2011 Le Mans 24: All Roads Lead To Le Mans For Tucker And Level 5

2011 Le Mans 24: All Roads Lead To Le Mans For Tucker And Level 5 Posted by: MSulka on Jun 10, 2011 - 09:49 AM

After months of preparation and buildup, the biggest sports car race in the world is upon Level 5 Motorsports. The Scott Tucker-owned organization gears up for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, while chasing a global championship in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup at the same time. Tucker is the only American Driver and Level 5 is the only American team to do so since 1984. Now in its 79th running, the 24-hour classic, nestled in the French countryside, is the world’s oldest and most prestigious endurance race. While the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe has evolved over the decades, conquering Le Mans has remained one of the greatest achievements in all of motorsports. With the winner typically covering over 3,000 miles, more than an entire Formula One season combined, Le Mans presents a challenge like no other. In its bid to become the first American team since 2007 to win Le Mans in the highly competitive LMP2 category, Level 5‘s Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored Lola-Honda Coupe will make 29 pit stops, including up to 13 driver changes, and consume in excess of 60 tires and 600 gallons over the course of the race. There’s no doubt a large demand put on the mechanical components of the Lola-Honda Coupe as well. Over 75 percent of a lap around the 8.5-mile circuit is under full-throttle, and with 58 gear changes every three-and-a-half minutes, it will likely result in a staggering 20,000 gear changes for Tucker and his co-drivers by the time the checkered flag falls.

As the lone American prototype team in this year’s running, Level 5 and Kansas City-native Tucker, a three-time national driving champion, is also the only driver flying the stars and stripes in either prototype division. Tucker and Level 5 will be looking to add their names to the likes of Shelby,Foyt, Gurney and Haywood as American winners in the "Grand Prix of Endurance."

"There’s not many Americans that get to race here, so I feel very privileged and proud that we earned the right to be among that elite group that has been able to compete at Le Mans," Tucker said. "Any time Americans go and race against the best in the world and win, I think it’s an incredible achievement. It would be a fantastic result if we were able to pull it off, but it’s a very tall order. We realize that but we’re fully prepared for the challenge that’s ahead."

Tucker will again team with France’s Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa of Portugal in the No. 33 Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored Lola-Honda Coupe as they pursue top honors at Le Mans and the coveted World Championship. Their prototype entry, capable of reaching speeds up to 200 mph, runs in the LMP2 category, the highest form of sports car racing in the world for private teams. The trio currently sit third in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup standings heading into Le Mans, which will award double points. Level 5’s world tour began at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, where they scored top honors in the American Le Mans Series season-opener.

After a trip to the streets of Long Beach, where Tucker and Bouchut solidified their lead in the American Le Mans Series LMP2 championship, the team crossed the Atlantic to take part in the official one-day test at Circuit de la Sarthe. Two weeks later, Level 5 was back in Europe, competing in the second round of the ILMC at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

While an unfortunate suspension failure brought an early end to their race in Belgium, David Stone the team manager for Level 5- has used the five-week break to deconstruct the failure and work with its technical partners on a solution, as well as prepare its spare Lola-Honda Coupe for competition. Despite it being Level 5’s first appearance at Le Mans, the championship-winning driver lineup doesn’t lack any strength. In fact, Tucker, Bouchut and Barbosa combine for 24 starts in the famed endurance race.

For Tucker, who has racked up 54 race wins and 81 podiums in his driving career, which only started five years ago, his first experience of Le Mans came in 2010, driving a LMP1-class Audi R10 TDI with Bouchut.

"Last year was the first time I went to Le Mans," Tucker said. "It was an incredible experience for me to go there and understand the entire history around the race with such a great team. Obviously learning the track was huge because you don’t really get any opportunities to test here because it’s mostly public roads. I think mentally, I’m much more prepared for understanding the track, but also understanding what it takes to win."

This time around, Tucker, who was recently featured in an episode of "Mobil 1 The Grid," will be pulling double-duty, driving a Ferrari 458 Challenge car in the weekend’s Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli support race, Tucker will be the only American driver in this race. Tucker and Level 5 are regular competitors in Ferrari Challenge North America, where he remains the winningest driver in series history.

With 17 previous starts, including the overall win in 1993 in a Peugeot 905, Bouchut heads in as the veteran within the squad. Recently celebrating his 100th career victory, the Frenchman is fired up to add a second Le Mans crown to his already overflowing resume.

"This will be my 18th start but I realize how lucky I am to be here again and to be in position to fight for the win," Bouchut said. "After so many starts, you have a lot of different scenarios in your head and I’ll try to share those experiences with Scott and Joao. Le Mans will be a big challenge for the entire team, but we’re all very motivated to win."

While Barbosa may not yet boast the experience of co-driver Bouchut at Le Mans, the Portuguese standout is riding high following an overall win at the famed 24 Hours of Daytona in 2010 and early-season success from his other sports car program. Barbosa scored a thrilling victory in last month’s GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series round at Virginia International Raceway and will be looking to carry that momentum into his seventh start at Le Mans.

"Le Mans is a huge race for everybody, especially with it being Level 5’s first time here," Barbosa said. "It’s going to be a new experience for some, but the team has been working very hard since the last race at Spa. The key will be to run a reliable race, stay out of the pits and stay out of trouble for the entire 24 hours. If we can do that, then I think we’ll have a good shot in the end."

The sheer numbers behind Level 5’s effort this weekend is also impressive. Over 35 crew members and industry representatives are on hand, along with 25 guests. The team has booked 30 hotel rooms plus an entire 13-room chateau. Add in the two motorhomes, transporter, support truck and van, plus the colossal amount of food required to feed everyone, approximately 730 meals, and it proves that Le Mans is a huge undertaking for man and machine.

The week-long activities for Level 5 begins on Monday, when the Microsoft Office 2010-sponsored Lola-Honda Coupe heads to downtown Le Mans for the traditional scrutineering and administrative checks. On-track action begins Wednesday afternoon with a four-hour free practice session, followed by the first of three two-hour qualifying sessions. Four additional hours of qualifying is scheduled for Thursday evening.