An Unpredictable future for Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut

2011 – The realm of motor racing is competitive competition-flying all around a track with numerous other cars and one slip-up can send a vehicle to the pit, or more serious, right into a unbearable, competition-ending and fiery collision. Even while on the track it’s every driver for himself, astonishing things can happen when talents collide not in a race condition, but in collaborative relationships that include the building blocks for racing teams to take off.

One such collaboration has been the pair of Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut. Their union first was that of mentor and student, as Bouchut was one of the more powerful endurance racers worldwide by the time Tucker, when he was Forty four, took the competition wheel the very first time in 2006. Formerly, Tucker had been chairman and CEO of Westfund, a private equity firm, but had always harbored a desire for auto racing. When the opportunity came about for him to drive competitively, Tucker was an impossible success story, but he performed in a way that are only able to provoke the label “he’s a natural.” He began inside the Ferrari Challenge prior to testing the field with Porsche Super Cup, IMSA Lites and Rolex Series GT competitions. In time, he formulated Level 5 Motorsports and in 2008 moved into Grand-Am prototype contests, where Bouchut joined forces with him.

The mix of Bouchut and Tucker, with the addition of Luis Diaz this current year, has delivered remarkable results in the ALMS and ILMC up to this time. Countless podium finishes and several victories are proof that not only is Tucker adding lively, continuous skill to his team, but he himself is also accelerating. But as competition heats up for the end of the 2011 season with just ILMC and ALMS championships left go, it’s not insane to think about if competition could warm up within the Level 5 team as Tucker’s skill level carries on improvement.

Before he joined Tucker, Bouchut won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993 and has also won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Besides that, he has won 3 Porsche Carrera Cup France championships, three FIA GT titles and a FFSA GT championship. He is the only triple FIA GT champion throughout history. His long-lasting career made him an excellent advisor for Tucker, who needed to stuff years and years of expertise into as few years as possible to get him up to date, so to say, with other drivers in his class.

Both made 4 starts with Level 5 Motorsports in the 2008 Rolex series, such as the Rolex 24 at Daytona. After some time, Level 5 would be a regular attendee of Rolex races, driving a Daytona model. Tucker maintained his Ferrari Challenge entries and won 10 races in 2009. That year, he also won the SCCA Touring 1 Class National Championship, his first national title.

Then, Level 5 Motorsports attained momentum, taking 3rd place in the Rolex 24 in 2010 with Tucker, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Lucas Luhr and Richard Westrbrook driving. Ultimately, the team made the shift to the American Le Mans Series, something Tucker had always aspired to participate in. In the new Le Mans Prototype Challenge class, gentleman drivers were able to drive 2 cars within the exact same race, with the scoring driver in the top place vehicle. Tucker and Bouchut saw an opportunity for success within the new class.

Tucker was qualified, but Bouchut had the speed and command that only 1 with his expertise could bring to the track. Using the same intent of winning as many races as they could enter in, Bouchut and Tucker fell into a ideal agreement for Level 5, with Bouchut becoming lead driver and Tucker holding his own while he also completed practice rounds. Level 5 won five class competitions and took the class title in the LMP Challenge category and was bumped up to LMP2.

At the start of 2011, Level 5 was joined by Luis Diaz, who had enough LMP2 experience and made an ideal component to the Tucker-Bouchut formula. The team has had a highly successful year so far, with the Petit Le Mans and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in China being basically the only things left on the calendar of a year that included lots of podium finishes and wins at Imola and other major ALMS races.

But as Level 5 Motorsports progresses, so does Scott Tucker, and eventually, the strong duo of Tucker-Bouchut could part ways. Tucker told Speed TV in 2010 that he and Bouchut would consult each other on which races they would enter together. He said they prefer championships that don’t pit 2 professional drivers against one another; they get too competitive in that setting, he said. Although any parting would undoubtedly be with good standing on both sides, the continued success of Tucker begs the question of where he’ll go next, who he’ll take with him, and how the Level 5 Motorsports team will progress from its burgeoning success.

Find more about driver Scott Tucker Scott Tucker