Defending ALMS LMPC champions step up to dual ALMS/ILMC program, beginning with today's 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring...
Level 5 Motorsports enters a Lola-Honda Coupe in the entire seven-round
ILMC season. (Photo: John Dagys)
Fast forward one year and the same team, with the inaugural LMPC championship now in hand, embarks on one of the most ambitious privateer prototype programs in recent history.
In addition to a return to the ALMS with a two-car effort, now in the LMP2 ranks, Level 5 will be only one of two U.S.-based teams competing full-time in the the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
For team owner Scott Tucker, who becomes the first American owner/driver to tackle a global sportscar championship since Jim Busby’s Lola T616-Mazda in the 1984 WSC season, the rise to the world stage came as the next logical step in the team’s growth.
With titles in Ferrari Challenge and a podium finish at the Rolex 24 to its credit, Level 5 dominated the LMPC ranks in its rookie ALMS season last year, scoring five wins and the LMPC championship. The 48-year-old business executive turned racer sought an added challenge for 2011.
“Anything where you can be the best in the world, and to have the opportunity in sportscar racing, is something special,” Tucker said. “LMP2 is really the highest level of non-manufacturer racing there is. So to race at the highest level of sportscar racing that I can do, and to race for a world championship, I would have never dreamed it.”
Proven with its star-studded driving lineups of the past, Level 5 has assembled another potential championship-winning effort for both the ALMS and ILMC.
Tucker again teams with former Le Mans winner and multiple-time FIA GT champion Christophe Bouchut and is joined by 2010 Rolex 24 winner Joao Barbosa for the seven-round ILMC aboard the team’s new Lola Honda Coupe.
The sister machine, one of Lola’s new cost-capped open-top prototypes, will be piloted by Tucker and Luis Diaz in the entire nine-round ALMS season, joined by IZOD IndyCar Series star Ryan Hunter-Reay this weekend.
While it’s no doubt been an uphill battle in getting both of the LMP2 contenders prepared and ready for this weekend’s dual season-opener, there’s also a distinct challenge in the operation of the two-car effort almost as separate entries, as team manager David Stone explains.
“We’re definitely all in a learning curve with that because there’s so many different angles to think about,” Stone said. “From the technical side to the rules side to the understanding of how the two will relate to one another during the same race. We’ve done it by our own choice, but by running one coupe and one cost-capped car is another side of the challenge.
“You have some synergies between the cars, but you also have some things that are different. It always adds more complexity to the program. Even a simple thing like the wheels are not the same from one car to the other... Driver changes are going to be differently, from an open to a closed car too. It’s going to be challenging, no doubt about it. But we knew that going in.”
But once the checkered flag falls at Sebring, the team will be in for an even larger logistical challenge with its dual programs moving in separate directions. While the ALMS moves onto Long Beach for round two in mid-April, Level 5 must also prepare its third chassis, another Lola Coupe, for competition in Europe at the Le Mans Test day just one week later.
With Level 5 also likely to send its U.S.-based Lola Coupe over to Le Mans as a spare car for the early summer months, including participation in the Easter Sunday test at Circuit de la Sarthe, coordinating the global effort has taken months of preparation, according to Stone.
One of the key decisions came last month when the team finalized a partnership with a U.K.-based organization which will assist their international effort. With workshop space now in Europe, the expansion of Level 5 came at a logical time with the launch of the ILMC.
“I looked at this whole thing, and as I told Scott, this is not just piling on more to Level 5, it’s an expansion of Level 5,” Stone said. “To me, it just made sense to bring in people that are already over there, that have a workshop and are strategically located, that already have relationships with resources that already know the ins-and-outs of moving transporters around Europe.
“But we’re simply not just handing the keys over and saying, ‘Here, run the cars and let us know how it went.’ They’re there to support us and augment us as we need to be augmented.”
With a fairly extensive group of core personnel flying back and forth between events, Stone expects only a minimal crew of Level 5 employees to be based at the team’s workshop at Silverstone. He believes it’s the best way the international effort could be operated.
“It’s not like we can turn the lights off over here and say we’re going to Europe for a race, because we have to keep two cars going over here,” Stone said. “The cars will be able to go back and forth to the shop in Madison [Wis.] as they need to. Then those that need to will be in Europe to run those races.”
Stone and the team will certainly be racking up the frequent flier miles, especially during the summer months. With eight races in four countries in the span of 11 weeks, including two back-to-back ALMS/ILMC events, timing and coordination will be crucial for its drivers and crew.
“I think when you do something like this, especially in this kind of business, you’re always under the microscope,” Stone said. “A lot of people are going to be looking to see how it will go and where we’re going to succeed or fail. But I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of travel, but we’re up for the challenge.”
But for Tucker, getting his team’s two Lola-Hondas to the finish in Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is the first objective. After all, a strong start in both season-long championships could go a long way in Level 5’s quest of becoming the first privateer to win two professional sportscar championships in a single season.
“Winning any championship is hard as hell,” Tucker said. “But that’s one of the reasons why you do it. If you thought the challenge was too great, it’s not an efficient use of your manpower or brainpower.
“When we show up, we’ll be competitive. Hopefully that’s just going to raise the game for everybody. People are going to know we’re not over there filling the field... We’re working hard.”
And judging by the level of success already achieved by this still-young team, this year’s ILMC program could even turn into something more in years to come.
“This is like building a business,” Tucker said. “If you go in for one year and then leave, everything that you built for that year [goes away]. I would think that if we feel like we’re competitive, which we think we will be, we’re going to build on this year.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
“It’s not like we can turn the lights off over here and say we’re going to Europe for a race, because we have to keep two cars going over here,” Stone said. “The cars will be able to go back and forth to the shop in Madison [Wis.] as they need to. Then those that need to will be in Europe to run those races.”
Stone and the team will certainly be racking up the frequent flier miles, especially during the summer months. With eight races in four countries in the span of 11 weeks, including two back-to-back ALMS/ILMC events, timing and coordination will be crucial for its drivers and crew.
“I think when you do something like this, especially in this kind of business, you’re always under the microscope,” Stone said. “A lot of people are going to be looking to see how it will go and where we’re going to succeed or fail. But I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of travel, but we’re up for the challenge.”
But for Tucker, getting his team’s two Lola-Hondas to the finish in Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is the first objective. After all, a strong start in both season-long championships could go a long way in Level 5’s quest of becoming the first privateer to win two professional sportscar championships in a single season.
“Winning any championship is hard as hell,” Tucker said. “But that’s one of the reasons why you do it. If you thought the challenge was too great, it’s not an efficient use of your manpower or brainpower.
“When we show up, we’ll be competitive. Hopefully that’s just going to raise the game for everybody. People are going to know we’re not over there filling the field... We’re working hard.”
And judging by the level of success already achieved by this still-young team, this year’s ILMC program could even turn into something more in years to come.
“This is like building a business,” Tucker said. “If you go in for one year and then leave, everything that you built for that year [goes away]. I would think that if we feel like we’re competitive, which we think we will be, we’re going to build on this year.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
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