ROCK HILL, S.C. (May 11, 2022) – Eight weeks after the 12 Hours of Sebring, CORE autosport is finally back on track for Round Three of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP3 season. The series is headed to the Midwest and the classic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Mid-Ohio has traditionally been a challenging circuit for CORE; in the team’s 13 years of operation, it has only been on the podium at Mid-Ohio once (2012). Last year, Jon Bennett and Colin Braun finished one spot shy of the podium, so perhaps CORE’s record at Mid-Ohio is trending upward.
Perhaps the trickiest part of Sunday’s race will be managing traffic with 34 cars racing on the 2.258-mile track that has some of the shortest straightaways on the IMSA calendar. Another factor to consider is weather; there is a 50 percent chance of rain on race day.
Noteworthy
- CORE autosport is currently fifth in the LMP3 team standings while Jon Bennett and Colin Braun are also fifth in the LMP3 Drivers’ Championship.
- Jon Bennett qualified second for last year’s Mid-Ohio race.
- Bennett and Braun’s best finish at Mid-Ohio is fourth in last year’s race.
- Bennett celebrated his 57th birthday last week on May 4.
Jon Bennett
Driver: No. 54 CrowdStrike / Flex-Box Ligier JS P320“There is quite a long calendar gap between Sebring and Mid-Ohio. In the break I use my normal cardio and strength training routine and add quite a bit of sim racing to prepare for our next race.
“Inside the race car you are typically quite busy at the start. As soon, as the increased focus from the start begins to settle, the traffics starts. I always look forward to the traffic. There is opportunity hidden in handling the traffic with the right strategy.
“Historically, we are challenged with a race car with more understeer than we need. Jeff Braun and the entire CORE autosport has a bag of clever ideas to sharpen the handling of our Ligier LMP3. I look forward to our first sessions at Mid-Ohio.”
Colin Braun
Driver: No. 54 CrowdStrike / Flex-Box Ligier JS P320“Mid-Ohio is a real driver’s track. It’s challenging to get the car to work well there. As the track gets older it gets slipperier and slipperier so finding a setup that works, that combines the support you need in a prototype car with the grip you need in the corners is a big challenge. It’s definitely a unique surface on the IMSA schedule.
“With the track being pretty tight with a lot of flowing, fast corners, traffic management is going to be pretty key. It’s tricky to work through the GT cars while letting the faster DPi and P2 cars by. There’s a big difference in speeds. That’s the great thing about IMSA races though; the multiple classes and how they interact.
“Jon and I really enjoy going to Mid-Ohio. He was super-fast there last year. It’s been a long break since Sebring and I know the CORE guys and everyone is ready to get out there.”