The Level 5 Motorsports team's 2011 year has proved it a versatile, dominant team filled with talent, skill and determination. Commanding the podium in the most of the races it entered-including winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and podium at Imola and Sebring, among others-is proof that the Scott Tucker-owned, Microsoft Office-sponsored team found a winning formula in its schedule, race strategy and drivers, including Tucker, Luis Diaz and Christophe Bouchut. While they began the last quarter of an already great year with the ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey provided by Patron mid-September, all their ducks appeared to be in a row: their formula had been proven time and again as reputable for an effective winning effort. But this race included one wild card, or wild car, as the case might be-the team would finally debut the HPD ARX-01g they had announced they were switching to mid-season.
The Level 5 team expected the automobile to be a beneficial multiplier for their already winning equation, but as is the case in racing, they also knew always to expect the unexpected. For an additional team, the possibility and risk of getting into completely new automobile so near to the season's major races could mess up drivers and the team's rhythm, but Level 5 is composed of drivers who have knowledge not just adapting to vehicle changes but in motor racing alone.
"Experience counts," said Christophe Bouchut before the ModSpace race. "We've worked hard to prepare for this race, but it's still brand new and there are still things to check." The team opened the gearbox for evaluation, sitting out of a final practice session to acquaint themselves with the brand-new vehicle as much as possible before its very first run. Still, Bouchut was right: A car can be checked over and over, and the race strategy can be cemented into the drivers' heads, but there comes a point for drivers when lessons from previous race experience takes over with a sort of intuition and feeling that can't be taught.
Tucker is the least experienced driver on the Level 5 team, but what he lacks in years in the driver's seat he makes up for with a exceptional learning curve that barely existed to start with. A rookie in 2006 at the age of 44, Tucker displayed natural talent and unforeseen skill in the Ferrari Challenge Series before he created Level 5 Motorsports and began establishing a dream team of motorists. As the seasons advanced, Tucker began seeing his first major success. In 2009, he won the Sports Car Club of America National Championship. Later on, he was the first American to drive one of Audi's V-12 turbodiesels in a competition, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His passion for motorsports along with an unrelenting search for excellence-which has caused him to maintain an ultra-disciplined exercise regimen and a hard, three-series race schedule-have catapulted his short career into the territory of his counterparts, whose very first races weren't too long after their first birthdays.
Christophe Bouchut, part of the Level 5 dream team, is one of the best endurance drivers across the world. His victories have included the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. He has also won three Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and a FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion ever. Bouchut has been driving with Tucker's Level 5 team since 2008, adding his experience to Tucker's burgeoning motorsports empire and becoming a fundamental element of the team's success.
Luis Diaz drove in the Toyota Atlantic and Indy Lights Series from 1999 to 2003 before moving to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car series in 2004 when he co-drove the No. 01 car with former Champ Car competitor Scott Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing. 3 years later, Diaz moved again, this time into the American Le Mans Series, driving an LMP2 Lola B06/43-Acura for Fernandez Racing, and won the class championship in 2009. Diaz was also named Most Popular Driver that year. Diaz's experience with Level 5 Motorsports is limited to only this year's season, but his familiarity with the LMP2 cars has undoubtedly been crucial to the ever-changing team.
Level 5 Motorsports continues to run on a near-perfect combination of ability, passion, skill and experience. The cohesive mix of the drivers' backgrounds has established the team as dominant frontrunners in multiple series and allowed the 2011 momentum to go on with the latest HPD ARX-01g car.
The Level 5 team expected the automobile to be a beneficial multiplier for their already winning equation, but as is the case in racing, they also knew always to expect the unexpected. For an additional team, the possibility and risk of getting into completely new automobile so near to the season's major races could mess up drivers and the team's rhythm, but Level 5 is composed of drivers who have knowledge not just adapting to vehicle changes but in motor racing alone.
"Experience counts," said Christophe Bouchut before the ModSpace race. "We've worked hard to prepare for this race, but it's still brand new and there are still things to check." The team opened the gearbox for evaluation, sitting out of a final practice session to acquaint themselves with the brand-new vehicle as much as possible before its very first run. Still, Bouchut was right: A car can be checked over and over, and the race strategy can be cemented into the drivers' heads, but there comes a point for drivers when lessons from previous race experience takes over with a sort of intuition and feeling that can't be taught.
Tucker is the least experienced driver on the Level 5 team, but what he lacks in years in the driver's seat he makes up for with a exceptional learning curve that barely existed to start with. A rookie in 2006 at the age of 44, Tucker displayed natural talent and unforeseen skill in the Ferrari Challenge Series before he created Level 5 Motorsports and began establishing a dream team of motorists. As the seasons advanced, Tucker began seeing his first major success. In 2009, he won the Sports Car Club of America National Championship. Later on, he was the first American to drive one of Audi's V-12 turbodiesels in a competition, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His passion for motorsports along with an unrelenting search for excellence-which has caused him to maintain an ultra-disciplined exercise regimen and a hard, three-series race schedule-have catapulted his short career into the territory of his counterparts, whose very first races weren't too long after their first birthdays.
Christophe Bouchut, part of the Level 5 dream team, is one of the best endurance drivers across the world. His victories have included the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. He has also won three Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and a FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion ever. Bouchut has been driving with Tucker's Level 5 team since 2008, adding his experience to Tucker's burgeoning motorsports empire and becoming a fundamental element of the team's success.
Luis Diaz drove in the Toyota Atlantic and Indy Lights Series from 1999 to 2003 before moving to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car series in 2004 when he co-drove the No. 01 car with former Champ Car competitor Scott Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing. 3 years later, Diaz moved again, this time into the American Le Mans Series, driving an LMP2 Lola B06/43-Acura for Fernandez Racing, and won the class championship in 2009. Diaz was also named Most Popular Driver that year. Diaz's experience with Level 5 Motorsports is limited to only this year's season, but his familiarity with the LMP2 cars has undoubtedly been crucial to the ever-changing team.
Level 5 Motorsports continues to run on a near-perfect combination of ability, passion, skill and experience. The cohesive mix of the drivers' backgrounds has established the team as dominant frontrunners in multiple series and allowed the 2011 momentum to go on with the latest HPD ARX-01g car.
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