barber alongside weekend sweeps at Mosport,
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
, and Road Atlanta. However, as he didn't compete in the opening round of the season – a double-header at Sebring – Koch fell eight points short of champion
Colin Thompson and would settle for second in the championship. Although the series was a step down from the IMSA SportsCar Championship, Koch viewed the season as an opportunity to "stay current," maintaining his presence in the IMSA-sanctioned paddock. Koch also supplemented his 2017 program with one-off events in the
Le Mans Cup
The Le Mans Cup, previously the GT3 Le Mans Cup and currently known as the Michelin Le Mans Cup under sponsorship, is an international sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club ...
, where he paired with Joël Janco in a
Ligier JS P3
The Ligier JS P3 is an LMP3 Le Mans Prototype. It was created by Onroak Automotive, and named in partnership with former French driver Guy Ligier. It was built to meet ACO LMP3 standards, and is active in various LMP3 championships worldwide, such ...
, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where he featured in
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports is an American sports car racing team that currently competes in the LMP2 class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
History American Le Mans Series
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports began entering the series with the ad ...
' lineup for the Detroit event, and the
Pirelli World Challenge, where he and
George Kurtz
George Kurtz is the co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. He was also the founder of Foundstone and chief technology officer of McAfee.
Early life and education
Kurtz grew up in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey and attended ...
claimed pole for the SprintX GTS Pro-Am event at Mosport before retiring.
Coaching and customer drives (2018–present)
Koch's 2018 season began again at
Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
, where he embarked on a pair of programs for P1 Motorsports. Koch took on a full-time drive alongside Janco in the
2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge
The 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda is the thirteenth season of the IMSA Lites series and its successors and the second season as the IMSA Prototype Challenge. The season features 6 races across 6 weekends.
Series news
*2018 is ...
, with the entry capturing a season-best sixth place finish in the opening race of the season. Koch also appeared for the team's IMSA SportsCar Championship effort in the first two races of the season, with the team finished 12th in the GTD class at Daytona, then 18th at Sebring. Koch's final 2018 program involved a part-time drive in the
2018 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge
The 2018 Continental Tire SportsCar Championship is the nineteenth season of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the fifth season organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
Classes
The class structure adds the TCR cat ...
, where he joined Tom O'Gorman behind the wheel of an
Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
The Audi RS 3 LMS TCR is a racing car built according to the TCR rule system. It is based on the Audi RS 3 sedan. It has also undergone significant widening, as well as racing spoilers have been fitted to the car, as well as the appropriate rol ...
.
After making their debut mid-season at Watkins Glen, the duo claimed race victories at Virginia and Road Atlanta before season's end.
2019 saw Koch's full-time program revolve around the
Michelin Pilot Challenge
The Michelin Pilot Challenge is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. Originating from the Canadian Motorola Cup, the series was taken over by Grand-Am in 2001 to become the Grand-Am Cu ...
, where he took on a full-time drive in the GS class for eEuroparts.com
Rowe Racing
ROWE Racing is the motor racing team of the German lubricant
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces ...
, driving alongside Tyler Cooke. Through seven races before the team folded, Koch claimed a sole pole position at
Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
, with the duo finishing 18th in the GS championship. Koch also took part in one-off appearances with Robillard Racing and Polestar Motor Racing in the IMSA Prototype Challenge during 2019.
Koch teamed up with driver coaching client Bryan Putt for the 2020 season, taking part in the
2020 GT4 America Series
The 2020 Pirelli GT4 America Series is the second season of the GT4 America Series. The series is split into a Sprint series, which features 50-minute races with one driver per car, and a SprintX series, which features one-hour races with two driv ...
SprintX season in the Pro-Am Cup with
BSport Racing. As the team was competing in
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
machinery, Koch also entered the
Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...
Driver Academy, with the winner receiving factory support for the 2021 season. Koch returned to the academy in 2021 and 2022, although wasn't selected for factory support during any of the three seasons. Koch and Putt claimed seven class podiums over the course of the 2020 season, including five straight between the second race at
Sonoma and the third race at Road America, finishing fifth in the class championship.
Koch returned to BSport in 2021, finally breaking through for the team's first race victory in GT4 America at VIR. The team would claim five total podiums that season, finishing second in the Pro-Am cup to Nolasport's Jason Hart and Matt Travis. Koch also competed in the
2021 24 Hours of Daytona
The 2021 24 Hours of Daytona (formally the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona) was an endurance sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The event was held at Daytona International Speedway combined road course i ...
with
Mühlner Motorsport in the LMP3 class, driving alongside Moritz Kranz,
Stevan McAleer, and
Laurents Hörr. The team won the 100-minute qualifying race with Hörr and Kranz at the wheel, and set the fastest lap in their class en route to a third-place finish in the 24-hour event. Koch also completed one-offs in the IMSA Prototype Challenge, driving for One Motorsports, and the
24H Series
The 24H Series is a sports car racing and touring car racing series developed by Creventic and with approval from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It features GT3-spec cars, GT4-spec cars, sports cars, touring cars and 2 ...
, where he won the GTX class of the
2021 24 Hours of Sebring driving for Leipert Motorsport. At the end of the season, Koch traveled to
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
to take part in the
WEC Rookie Test, driving an
Aston Martin Vantage GTE.
2022 saw Koch once again take part in a number of GT4-based series. He once again continued with BSport Racing, claiming three class victories over nine races – including a weekend sweep at Sonoma – and finishing sixth in the Pro-Am championship. Koch also debuted in the
GT4 European Series during 2022, driving alongside Dutch driver Thijmen Nabuurs in a Silver Cup entry fielded by Team Spirit Racing. The duo only competed in the first four rounds, finishing a season-high sixth at
Paul Ricard
Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...
. Their 43 championship points earned them a tenth-place finish in the Silver Cup classification. Koch's most prolific 2022 program took place in the Michelin Pilot Challenge. Koch took part in a handful of races alongside GS championship hopeful Eric Foss, after his scheduled co-driver Jeff Mosing suffered a rib injury. Koch claimed the GS-class pole in both of his first two races with the team, the latter of which ended in a class victory for himself and Foss at Mid-Ohio. The duo claimed another victory later in the season at Road America, completing Koch's run in the championship.
In 2023, Koch returned to the IMSA SportsCar Championship, taking part in the Michelin Endurance Cup as Team Korthoff Motorsports' third driver. With BSport shutting down after the 2022 season, Koch also changed teams for the
2023 GT4 America Series season, joining Random Vandals Racing. Koch also took part in select Michelin Pilot Challenge events for the team. In GT4 competition, Koch and co-driver Kevin Boehm claimed three race victories and seven additional podium finishes, ending the season third in the Silver Cup classification.
BSport Racing
Koch and his wife, Dani, formed BSport Racing in 2020, designed to support Koch's driver coaching client Bryan Putt.
The team was initially born out of the ashes of eEuroparts.com Rowe Racing's TCR operation, with whom Putt had been leading the DSG class of the
2019 TC America Series before the team's closure near the end of the season.
The team moved to the
GT4 America Series
The GT4 America Series is a sports car racing series based in the United States. In 2019, the series was relaunched with the explicit GT4 title, following the alignment in 2017 of the Pirelli World Challenge series "GTS" class with SRO GT4, and t ...
in 2020, partnering with CSJ Motorsports to field an
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 in the Pro-Am class. Following the 2022 season, after several seasons of competition in GT4 America, the team ceased operations.
Sim racing
Throughout his career, Koch has used
sim racing to prepare for real-world events, as well as for fun.
During the hiatus caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Koch took part in a number of virtual racing series, including the IMSA
iRacing
''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...
Pro Series and
SRO America's GT Rivals series. On the IMSA side, he claimed victory in the Pro Series event at
Virginia International Raceway
Virginia International Raceway (commonly known as "VIR") is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan ...
after a race-long battle with
Jesse Krohn.
Personal life
During his racing career, Koch attended
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
, initially majoring in mechanical engineering before shifting to a business focus.
Koch stated that his education was "just as important as racing," and that it assisted him off-track in the racing world.
Since 2014, Koch has carried a small good luck charm in his car of
clay animation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
character
Gumby.
Early in his career, Koch donned a Gumby-inspired race suit to promote Gumby Fest, held in his hometown of
Glendora, California.
In 2014, Koch's mother was listed for a
heart transplant
A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...
, and officially underwent surgery in 2015.
As a result, Koch partnered with Donate Life America, whose logo would adorn his racing cars.
In association with
Mazda Motorsports, Cal State Fullerton, and Project Yellow Light, Koch took part in a driver safety campaign with local California high school students in 2017.
Racing record
Career summary
* Season still in progress.
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
* Season still in progress.
References
External links
Kenton Kochat Motorsport.com
Kenton Kochat GT4 European Series
{{s-end
1994 births
Living people
Racing drivers from California
Sportspeople from Glendora, California
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
12 Hours of Sebring drivers
Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Le Mans Cup drivers
24H Series drivers
GT4 European Series drivers
JDC Motorsports drivers
Rowe Racing drivers
GT World Challenge America drivers
Duqueine Team drivers