Level 5 Motorsports and Scott Tucker : Six Hours of Imola

Fresh off a mind-blowing victory at their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, the Level 5 Motorsports team, owned by driver Scott Tucker and comprising also Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa, headed to Bologna, Italy with their Microsoft Office-sponsored Lola Honda. What turned out to be another helpful win for the team became a bittersweet day after some late-race malfunctions prevented another historic victory for the Wisconsin-based team.

The 3 drivers delivered again superb shows behind the wheel. Initially maintaining a sixth place spot on the grid of LMP2 competitors, they moved to the lead with less than a couple of hours remaining. Bouchut manned the last leg of the race, taking the wheel with just more than one hour to go. The victory was theirs, just an official checkered flag from being official. But Twenty five minutes before the end, Bouchut’s voice crackled on the radio to say gear selection difficulties.

The car was caught in fourth gear due to a gear actuator malfunction. Bouchut, experienced in the motorsports business and one of the most successful endurance drivers anywhere, was able to persevere through to the checkered flag using only about three gears. Ultimately, the team gained a third-place finish. Where they first relished a 15-second lead, they now faced the reality that the win they nearly grasped was no more-and it was taking a while to sink in. “That’s racing,” Tucker said. “Still, ending up on the podium with this competitors is incredible. Sadly, it isn’t sinking in right now because we were so close to a win here.”

The car was caught in fourth gear due to a gear actuator malfunction. Bouchut, experienced in the motorsports business and one of the most successful endurance drivers anywhere, was able to persevere through to the checkered flag using only about three gears. Ultimately, the team gained a third-place finish. Where they first relished a 15-second lead, they now faced the reality that the win they nearly grasped was no more-and it was taking a while to sink in. “That’s racing,” Tucker said. “Still, ending up on the podium with this competitors is incredible. Sadly, it isn’t sinking in right now because we were so close to a win here.”

Enhancement seems hardly a possibility if you think about the podium standing the team had already done at this point in the year. With any losses being less due to driver performance than mechanical issues, a clean car seemingly guaranteed Level 5 top finishes. With the win ever-present in their minds, the team looked ahead to continuing the ALMS season with races at Lime Rock Park and Mosport International Raceway in Ontario.

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