It was a long time coming.
Korthoff Preston Motorsports — then under the Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports banner — broke into IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD competition in 2022 with a bang. Mike Skeen, Stevan McAleer, James Davison and Scott Andrews finished third in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Skeen, McAleer and Daniel Juncadella followed that up with a second at Sebring. McAleer went into the finale with a shot at the championship, and finished third in the GTD points
It’s been a roller coaster since then. Henry Gilbert retired and it became Team Korthoff Motorsports. McAleer, newly ranked Gold by the FIA, was dismissed in favor of Canadian Mikael Grenier. The team became Korthoff Preston Motorsports to honor the efforts of team manager Walter Preston. Kenton Koch was brought in as the endurance addition for the 2023 season.
In its sophomore year, the team finished seventh in the points with a couple of third-place finishes to its credit. The success that the team had promised on its debut eluded it. A strong run in the 2022 Rolex ended with a wheel bearing failure. A year later, the No. 32 Mercedes AMG GT3 led the most laps, ultimately finishing fifth — a solid finish that led to the team taking the Michelin Endurance Cup title in 2023. Until last weekend’s victory in the GT-only Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, the team had a single podium finish in 2024, at Long Beach.
Then, prior to Road America this year, the team made a change. Skeen was moved to strategist and Koch was put in the seat as Grenier’s full-time partner. Whether that was the move the team needed, things just fell into place correctly, or some combination thereof, the group achieved its first victory. It was the first for Grenier in IMSA competition as well, and the first WeatherTech Championship win for Koch (he has recent victories in Michelin Pilot Challenge GX class in a Mercedes-AMG GT4) since the 2016 Rolex when he won the Prototype Challenge class.
“Everyone has worked really hard to get to this point, to finally have the planets align,” said Koch. “They knew it was coming eventually as we’ve always had opportunities to win, but something has always gotten in our way. Not this time! It feels good, and it definitely feels good to be piloting one of these Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars. It’s only my second time here in a Mercedes-AMG GT3, and first in GTD, but we have wins now two years in a row. Obviously, the car is quite nice to drive. I’m very fortunate to be a part of this program.”
Koch seized the lead at the start, and being conservative with fuel helped the team keep track position. Grenier brought the car home with a 0.897s gap to the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Zacharie Robichon and Roman De Angelis.
“I’m happy, especially for Herb Korthoff and the entire Korthoff Preston Motorsports team,” said Grenier. “All of the mechanics, they have been working so hard, but we have just had some bad luck. We should have won three or four races over the last few years, but you can never stop trying, so it is good to get a victory.
“We started off Friday really off — we were almost the last car, and it was really hard to drive — but we made a good change overnight with good feedback from my teammate. We had good track position after Kenton’s great qualifying and we knew we had to keep it. I think it is hard to overtake for everyone here. Kenton took the lead and did a good job with fuel saving, so it gave us a short pit stop.
“In the end, I was just managing a bit and keeping them behind me. Every win is important, but this one is very special, extra special because I am happy for the team — I know that they wanted this, and I am also happy for Kenton.”
While relishing the win, Koch also acknowledged Skeen’s contribution as a driver and on the box.
“It’s phenomenal. The part that’s hard for me is Mike and I are very good friends and and for him to be on the box, and for me to be in this position, you know, it it stings a little bit for me, because Mike can definitely do the job. But fortunately we were all in the position here to be able to deliver for for the team. Moving forward, I think we’ll obviously have a good rest of the year and we’ll see what the future holds.”
Grenier, the constant in the team’s driver lineup in 2024, is now third in the GTD points with two races to go. The chances of moving up are slim, but the team has a good shot of matching its finish in the 2022 standings after Petit Le Mans.