The Level 5 Motorsports team's 2011 season has shown it a versatile, prominent team filled with experience, skill and enthusiasm. Commanding the podium within the most of the racing 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 has found a winning formula in its schedule, race strategy and drivers, including Tucker, Luis Diaz and Christophe Bouchut. When they began the last quarter of an already outstanding season with the ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patron mid-September, all their ducks seemed to be in a row: their formula had been proven time after time as dependable for an effective winning effort. But this race contained 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 estimated the vehicle to be a good multiplier for their already winning equation, but as is the case in racing, they also knew always to expect the unpredicted. For another team, the possibility and risk of entering a new vehicle so close to the season's major races could throw off drivers and the team's rhythm, but Level 5 is composed of drivers that have knowledge not merely adapting to automobile adjustments but also in motorsports alone.
"Experience counts," said Christophe Bouchut prior to 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 familiarise themselves with the brand-new car as much as possible before its first run. Still, Bouchut was right: A car can be inspected time after time, and the race strategy can be cemented into the drivers' heads, but there comes a time for drivers when lessons from recent 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 driving he makes up for with a remarkable learning curve that barely existed to start with. A newbie in 2006 at age 44, Tucker displayed natural skill and incredible skill in the Ferrari Challenge Series before he made Level 5 Motorsports and began creating a dream team of drivers. As the seasons progressed, Tucker began seeing his first major success. In 2009, he won the Sports Car Club of America National Championship. Later, he was the very 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 coupled with an unrelenting quest for excellence-which has caused him to hold an ultra-disciplined workout regimen and a intense, 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 probably the most successful endurance drivers all over 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 several Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and a FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion in history. Bouchut has been driving with Tucker's Level 5 team since 2008, adding his experience to Tucker's burgeoning motorsports empire and becoming an important part 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. A couple of 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 season. Diaz's experience with Level 5 Motorsports is limited only to the 2011 season, but his familiarity with the LMP2 cars has undoubtedly been crucial to the ever-changing team.
Level 5 Motorsports continues to operate on a near-perfect mix of skills, love, skill and experience. The cohesive combination of the drivers' experience has established the team as dominant frontrunners in multiple series and allowed the 2011 momentum to carry on with the latest HPD ARX-01g car.
The Level 5 team estimated the vehicle to be a good multiplier for their already winning equation, but as is the case in racing, they also knew always to expect the unpredicted. For another team, the possibility and risk of entering a new vehicle so close to the season's major races could throw off drivers and the team's rhythm, but Level 5 is composed of drivers that have knowledge not merely adapting to automobile adjustments but also in motorsports alone.
"Experience counts," said Christophe Bouchut prior to 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 familiarise themselves with the brand-new car as much as possible before its first run. Still, Bouchut was right: A car can be inspected time after time, and the race strategy can be cemented into the drivers' heads, but there comes a time for drivers when lessons from recent 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 driving he makes up for with a remarkable learning curve that barely existed to start with. A newbie in 2006 at age 44, Tucker displayed natural skill and incredible skill in the Ferrari Challenge Series before he made Level 5 Motorsports and began creating a dream team of drivers. As the seasons progressed, Tucker began seeing his first major success. In 2009, he won the Sports Car Club of America National Championship. Later, he was the very 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 coupled with an unrelenting quest for excellence-which has caused him to hold an ultra-disciplined workout regimen and a intense, 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 probably the most successful endurance drivers all over 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 several Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and a FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion in history. Bouchut has been driving with Tucker's Level 5 team since 2008, adding his experience to Tucker's burgeoning motorsports empire and becoming an important part 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. A couple of 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 season. Diaz's experience with Level 5 Motorsports is limited only to the 2011 season, but his familiarity with the LMP2 cars has undoubtedly been crucial to the ever-changing team.
Level 5 Motorsports continues to operate on a near-perfect mix of skills, love, skill and experience. The cohesive combination of the drivers' experience has established the team as dominant frontrunners in multiple series and allowed the 2011 momentum to carry on with the latest HPD ARX-01g car.
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Scott Tucker and Level 5 scored a commanding victory in the 2011 Petit Le Mans and secured the 2011 American Le Mans LMP2 Championship Scott Tucker
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