The other day, Scott Tucker-owned Level 5 Motorsports announced the addition of Marino Franchitti to its driver lineup before this weekend's Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta. Franchitti will join Tucker and fellow driver Luis Diaz in driving the No. 55 Microsoft Office-sponsored entry for the enduro, a 1,000-mile/10-hour race.
Franchitti will be especially handy in driving the latest Level 5 entry, a LMP2-class Honda Performance Development prototype developed in conjunction with Wirth Research. Prior to joining Level 5, Franchitti had raced essentially every iteration of HPD prototypes, such as the original ARX-01a with Andretti Green Racing in 2007 and Highcroft's 2010 ALMS championship winner ARX-01c as well as its ARX-01e, which took second place all round in the 12 Hours of Sebring a few months ago. Franchitti this year will undoubtedly be seeking his 3rd straight Petit Le Mans class victory.
The elite Level 5 team started out when Tucker joined the field of professional motorsports in 2006 at the age of 44. What he was missing in experience he made up for in natural talent, quickly climbing the motorsports rankings. Initially, he joined up with Christophe Bouchut, an endurance racing expert, who acted as his mentor and co-driver. Bouchut is just about the most successful endurance drivers on the earth and a past winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. He has also won 3 Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and an FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion in history. Since the Level 5 Motorsports team began in 2008, Bouchut has co-driven with Tucker and been integral in the team's success. With his wealth of experience and skill in controlled speed, Bouchut's role as lead driver has allowed Tucker to develop his own skills, contributing to the depth of the Level 5 racing team. Over the 2010 season, Bouchut earned his 100th career win.
Joao Barbosa, another Level 5 Motorsports standout began his racing career in his native Porto, Portugal nearly Thirty years ago. He won back-to-back kart championships in 1988-1989 and proceeded to win the Portuguese Formula Ford championship in 1994 and the Italian Formula Alfa Boxter Championship in 1995. In 2001, he joined the Grand-Am Sports Car Series and competed in the GT class until he joined the Brumos Racing team in a Daytona prototype in 2006. After four seasons there, he joined Action Express Racing and won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2010. In 2010, he also made seven starts in the ALMS for Extreme Speed Motorsports in the GT2 class.
Luis Diaz, the 3rd part to this weekend's Petit Le Mans bid, hails from Mexico City, Mexico. He ran in the Toyota Atlantic and Indy Lights Series from 1999-2003 before making the move to Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004 when he co-drove the No. 1 car with former Champ Car competitor Scott Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2007, he moved into the ALMS, driving an LMP2 Lola B06/43-Acura for Fernandez Racing. The pairing finished sixth in the LMP2 standings that year and won the class championship in 2009. Diaz made his Level 5 debut this year at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a booming begin to the season, and his LMP2 experience is going to be crucial at Petit Le Mans using the new car.
Ryan Hunter-Reay has been off of the grid for most of the 2011 season as Tucker and crew have been centered on the ALMS and LMP2 class, but he has been a primary reason for the Level 5 team's overall success. He is a regular in the IZOD IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport, where he nabbed his second win at Iowa Speedway last year. Hunter-Reay helped the No. 95 Level 5 Motorsports BMW Riley to a third-place finish in the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Franchitti will be especially handy in driving the latest Level 5 entry, a LMP2-class Honda Performance Development prototype developed in conjunction with Wirth Research. Prior to joining Level 5, Franchitti had raced essentially every iteration of HPD prototypes, such as the original ARX-01a with Andretti Green Racing in 2007 and Highcroft's 2010 ALMS championship winner ARX-01c as well as its ARX-01e, which took second place all round in the 12 Hours of Sebring a few months ago. Franchitti this year will undoubtedly be seeking his 3rd straight Petit Le Mans class victory.
The elite Level 5 team started out when Tucker joined the field of professional motorsports in 2006 at the age of 44. What he was missing in experience he made up for in natural talent, quickly climbing the motorsports rankings. Initially, he joined up with Christophe Bouchut, an endurance racing expert, who acted as his mentor and co-driver. Bouchut is just about the most successful endurance drivers on the earth and a past winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. He has also won 3 Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and an FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion in history. Since the Level 5 Motorsports team began in 2008, Bouchut has co-driven with Tucker and been integral in the team's success. With his wealth of experience and skill in controlled speed, Bouchut's role as lead driver has allowed Tucker to develop his own skills, contributing to the depth of the Level 5 racing team. Over the 2010 season, Bouchut earned his 100th career win.
Joao Barbosa, another Level 5 Motorsports standout began his racing career in his native Porto, Portugal nearly Thirty years ago. He won back-to-back kart championships in 1988-1989 and proceeded to win the Portuguese Formula Ford championship in 1994 and the Italian Formula Alfa Boxter Championship in 1995. In 2001, he joined the Grand-Am Sports Car Series and competed in the GT class until he joined the Brumos Racing team in a Daytona prototype in 2006. After four seasons there, he joined Action Express Racing and won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2010. In 2010, he also made seven starts in the ALMS for Extreme Speed Motorsports in the GT2 class.
Luis Diaz, the 3rd part to this weekend's Petit Le Mans bid, hails from Mexico City, Mexico. He ran in the Toyota Atlantic and Indy Lights Series from 1999-2003 before making the move to Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004 when he co-drove the No. 1 car with former Champ Car competitor Scott Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2007, he moved into the ALMS, driving an LMP2 Lola B06/43-Acura for Fernandez Racing. The pairing finished sixth in the LMP2 standings that year and won the class championship in 2009. Diaz made his Level 5 debut this year at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a booming begin to the season, and his LMP2 experience is going to be crucial at Petit Le Mans using the new car.
Ryan Hunter-Reay has been off of the grid for most of the 2011 season as Tucker and crew have been centered on the ALMS and LMP2 class, but he has been a primary reason for the Level 5 team's overall success. He is a regular in the IZOD IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport, where he nabbed his second win at Iowa Speedway last year. Hunter-Reay helped the No. 95 Level 5 Motorsports BMW Riley to a third-place finish in the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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