| The Drivers of the No. 54 Ligier Kept the Big Picture in Mind All Season Long October 10, 2022By Jeff OlsonIMSA Wire Service  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Smart versus aggressive. That’s the quote – and the approach – that Colin Braun and Jon Bennett used to clinch the drivers’ championship in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. “We had to walk that line of being smart versus being aggressive,” Braun said. “The biggest thing for us came down to being fast when we needed to be, being smart when we needed to be and being aware of our situation.” That comment didn’t only apply to the fifth-place finish that Braun, Bennett and George Kurtz put together in the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Oct. 1. It applied to the entire season for the drivers of the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier JS P320. Only twice in seven races did Braun and Bennett finish outside the podium. Petit Le Mans was one of them, and it sealed their championship over Gar Robinson and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 that he co-drove with Felipe Fraga and Kay van Berlo. Championships come from synchronicity, and Bennett and Braun have been on the same page for years. Since Bennett founded CORE in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with Morgan Brady in 2010, the team has won multiple championships in multiple disciplines. This one, the team’s fifth in the WeatherTech Championship, was typically in synch. “We’ve had great team chemistry,” Bennett said. “Everyone’s having a good time and getting along. That’s how championships are won. It’s a pleasure to race with these guys and Colin going on 10 years now. It’s been a pleasure, and it never gets old.”  Simply put, it was a season of consistency for Bennett and Braun. After opening with a third-place finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and a fifth at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, they took control of the LMP3 points battle with a four-race stretch that included victories at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It was there, at the lightning-fast, 10-turn, 2.459-mile CTMP circuit, that the duo showed the capabilities of the CORE group and the No. 54 car.“It’s weird,” Braun said after the race. “I’ve driven a lot of different cars here, from GTD to DPi to LMP3. They all drive pretty darn similar here. … All that experience just builds on itself. I just love this place, for sure.” The No. 74 Riley Ligier kept the pressure on in attempting to repeat as LMP3 champion. Robinson, Fraga and van Berlo won the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in June, with Robinson and Fraga adding a victory at Road America in August. Along with fourth driver Michael Cooper, they also won the season-opening Rolex 24 that didn’t award season points in the class. Other LMP3 winners this season were the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier (drivers Joao Barbosa, Malthe Jakobsen and Lance Willsey) at Sebring and the No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier (drivers Jarett Andretti, Gabby Chaves and Josh Burdon) to close the season at Motul Petit Le Mans. But by balancing aggression and brains – and applying both at the appropriate times – it led to another CORE championship. “(It) came down to being smart,” Braun said. “We had to be fast when we needed to be fast in short areas, but we had to play the long game – be smart, have good pit stops. … It’s sometimes harder when you’re the one being hunted.” |
