October 12th, 2011 - After Level 5 Motorsports' decisive victory at Petit Le Mans last weekend, the team looks confidently toward the seventh and last round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series season, the Six Hours of Zhuhai in China. "We're looking for a victory, and I think it's absolutely attainable," said team manager David Stone. He and the team's owner, Scott Tucker, have crafted a winning formula that has been successful for the team in 2011 and has set it up for further improvement in 2012. The most recent factor in that formula is the pair of Honda prototype cars Tucker purchased in July. The HPD ARX-01g's have helped Level 5 end this season on a high note and set the stage for further development and victory in the coming racing year.
Tucker has been building a championship team since the moment he set foot on a race track for the first time in 2006. Starting with developing his own talents, knowledge and experience, he soon joined forces with Christophe Bouchut, now a fellow Level 5 driver, who was and is one of the most experienced endurance drivers in the world. From there, Level 5 was joined by Joao Barbosa, who had extensive experience driving Formula cars and Grand-Am sports cars.
Tucker and Level 5 finally had a breakout year in 2010 when they made numerous podium appearances and finished with a class victory at Petit Le Mans in the LMP class. Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay also helped Level 5 achieve a No. 3 finish at the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. With things coming together, Level 5 Motorsports started gaining speed. Tucker added another driver to the roster: Luis Diaz, an experienced Grand-Am driver who had driven in the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series since 2007 and won the class in 2009. Diaz joined Level 5 in kicking off the 2011 series at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
By this time, Tucker's own skills were nearing that of his colleagues'. He was the ALMS Rookie of the Year in 2010 after he led the team to an historical LMP class victory in his inaugural season in the series. He had been cleaning up the competition in the Ferrari Challenge Series, winning four races while challenging for a championship and his second consecutive T1 division national championship at the Sports Car Club of America Runoffs. He won a third and historical win there this year. Early in 2011, he recorded his 50th career win.
Most recently, Tucker rounded out his drivers list with Marino Franchitti, a driver who not only has an enormous depth of experience in the LMP2 class but also has driven nearly every version of the HPD ARX-01 cars since the first model, HPD ARX-01a. With Franchitti's help, Tucker drove the team's brand new HPD ARX-01g to victory at this year's Petit Le Mans.
Tucker has created a standout team that has already enjoyed much success but can be developed even further. By getting the new cars on the road in the tail-end of the 2011 season, he has ensured that 2012 will start at a high level. As the team gets to know the cars and each other even more, more wins are all but guaranteed for Level 5 Motorsports, who will seek a vice championship in ILMC competition with the Six Hours of Zhuhai next month before turning their focus to 2012.
Tucker has been building a championship team since the moment he set foot on a race track for the first time in 2006. Starting with developing his own talents, knowledge and experience, he soon joined forces with Christophe Bouchut, now a fellow Level 5 driver, who was and is one of the most experienced endurance drivers in the world. From there, Level 5 was joined by Joao Barbosa, who had extensive experience driving Formula cars and Grand-Am sports cars.
Tucker and Level 5 finally had a breakout year in 2010 when they made numerous podium appearances and finished with a class victory at Petit Le Mans in the LMP class. Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay also helped Level 5 achieve a No. 3 finish at the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. With things coming together, Level 5 Motorsports started gaining speed. Tucker added another driver to the roster: Luis Diaz, an experienced Grand-Am driver who had driven in the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series since 2007 and won the class in 2009. Diaz joined Level 5 in kicking off the 2011 series at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
By this time, Tucker's own skills were nearing that of his colleagues'. He was the ALMS Rookie of the Year in 2010 after he led the team to an historical LMP class victory in his inaugural season in the series. He had been cleaning up the competition in the Ferrari Challenge Series, winning four races while challenging for a championship and his second consecutive T1 division national championship at the Sports Car Club of America Runoffs. He won a third and historical win there this year. Early in 2011, he recorded his 50th career win.
Most recently, Tucker rounded out his drivers list with Marino Franchitti, a driver who not only has an enormous depth of experience in the LMP2 class but also has driven nearly every version of the HPD ARX-01 cars since the first model, HPD ARX-01a. With Franchitti's help, Tucker drove the team's brand new HPD ARX-01g to victory at this year's Petit Le Mans.
Tucker has created a standout team that has already enjoyed much success but can be developed even further. By getting the new cars on the road in the tail-end of the 2011 season, he has ensured that 2012 will start at a high level. As the team gets to know the cars and each other even more, more wins are all but guaranteed for Level 5 Motorsports, who will seek a vice championship in ILMC competition with the Six Hours of Zhuhai next month before turning their focus to 2012.
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